RajI’ve always felt that comments are the biggest reward for a blogger (dumb awards, notwithstanding). And as a blog reader, I’m very generous with comments. Whenever I visit a blog that I like, I never forget to leave a comment. And whenever I visit a friend’s blog, I leave a comment irrespective of whether or not I have something to say. That’s because I know how much comments mean to a blogger.
There was a time when I didn’t get a single comment, though I always had a regular reader in Akanksha (who never commented on the blog in the beginning but directly told me what she thought of the posts). And I was kind of okay with it. But if a post doesn’t get a single comment now, I would probably go crazy.
An important aspect of commenting is the reply you get from the bloggers. I always check for replies to the comments I make and I’m mostly happy with the way people have replied to my comments till date. There are few bloggers, however, who simply refuse to reply to a comment, which is rude. If they don’t care about comments then they should simply turn comments off. In the past few months, I’ve commented on countless blogs but two bloggers who deserve a mention for being the best comment-repliers (in the order in which I discovered their blogs) are:
They get an average of 50-60 comments on each post and yet they manage to reply to all the comments in detail and without much delay. And I think their promptness in replying to the comments is one of the many reasons why they get so many comments in the first place. Needless to say, I’m a big fan of their blogs.
I try my best to reply to all the comments here ASAP but if I’ve ever forgotten to reply to your comment or not given it due attention then this is your one chance to let me know.
Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
dumb awards?? dumb?! ha! bet u’l take any award that comes yr way! well, mayb not, but i wud
ya, i know what u mean… it is rude when they dont reply to yr comments.
no complaints though, u always reply to my comments.
You are highlighting the importance of communicating. Its all very true what you say. And what you propose is a practice that shud be followed.
But I highly disagree that comments are the biggest rewards. To tell you the truth I looked at blogging as a form of expression, no matter whether others read it not. But of course the journey is made very pleasent if some one is there to share it with you.
There is a blog maintained by a girl funnily calling herself Truppster. I just scrolled through the archives of the job to find that her comments section are not always abuzz. But its a tremendous blog, one of my favs.She has been regularly maintaining it. She must be drawing more from it than what comments cud give her.What I want to say, is that comments are the icing on the cake. But they are not the cake.
Depends on what you expect out of your blog. If it’s about your thoughts and feelings, then you really don’t give a damn to what others think of it. But, if you are out to make new friends and build a social network, then commenting is a must - at least from your side. I generally leave a comment if I have something meaningful to say.
That said, I write reviews on gadgets. Comments left by readers offer great insight and practical experiences.
That was an interesting post - yes, though blogging is primarily for self-expression, comments play a major role. And I can vouch for the fact that you are one of the first commenters, if not the first, on all my posts. That really means a lot! But yes, I do not comment much due to various reasons, but I have you on my Bloglines subscription list, so be sure that I read your posts regularly ;D
i love commenting and getting comments.. and like u said i am ur most faithful reader!
when i started out writing a blog even i was just trying to just rave and rant or just put my thoughts across but now i am used to my faithful readers reading my posts and leaving comments..
i mean i would feel really bad if i didnt get a comment frm anybody .. and yes raj i really appreciate how u always leav a comment!
sej & vinaya: if people didnt read and comment how would u kno that whatever u r is writing is being read and evoking some reaction in people!!
@freeze: I too wud take any award that comes my way but till that happens, the awards will remain dumb.
As long as you keep commenting, i will keep replying
@sej: At some point of time, every blogger needs some feedback so I still believe that comments are very important for “most” bloggers. There are very few people who just want to express themselves and don’t care about what others think of their posts. And they mostly wirte anonymous blogs with comments turned off.
@vinaya: If you express your feelings on a blog for everyone to read then you definitely want their feedback. Otherwise, why put it on a blog?
Ya, your comments are mostly short and to the point with a few exceptions like this one
@shruthi: Thanks. Your posts are interesting so I cant help but leave a comment
//so be sure that I read your posts regularly
Thats great
Keep reading.
@akanksha: Thanks. Its like an addiction. Once you start getting comments on ur posts, cant do without it
I agree to your statement about people not replying to comment is rude. It is. It shows conceit.
However getting comment is other thing. I kept my blog under wraps for more than a year, there were few regular readers but they never commented and still don’t comment !
Sometimes you write just to arrange your thoughts or to rant and rave…
Wow, thanks for the honour, Raj!
Tring-dish!
No comment as such. But then again, had to tell you I read this and I liked it.. So there.. :p
ps. the last line of the post especially frightened me. :p
@greensatya:
//It shows conceit.
Yes, it does.
//kept my blog under wraps for more than a year
why and how?
//Sometimes you write just to arrange your thoughts or to rant and rave
but it doesnt hurt to know that people like reading it , does it?
@sayesha: My pleasure!!
@aaki: The last line was meant to be a little scary
And it worked, right?
intersting thought, i started my blog with the wrong foot and i’m still doing it! My main concern was traffic and comments was a gauge for me. The end result, i was advertising something i was not. The moral way out: be simple and comment others blog like I’m doing now!
now is that indecent?
Here’s a lame, lazy contribution to your comments section.
i must say– i always have appreciated that you reply to all of our comments. its very nice of you.
– and i also hate it when i get no comments on my blog. it makes me sad. i’ve recently noted a drastic decrease in comments, and i’m taking it pretty bad.
@jeyavel: Starting a blog and only writing things with the motive of attracting traffic isnt wrong at all if thats what you want to do. But its good that you’ve decided to be your true self now. Thanks for the comment
@thedq: No comment is lame. Thanks for dropping by
@becky: Thank you. And I AM nice
//i’ve recently noted a drastic decrease in comments
Yeah, it happens when the post frequency drops. Dont worry, i’m sure the no. of comments would increase soon
Hi raj
its realy sad not to get any response for ur post and i want to thank u becoz reading ur blog varun sigh had to mention abt my comments on his blog (deaths of student). thanks a lot..
@anonymous: ha ha, you are welcome. I guess I did something good without even knowing abt it
aaj mein laptop leke aayi thi is liye sirf show off karne ke liye maine comment chhoda!
he he he
very well put….hoping smone wud drop by my blog ..
@akanksha: ha ha…good, ho gaya showoff? i am jealous, btw
@abhinav: Thanks for dropping by. I just returned the favor
v intersting
woonderful in short
cheers
well done, brother
nice page,