© 2011 Blue Algae Creative
One of the strongest messages from the Blogging 101 Panel to reach my personal blogging heart was the bit about always responding to comments & fostering a sense of connection and community. This is something that I've wanted more of but have fallen short on. I'm not surprised. Connecting doesn't come naturally to me. I have to think about it on a conscious level, always.
On top of my natural tendencies to shy away from connecting, I have the distinctly challenging issue of not know how best to respond to comments. It seems to me there are three routs, none of which are very convient or effective. (1) I could track down each person's email address via their comment profile. The problem with that is that not every commenter has included their email in their profile, so I must search their blog, or website. Even then, it can be hard to locate. And, that takes time. Time. Ack, that precious resource. It's time well spent, sure, but time I don't usually have. (2) I could respond in the comments section of my blog to those who have left messages there. But, there's no guarantee that commenters will ever see my replies. That would be frustrating, but perhaps better than doing nothing. (3)Or, I could respond to comments within my posts. While this would be more effective in terms of everyone seeing them, it feels a bit public to me. Yes, comments are public, but somehow highlighting individual comments & commenters in actual posts seems a little exploitive.
I'm thinking #2 might be the best of these limited choices, but I'm open to suggestions. Anyone out there got this one figured out?
2 comments:
Hi Rachel. #2 is done by most of the bloggers I know - or those who bother to acknowledge comments. I'm as guilty as you are about this same thing so I really do appreciate this post. It makes me think of the audience and how to let them feel my appreciation.
Debi - So, when you or others you know leave comments, do you go back to look for responses? Or, do you check the little box that says "Email follow-up comments to..." your email address? I figured no one would wander back to see if I responded but maybe I'm wrong about that?
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