Blog Growth and Communities
I belong to a couple of blogging communities and am thinking about becoming active in a third. But I am beginning to wonder why I bother with it. When I visit a blog in one of these communities I make it a point to leave a comment. And I try to put on the old thinking cap before doing it. It just seems like the polite thing to do.
And so now I am looking at the two groups on the front page of this blog. There are twelve or so folks there who have been by here and not one of them has left a comment (except Bernie BFK63). It’s as if someone gave you their business card and without saying a word turned around and walked away. How is this building a community? What are they thinking?
Because these are not just readers. These are fellow bloggers who are supposed to have some insight into these matters.How many times do you see someone write about the importance of leaving comments. Maybe I am in a crabby mood because I am experiencing pain at the moment. But I could make a list of folks who have been here multiple times and never left a comment.
When someone gives you something it is appropriate to say thank you. So when someone comes here they are given something in a way. And it would be nice if everyone got in the habit of saying, “Thanks”. As in “Thanks for putting this together” or “I can appreciate what you did here”. Some bloggers like to get on folks for saying “Nice post” but I am not in that group. Because you don’t ever want to discourage someone from making a comment. Once they get started it may just become a trend. You don’t want to discourage that flickering flame as it tries to light the candle.
That’s all I am saying. There is not much civility left in modern life compared to earlier ages. It would be a very good thing if it made a comeback in the pages of the blogosphere. And this would help everyone in the long run with their blogging efforts.
Thanks to Ron, Bernie and Truddle for their comments and encouragement.
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16 responses so far
As I read this post I felt guilty for all the times I have zipped in and out, not waving on my way… I’m sorry for those times - but do want to let you know I love reading your blog, and seeing your beautiful pictures.
I am sorry you are having pain today David - I hope it gets better soon!
I understand what you are saying David, on my blog when I get comments I like to return the favor and if it is someone I don’t know I at least try to track them to their blog to thank them and take a look at what they got.
It is very hard sometimes trying to keep up with everybody but I do the best I can and try to visit as often as I can, but you have a great blog and it makes it worth coming back to
I’ll echo what Truddle and Bernie are saying and agree about the civility of modern life or lack thereof which is a shame. What’s ironic is that SU generates tons of traffic but virtually zero interaction. Ron.
Please don’t feel guilty Truddle. I will feel worse if you feel guilty. We are not talking about perfection here. But you make a better effort than just about anybody around here and I appreciate your comments.
Ooo I feel guilty! I enjoy reading your blog but must admit I don’t often let you know I popped by.
I am still amazed at how much and often you write!
Ok, here’s a thought: maybe most people don’t leave comments because they are introverts?
That’s right Ron. SU is what it is. That’s why I wrote that post a couple of days ago about building a network that is based on relationships that already exist. I really think that offers a lot more than SU. I hope you all will think about the possiblities that exist in this area.
Or, maybe people leave comments and the little gremlins snatch them away when we are not looking? I left a comment on your beautiful Leaves photo, but I can’t find it now. Poof; it’s gone!
Seriously though, I can understand your frustration. It is the frustration of many writers. But we write anyway because we’re born to do it. If someone pays a compliment then it’s just icing on the cake. But your words and photos would add value to your life even if no one else ever saw them.
Hey papa bear I might actually be responsible for these “ghost visits”. I drop by to check out your pictures mostly. Keep your head up big guy. Have you checked out Belle Isle in Richmond lately or any of Richmond’s downtown landmarks. I see great photo opportunities in this city everyday with such a huge uplift Richmond is getting by the VCU area.
Hi Zach. Listen big guy. You aren’t responsible. But it’s always nice to know that your son is reading your blog. It makes it that much easier to find the motivation to write! And your sister, too! You two guys are reading stuff here and I don’t even know it! That really shows us something about our world.
It takes just a fraction of the time it takes to read a post to write a few words.
I must say that those who care enough to say they feel bad are not the ones this post is about. Helena, you have a very busy life. But let me ask you something. Would you like to have more readers and be part of a growing, caring community? Because there are three people over on the other side here who I can introduce you too. I can vouch for all four of you.
You can share comments with each other and link to each others blogs. You are all interested in photography. You all read this blog. Truddle has some great photos of animals just like you, Helena. So there are some common interests there to build upon. You may already know each other. But if you don’t it is a wasted opportunity.
And Helena, I bet you know somebody who has a blog that would be interested in this concept. And I would be happy to look at their blog and leave some comments. Maybe we wouldn’t have much in common. Maybe we would. But we would definitely have you in common. And the motivation to be part of a growing community. We could map it out and watch it grow. On one level its simple math. And it would be very interesting to see where the links would go….
But one of the main deals with a group like this should probably be that when you read someone’s blog and you aren’t torn away by something a comment should materialize. Something, however small, should be added. We tell each other to “Have a nice day” in real life all the time. And nobody is critical of that. It’s superficial to some extent. But it is mostly appreciated.
It could be a useful guideline. And it would lead to a much more caring community in the future. How is your kitty doing by the way, Helena? Oh, wait. I see your update. He is looking much better. That’s great. It’s no fun being hit by a car.
Linda, you wrote your leave comment under the “Just Looking Around” post. It’s still there.
Hi Sandy. I went by your blog. I think I may have written about it before but it looks different now. And I could not figure out how to make a comment. But that’s probably just my early morning ineptitude on display. The article about Walmart threatening to sue a testing agency was pretty interesting. And there certainly seems to be lots of stuff being recalled because of lead in paint!
I’m sorry you feel pain so often. It’s a drag. Hope you have a good day.
The other thing I do a lot is that as I read quite a few blogs, I don’t come to your sites to do so. As you are my regular readers I use Google Reader on my Google homepage. It’s great for seeing new posts without having to keep going to everyone’s sites just to see if they have written…a post from you is almost guaranteed but I must say that many of my other blog friends write once a week at most.
That’s true, Helena. I was thinking about using my Google Reader and then I thought, “How would I post a comment?”. So you just answered that question. I guess I am just barking up the wrong tree here. Disregard everything I have said about this subject. This is perhaps just my own need to find motivation to continue blogging being transferred out there to folks who already have their motivation. So sorry.
I will be interested in reading these upcoming posts about StumbleUpon. I hoped for awhile that they could provide some motivation.
The other thing would be to simply downgrade the whole operation to a level that you talk about Helena. You seem to suggest I am blogging at an alarming rate. Maybe I should just cut back to once or twice a week.
I’ve been thinking about the new Lord Of The Rings game lately. It really is a super way to enjoy the puter.