Thing #12

This thing is about commenting and interacting with others in the blogosphere.  I have to confess that I don't really comment much on others' blogs, unless it's my aunt's or my mom's.  I don't know, I guess I feel really shy about it.  In "analog" conversations as well, I'm more of a listener.  By the time someone asks me for input, all I can think of is to correct something someone else said.  And that, my friends, makes me feel like a snooty jerkface.  

 

However, I really enjoyed this article on Meredith Farkas' blog.  Her main point is that the information/knowledge you have is meant to be shared!  Why do I feel so shy about sharing my own knowledge, but I encourage it in others?  Maybe I am worried about my delivery.  I would hate to be like the father of a guy I once dated, who would often interject, "Trivia question!  Trivia question!" And proceed to ask a question only he knew the answer to.  I hope that when I do share what I know, I do so because I'm excited about what I've learned, and that others are excited about it too!

In this foray into blogging, I was glad to learn that I was already using many of the 10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog.  I found it intriguing that only one out of every ten readers comment...the rest are called "lurkers"!

There are a handful of non-L2P blogs which I read regularly.  List of the Day is a good example of a blog whose posts often make me want to comment.  The author will periodically post "Questions of the Day" and invite readers to leave answers in the comments.  Also, there are a few photoblogs, e.g. Failblog, that have weekly captioning contests for their weird/funny photos.  Readers can leave their ideas in the comments.  It's interesting how encouraging your readers to interact can ease their transition from lurker to commenter!