do most blog readers read comments? or is it only blog commenters who read comments?
being a blog author and regular commenter as well as a blog reader, I sometimes think we fall in a separate category. So I'm curious to know if my blog readers / lurkers read comments.
of course, if they are non-commenters then how will I ever know ... since it is unlikely they will spring up now and reply in unison.
well, if any blog commenters out there know any blog readers, can you ask them if they read the comments and report back?
thanks. good to know you are on the case. much appreciated!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
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I read comments, generally more the ones I have commented on than ALL comments.
One thing that puts me off going back to read comments too often is the fact that people seem obsessed with tracking who visits their blog and I don't want to look like an obsessive stalker type with nothing to do but sit online waiting for comments in other people's blogs. So, I may go back and read comments once, twice at most a day or two after the original post on blogs.
That was a bit of a waffly ramble.
oh c'mon, fess up ... You LOVE when your readers comment ... and you look, you really do! *chuckle*
I usually read comments but tend to comment on the blogs of people I've been reading for a long while. I feel kind of uncomfortable leaving comments on a new blog. It takes a while to get to know a new blog friend.
I've been reading your blog for a few months now and I think I commented once or twice but when you post things of a really personal nature (or when anybody does) I feel odd leaving comments of the advice variety. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that things get misconstrued in written words and if it's a sensitive issue maybe it will come across wrong if you don't actually *know* me.
I think your blog and your moving to France is really fascinating reading though and I love your attitude in all of it.
misschris~thanks ... I have no expectations re: comments (I used to wonder a lot more about why I didn't receive many) ... but it just struck me today as I did a sort of 'mini-post' in the commens section on my blog and I was wondering if my readers would see it or if I should have done a separate post vs. a long comment riff.
so it got me to thinking who reads comments...
Appreciate your taking the time to weigh in!
Bonjour,
I came across your blog by accident, following blogs from one to the next and following commenters.
It is interesting for me because I don't have a blog, so I can't say much about enough comments or too many, LOL. But the blog I visit every day, "Pouquoi Pas?", there are lots of comments and sometimes I just don't have the time to read them all because often they are long as well as many.
The other interesting thing is that you are American living in France, because on PP (Pourquoi Pas), there is also an American living in France. Microdot. He is very active participant on PP, he is very erudite and very funny and very outspoken. Once he posted a picture of his ass, LOL.
Maybe you would like to meet him? He lives in the Aquitaine region. He has become a good personal friend of WhyNot who is the owner of the blog.
It must be hard to move from the country where you lived all your life. I admire you. On PP there are several displaced people, not always by choice, like Siletto is a Russian illegal immigrant and hides from Sarkozy. WhyNot moved several times between continents. I don't think I could do this.
Greetings from Paris,
Valérie
PS: the address of PP is: http://ppblog.free.fr/
If a post strikes a chord with me, then I will read the comments, and leave one of my own. However, once a blog gets extremely popular, I find it too overwhelming to read all the comments, and don't bother to leave any either. I figure the blogger is also too overwhelmed to read them all. I would like to see my blog hit somewhere in between, getting enough comments to know there is someone out there paying attention, but not so many that I can't reply to them all.
You are the only blog I have left a comment on :) but I've forgotten the password I used to do it, so now I'm anon. lol. (I think there is something vaguely creepy about being anon for which I apologise.)
I can't remember how I fell across your blog but I think you have to 'lurk' for a bit to see if what the blogger is doing is what you are interested in. Reading the comments depends on how much time I've got. As a new 'commenter' I had to look and see if you'd replied which is the only way I would know if you had read it.
I always read comments unless I've got 796 billion things in that bloody google reader after an internets-less weekend, though there are a few blogs I always check everything on regardless of lapses in time.
RG-(beams proudly!) yeah dude, but what about the NON-commenters. the folks that just READ blogs. I'm trying to decide if I should cease waxing poetic in my comments and keep it all on the blog page.
valerie ~ thanks for the answers and the blog tip - any blogger who will post ass photos is okay in my book and worthy of a look/see! (RG, get busy!) ...and he is from the Aquitaine?! we MUST meet! what's his screen name? by the way, I adore accidental readers! thanks again for the inside scoop!
