I've fallen a bit behind on completing the daily tasks for the comment challenge, so I'm going to attempt to play catch up.
Day 9: Should we be commenting on blogs?
I'm not just being lazy with this answer, but really, what comes to mind is "Whatever."
Maybe it's just my mood today, but sometimes I read the blogs that go back and forth over this and that, and I feel like I'm watching a ping pong match. It's ok; I like watching it. I enjoy following the different trains of thought. But I just can't muster all that much emotion for whether or not someone wants to enable comments on their blog. Isn't that the joy of blogging? It's YOUR blog. You get to decide where it's hosted, what it looks like, what you'll write about, how often you'll write, etc. etc. You get to decide if you want comments and once you get comments, if you want to respond within the comments, on the other person's blog, in another post, an email, or not at all. For me, this is one of the things I enjoy about this form of communication. It's very fluid and really, there are no rules.
Day 10: Do a Comment Audit on your own Blog
1. You sound like a press release.
I doubt this. I write in the first person. I reflect on my teaching practice, share lessons, occasionally share a cool site or resource that I've discovered. No press release here.
2. You sound like an infomercial.
What would I be selling?
3. You sound like a know-it-all.
I sure hope not. I don't feel like a know-it-all.
4. You haven't showed them how.
I don't feel that it is that difficult to leave a comment. ??
5. You haven't created the right atmosphere.
I don't know. The atmosphere....???
I started out just to write and share things I was doing/learning. The comments and interaction has been like icing on the cake. I have made some good work connections and at least one real life friend through my blogging experience. I'd love to have lots of readers like some blogs do and lots of comments, because, so far, it's all been pretty positive. But it is what it is. I don't have tons of time to devote to blogging, so I have to do the best I can. I do make a pretty conscious effort to respond to comments either here or by visiting the commenter's blog. Do I need to decorate nicer? Have a little party? Light some candles and play some mood music?
6. You just don't seem that into it.
I am into it! I am!!! I really hope my passion for what I do shows in my writing.
So, why aren't more people commenting on my blog?
All I can think of is that the things I post about are just not the kinds of posts that inspire much discussion. I've had the most comments on my posts about comment08. Usually I post about a lesson I want to share or some thoughts about something that's happening at work. I get the occasional "thanks for sharing this" type of comment. The blogs I read that get a lot of comments are usually deeper or more controversial or witty. I don't really post in order to inspire comments. I just post. But I do really appreciate the comments. I think the feedback can get kind of addicting, and at times, I've read great blogs and thought, "Why do I even try?" But, I have to remind myself not to compare my blog to others. There is space for all of us here on the web. We all have something to say.
Going to stop here. I know I still have a few more days of catch up...please feel free to comment!
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3 comments:
Kia Ora Andrea!
I think you post a lot of sense.
Before the 31 Day Challenge I thought a blog was the equivalent of a diary. But it can be a private roll or an open poster. For me both commenting and posting on blogs are public activities, like pavement artistry or busking.
To permit commenting on blogs (which we do!) is like opening up our diary so that anyone can write in it, or giving a pedestrian the chalk so they can scribble beside our art. Though we can rub out the scribble we don’t want to keep, our post can lose some of its personal significance through this. There are times when harmony can arise, like when someone sings with the busker, but it’s also good to hear the single voice.
Ka kite
Great analogies, Ken. Thanks for adding your voice to mine!
To me, it seems the posts (of mine) that get no comments look a bit lonely.
And now I have to ask what is Kia Ora?
I am also learning new expressions from you!
Ka kite!
Kia Ora Andrea,
I am a poor teacher when it comes to Maori words and phrases for I only know a few!
I first met the word Kia-Ora as the name of a commercial orange drink that was advertised at the movies (cinemas) in Scotland where I lived as a child many years ago.
In New Zealand it is used as a greeting by Maori and non-Maori. It is pronounced as a short two-syllable word kyora. In Maori it means Good Health. But as with many well-used phrases it takes on other characters and can simply mean Hello, and even Thank You, as in an expression of agreement when someone wishes to voice their support for something another has said.
It is also appropriate to use it as a parting phrase, but in that context it is not saying goodbye - more like Health be With You or Go Well.
I like to use it as a greeting.
Ka kite ano
till we meet again
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