Blog or Comment - What is a Writer to Do?
Penguin Bloggers: I imagine each penguin in the photo being an author of one of my favorite blogs
When you blog, you make yourself vulnerable—almost begging for validation. That validation can come through comments from readers, page views, and ideally a combination of both.
I really enjoy commenting on blogs that I like. It feels satisfying to provide the validation that someone has implicitly asked for by writing a blog post.
Lately I've noticed that some of my comments are kind of on the long side. Validation, great, but am I being rude, taking up a whole couch in my host's living room?
I think what I'm supposed to do is make shorter comments and then take the leftover ideas I have and write a post on my own blog. That post would include a linked reference to the blog that inspired my post.
How come nobody ever taught me that in blogging school? Do I have to learn everything on my own? Is there a guide to blogging etiquette anywhere?
I don't think that I've made myself unwelcome at any of the blogs that I've been commenting on lately. I think more to the point is that I have a lot to say and I've been frustrated by my inability to write and post pics on my own blog.
But hey, it's a new year, no better time to start than now. And it's been three days since I've eaten any junk food. It's going to be a great year!
Making my point: "I've got something to say!"
[Images in this post are by me, from my trip to the Galapagos in late June of this year. See more Galapagos pics.]
Comments
5 comments postedI like getting long blog comments; they show me that someone found a post resonant and interesting enough to respond in depth. In that sense, they're a terrific compliment.
Of course, I like short comments, too. One circle of my friends in the blogosphere has the habit of leaving a graphical pebble as a comment on posts even when they don't know what else to say, as a way of showing that they've been here and they hear me. It looks like this: (o)
My challenge is figuring out how to balance writing my own posts with commenting on the range of blogs I like to read. (And, of course, balancing both of those with "real life" and with schoolwork, which is about to kick in again with a vengeance!) Ah, life as a J-blogger in 5768...
You're right, leaving an appropriate comment is the most validating thing ever. As a relatively new blogger, it shocked me how rarely people bother to comment. Eventually you learn to blog for your own pleasure, and hope to draw people in.
For a few weeks my blog was linked to a site that brought me 100's of hits a day. I was really flying. It took me awhile to realize that while fun, it was basically irrelevant - folks were reading the one linked post (to GreenDimes)and not anything else. So I realize you need the right readers, not just hits.
For a babyboomer like me, whose natural audience is blogophobic, that's challenging!
Of course, if you want more readers, commenting on like-minded blogs is a way to draw traffic to your own blog. Posting on blog carnivals even more so.
Shai, you crack me up! I was daydreaming just this morning of you and some of the rest of my blogging buddies in a room somewhere, talking. I didn't see us as anything like penguins, though.
I like your comments at any length I can get them. Come and go as you please!
I go through phases in which I only comment. I'm not sure why. I've always considered myself a better commenter than a poster.
And you're right -- there's something powerful about validating other people's writing.
What great comments!
Rachel, thanks for the explicit invitations to keep writing long comments on your blog... as I did just today. I appreciate it.
Betsy, I think the advice about
are exactly on mark. I've thought about those lessons since I as conceive a direction for this blog.
Peter, thanks for the open invitation to write long comments. I can't believe our blogging day dreams have a similar theme. I'm not sure what it means that I thing of my fellow bloggers as penguins and you, presumably, conceive of us as humans. Is there a Jungian in the house to help sort this out?
Like Rachel and Peter, I like getting long comments. I'm often not able to respond at similar length, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading them. I guess there are blog communities in which lengthy blog comments are considered rude, but I tend not to visit those communities. And hey, any guest who visits me is welcome to take the whole couch!