HCH- it IS a conundrum, on the one hand it is fun to get lots of responses (although I think the most I've ever gotten is like 18 or 20 ... so t'ain't much, eh?!) but I can't imagine running in the same circles as some of these bloggers that are in the triple digits with each post. My ego would love it tho! lol, but I'd have to quit responding to each comment I suppose.
Anon-I prefer 'mysteriously intriguing' to 'creepy'! I without fail read all comments, and most often I eventually get around to replying ... either individually or in more general terms. I'm glad you took the time to be heard ... my curiousity required information and enlightenment!!! merci bien!
I am an-ex blogger, big time lurker, small-time commentor but LOVE reading comments.
I have 2 favourite categories:
1 - When the blogger gets their knickers in a twist because someone has dared to disagree with them and even worse been RUDE. Some bloggers take themselves way too seriously me thinks.
I love seeing the shit hit the fan! I just don’t get this as I see a blog as being public and comments are just someone else’s opinion. Just ignore them if you don’t like it. The best ones are when the other commentators come to the defence of the original blog writer. Quite astounding.
2- Just as bad are the comments where every one says: You’re a wonderful writer, I do agree, blah-blah-blah, please pass me the bucket. I don’t get this either what’s the point of all those lovey-dovey comments?
So yes I think there are lots of people who follow the comments with out actually commenting themselves
pauline: MY PEOPLE! lol, I too find it hilarious (and somewhat disconcerting) when bloggers get up in arms about comments they don't like. First of all, WE own the blog so if it is truly offensive ... fucking delete their silly asses! ha. And secondly, if you are writing and putting it out there for public consumption, you better steel yourself for disgreement. or keep your blog private.
now on the topic of *oh you're wonderful and your writing is too...* what are you trying to tell me? I am NOT wonderful nor my writing ? sniff.
writers need love too. even if it is anonymous, never met you but I'd still like to feel you up .. virtually .. kind of love.
so for me ... a righteous blend of *JNRR you're talking crap and so is your momma combined with JNRR you're the bravest woman since Jeanne d'Arc* works wonderfully!
thanks for not blowin' smoke up me arse, by the way! :P
I read comments, sometimes, and I post comments, but very infrequently. I think of the blog/screen/background as 2 dimensional, the blogger's posts the 3rd dimension and comments add a 4th dimension. Comments, particularly when they open up a dialogue between the "lurkers" and blogger, enrich a blog.
And the reason that I have commented today is (1) you asked and (2) because I stumbled over your blog and realized that our paths had crossed (are there any fond memories around the word "CUSTOM"??). So while most blogs are totally anonymous, generally faceless venues of information and entertainment, having known you, even briefly, makes this more personal, therefore I felt more compelled to comment.
I am so thrilled for you to have escaped and will continue to "lurk" to see how it all turns out.
Doubt you will remember the name, but it's Michele DeVries. Cheers!
I follow your blog via Google Reader so I only come to the site if I think the comments might be interesting (as with your previous post) or if I myself am thinking about commenting (once I get here I might not do it depending on what the existing comments are).
Like Valerie, after reading comments I sometimes randomly click on the name of the author, go to their site and then make a comment. I rarely go back to see if anyone's commented on my comment (how incestuous would that be!) but I always respond to comments on my own blog. It's like a conversation. Some of the best things get said in the 'Comment' box, rather than the blog!
As a blog reader I read the comments also. That is where some of the "action" is. I also enjoy the interaction between blog author and commentators.
I feel the point of some lovey dovey comments are to expresss an appreciation and encouragment for the blogger. After all blogging is in the eye of the beholder. :D
Michele~ CUSTOM! wow, talk about a blast from the past ... what are we talking ...going on 15 years ago?! wow, and yes your name is familiar tho' I confess I couldn't immediately put a face to it. boy ... well, I will say that I had a lot more fun in corporate life during those early years, but I guess the pain of the upward climb did finance my escape ... so it all evens out in the end !
hope all is well with you and I like your dimensional perspective on blogs and the layers involved.
Feel free to lurk or de-lurk at any time, and also to drop me a line if you choose.
