Having people leave comments on your blog is such an ego boost, ainnit?
Every time I get online, I really look forward to seeing new comments.
I'm sure everyone feels that way, in varying degrees - a sort of validation of your work, eh? Not that I depend on comments to "keep me going" lah - but it's always nice to know that something I wrote impacted someone enough to take the time to drop a line or two in response.
However, sometimes some people totally miss the point of the post, and it shows in what they say: sometimes I cringe and feel really sorry for them when they go off on a tangent, sometimes even displaying their ignorance or arrogance for all to see. When that happens, I wonder if by choosing to phrase words differently, i might have been able to better convey what I meant, and prevented such "miscommunications".
After all, *how* I write is as important as *what* I write about, right?
Then comes the challenge of "to respond or not to respond"... I have my phases where I make it a point to keep on top of the comments, and respond to them all in a subsequent comment. Then I get into a "read-only" mode. Then back to respond mode. Not too consistent, am I. But hey, sometimes there's no *need* for a response,,, or more importantly, it might be better for all involved for me to NOT respond (see arrogance / ignorance exposed above!). I am glad to say that those have been so far few and far between. :-) Or am I being diplomatic? heeheheheeeee :-)
Anyways, still on the response topc: Thanx to the Lost Blogs exercise, I've come across the really cool method of having bloggers (well, Kevin and Karl lah, for the moment) who respond to comments via email (the same response usually also appears in the comments section of the relevant post lah). Whoohooo! Very nice touch. Otherwise, I'd have to remember to go back to the page/post I'd commented on to see if there was any response. Then again, I'd go back anyway, LOL!
So... that's all about people who comment here.
How about when *i* go surfin around?
While I assume most people appreciate comments just as I do, I also assume that like me, they'd like meaningful and/or "value adding" comments, as opposed to just "Hi, nice blog" or equivalent.
So my guilt at being a lurker is not that big lah. But it *is* there. :p
So if you know that I've been visiting but not commenting, don't hold it against me, ya? I only have your best interests at heart! :-)
However... on the happy occasions that I stumble across a new blog AND I have something to day, I make it a point to state how I stumbled across their blog in the first place. Cos that would be something *i* would always be curious to know. :-)
If I'm a frequent visitor but rare commenter, I've recently started to acknowledge this by stating something like "I just HAD to de-lurk for this post" before launching into my actual 2-cents worth.
no summary lah. end of post. teeheehee! Hey, did you think this post is worthy of a comment? de-lurk and say so lah. LMAOOOOOOOOO!! :-)
(yes, i *think* i need to get some sleep....)
Every time I get online, I really look forward to seeing new comments.
I'm sure everyone feels that way, in varying degrees - a sort of validation of your work, eh? Not that I depend on comments to "keep me going" lah - but it's always nice to know that something I wrote impacted someone enough to take the time to drop a line or two in response.
... tangents ...
However, sometimes some people totally miss the point of the post, and it shows in what they say: sometimes I cringe and feel really sorry for them when they go off on a tangent, sometimes even displaying their ignorance or arrogance for all to see. When that happens, I wonder if by choosing to phrase words differently, i might have been able to better convey what I meant, and prevented such "miscommunications".
After all, *how* I write is as important as *what* I write about, right?
... responses ...
Then comes the challenge of "to respond or not to respond"... I have my phases where I make it a point to keep on top of the comments, and respond to them all in a subsequent comment. Then I get into a "read-only" mode. Then back to respond mode. Not too consistent, am I. But hey, sometimes there's no *need* for a response,,, or more importantly, it might be better for all involved for me to NOT respond (see arrogance / ignorance exposed above!). I am glad to say that those have been so far few and far between. :-) Or am I being diplomatic? heeheheheeeee :-)
Anyways, still on the response topc: Thanx to the Lost Blogs exercise, I've come across the really cool method of having bloggers (well, Kevin and Karl lah, for the moment) who respond to comments via email (the same response usually also appears in the comments section of the relevant post lah). Whoohooo! Very nice touch. Otherwise, I'd have to remember to go back to the page/post I'd commented on to see if there was any response. Then again, I'd go back anyway, LOL!
So... that's all about people who comment here.
How about when *i* go surfin around?
... doing onto others....
While I assume most people appreciate comments just as I do, I also assume that like me, they'd like meaningful and/or "value adding" comments, as opposed to just "Hi, nice blog" or equivalent.
So my guilt at being a lurker is not that big lah. But it *is* there. :p
So if you know that I've been visiting but not commenting, don't hold it against me, ya? I only have your best interests at heart! :-)
... my comment etiquette ...
However... on the happy occasions that I stumble across a new blog AND I have something to day, I make it a point to state how I stumbled across their blog in the first place. Cos that would be something *i* would always be curious to know. :-)
If I'm a frequent visitor but rare commenter, I've recently started to acknowledge this by stating something like "I just HAD to de-lurk for this post" before launching into my actual 2-cents worth.
... summary ...
no summary lah. end of post. teeheehee! Hey, did you think this post is worthy of a comment? de-lurk and say so lah. LMAOOOOOOOOO!! :-)
(yes, i *think* i need to get some sleep....)
I don't comment much. I get distracted mid !! ooh!!! SHINY !!!, uh, sentence. and then I make no sense. And I only read blogs of people who I generally like and agree with, so I don't get all half cocked and mad. I also am generally not looking to make new blog-friends, just reading is enough for me.
ReplyDeleteSo there's yer comment.
Like you, I go through the phases. Right now I'm kind of in a mostly read-only mode. Sometimes I get into a "comment on every single post" mode, just to let bloggers know I'm still around and reading.
ReplyDeleteAnd the e-mailing responses to comments idea I actually got from Kevin. I thought it was very cool and so I started doing it, too. Like you said, I don't want to have to remember to go back and visit comments sections again to see if anyone responded to me. In fact, I almost never do. The e-mailing is a nice way of letting commenters know I appreciate them taking the time.
elisette> thanx for the delurk :-)
ReplyDeletekevin> no it wasn't u lah :p no worries :-) and again - thanx for the whole GBBMC concept - I've "met" a whole new bunch of people I enjoy visiting!
karl> awwww so you're just a copycat? hehehe juuuusssssst kidding! :-)
..shouldve preview than edit then decide to publish then publish...got the point :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your blogging. Enjoy your reading of blogs. It doesn't matter what we do. It's about joy and fun. Keep going.
ReplyDelete