Jonnifer - I use the reader as well, so I feel ya ... although for some reason I seem to find myself typically compelled to click through ... just in case I'm missing something!
The Dotterel - OMG, first I have to say WELL DONE on the Onion post, nearly peed my panties on that one! lol. guess now I'll have to go back and comment (or can you count this one?!) and I agree, the commenting subtext provides some of the best reading out there.
Anon2 ~ well, anytime you wanna lay some lovey-dovey on me, feel free! you are right, comments host a plethora of snappy repertoire!
You are so good!! You got lurkers to come out of the closet and into the comments.
I don't always read every comment on every blog that I comment on. Most often I do. If I am not going to leave a comment I may still read the comments.
On my blog I feel that the comments are as important than the post and so I put as much or more time into comments as I do in writing my post. I really love it when conversation emerges in the comments, it makes this blogger very happy.
I subscribe to the comments to see who and what has been added to the conversation.
I am prone to giving the lovely dovey comments. But, I only give them when I mean them. I want bloggers to know that I appreciate their work and what they have to say and if I feel it I will say it.
NJNRR,
"any blogger who will post ass photos is okay in my book and worthy of a look/see!"
LOL, that was some time ago. His ass is skinny. He's a very fit man who does the "vendanges" to help his friends in the farms around where he lives. I don't know him personally via email, but WhyNot does. But I still know him pretty well because he comments every day on PP and has lots to say. Also, sometimes, if a visitor asks, WhyNot will publish an article on their behalf, and Microdot has published several.
"what's his screen name?"
Microdot.
"and he is from the Aquitaine?! we MUST meet!"
Yes, but I don't know where. WhyNot does, they talk on the telephone sometimes, his email address is made public, you can find it in the Authors page, if you want to contact Microdot, ask WhyNot, I'm sure he'll give you Microdot's email address. What part of France are you?
Pauline,
"1 - When the blogger gets their knickers in a twist because someone has dared to disagree with them and even worse been RUDE. Some bloggers take themselves way too seriously me thinks."
LOL, I have seen this often, and even to the point where the blogger puts everything in moderation queue so he lets in only what he likes.
That's one of the things I like with PP, there is no censorship at all, the language is sometimes pretty outrageous, I never speak like that, but it makes me laugh so much reading it that I pee in my panties, LOL. The other funny thing is Microdot and a couple of others are very good with making up drawings and photos with PhotoShop, and anyone can put pictures in comments, so there are lots of very funny satirical pictures.
NJNRR,
"JNRR you're talking crap and so is your momma ..."
It's funny that you say that because WhyNot published an article on behalf of Microdot just 2 days ago, and it's called "Yo Mama All Over The World". He and others are having a competition at being as gross as possible, LOL.
Also, I saw that you wrote an article about your Carte de Séjour. And you ask questions about it and also about the Carte Vitale. I don't know anything about the Carte de Séjour because I've never needed one, LOL, but you might want to ask on PP because WhyNot is married to an American woman and he got her both. Also there are other foreigners who have landed in France, from Russia, Australia, New Zealand, so there is a good chance they can tell you how it all works.
The Dotterel,
"I rarely go back to see if anyone's commented on my comment (how incestuous would that be!)"
Really? I must be really bad because I do that all the time, LOL, like right now, LOL!
"but I always respond to comments on my own blog. It's like a conversation. Some of the best things get said in the 'Comment' box, rather than the blog!"
It's funny because WhyNot hardly ever replies to comments. I guess it would be impossible because most articles have at least 100 comments and often 200 or 300 or more. But it still works like a conversation, just it's not between him and the commenters, it's between the commenters themselves. And I agree with you, the most fun part is the big fights going on in the comments, LOL
Valérie
PS: my word verification word was "golocker". Does it mean I should be locked up?
Lbr- furreal tho! Je suis trés contente! and also surprised. I'm glad to know folks are looking under the hood and not just admiring the shiny paint job! By the way, you do a phenomenal job with your comment management, madame!
Valerie-welcome back! I headed over to PP and checked it out. it is rockin and a'rollin over there! a wild bunch of bloggers and topics ... although I confess I look askance over the authenticiy of ALL of the life situations presented or perhaps there are some authors who are flexing their creative muscles (Like stilletto, the russian hooker ... ?!) in any event, should be an entertaining locale for further browsing and reading.
I did see microdot and backtracked him to his own blog the brain police... I left a comment so we'll see how that ends up!
I confess I am a comment revisiter, I am an attention whore and need to be validated by comment responses! ha! I get mildly irritated when no one acknowledges my comments. They are carefully crafted, you know!
and thanks for the other tips (whynot, CDS stuffs) I will surely check them out.
thanks for coming and I do hope you'll return. for now, Bsr from Brantome!
lol- Of course I look and I love it, but I sort of meant other people's blogs when I said I only go back once or twice.
I tend to ramble somewhat incoherently at times when I comment, a bit like holding a conversation with me in real life I suppose. It's not that I am drunk. Well, not all the time.
This was an interest commentathon to read btw. Maybe I will even come back a fourth time and see who else has had something to say!
Came here from Randal's place. I am an addicted commenter and yes, I read the comments as well as commenting on the original post.
The only time I tend not to comment is when there are hundreds of comments and I figure the writer probably hasn't read down that far; and I don't have time to read all of those comments myself either.
michelle - who's counting! ha!
mauigirl - well thanks to RG and you as well! I know what you mean by the hundreds of comments thing ... the only blog I comment on EVEN with a buttload of comments is
The Bloggess and that is because a) her comments are a blog in themselves and b) how else would Jenny know about my (not so) secret crush on her and her writing?
NJNRR,
"perhaps there are some authors who are flexing their creative muscles (Like stilletto, the russian hooker ... ?!) "
Oh you know, she is not a dream, she is very real, and it is a very sad story. WhyNot knows her well, and has spoken to me on the telephone and in email about her a few times. We have all watched her grow since she came to PP like a frightened kitten. She didn't say much but one day Deviant 1 harrassed her enough that she blew up and everyone fell off their chair with how horrible her life had been. But WhyNot knew all that already, and he had been helping her for a long while without saying anything to us about it.
She is from Tchetchenya, and I still have not understood after all this time exactly where she stands. Sometimes she is so angry against Russia, but other times, she says she doesn't hate Russians at all. There is another Russian girl, a "real" Russian, Kristina, she lives in Moscow all her life. It's strange because Stiletto and Kristina don't commnunicate much between them. I think that maybe Stiletto can't quite cope that her home country is not just a war zone, and if she had gone to mainland in Russia, she would not be an illegal immigrant here now. I'm not sure, I am just guessing.
Anyway, take a look at this old post. This was not very long after Whynot made her a publishing member of PP, and nobody had heard of her, but it's his blog so he can do what he likes. Read not so much the article itself, it's just Deviant 1's holiday in Thailand, but read the first few comments and you'll understand:
http://ppblog.free.fr/index.php/thailand-land-of-smiles
You see, it's like a family and close friends on PP, most people know each others lives well because there is much discussions between them, that's what most of the comments are used for, more than discussing the topic of the article - usually after 10 comments, people forget what the topic was, LOL, and it becomes like a wild party of people discussing anything they feel like. A lot of them know each other in real life too and you can't put an act for long in that kind of environment.
But you know, in the end, the only people who have had very strange lives are Stiletto first of course, and then Microdot and Whynot. Most others have had very normal lives. I have had a very normal and BORING life, LOL!
Valérie.
well then, first I'm sorry I didn't read closely enough to see that she was from Chechnya and not Russia. And since I didn't read the blog thoroughly yet...I thought some parts might be satire. glad you set me straight.
I'll be checking it out more to find out exactly why you think the other people's lives are not normal (I can understand already that aspect about Stiletto).
but then again ... who defines 'normal' and who defines 'boring' ... ? the observers or the participants of life? lol. One person's normal may be another person's outrage ...
Howdy, I certainly do read the comments on my blog and find it amazing to see who does comment!
Sometimes, I write something that gets linked by another blogger and I find my blog counter has jumped by a few hundred hits in a few hours. That is an amazing natural phenomena.
I try no to get obsessed with blogging. I try not to get bogged down with negative comments. When you visited my blog, I was temporarily moderating comments because of few idiots who have been following me from blog to blog.
I see you met Valerie, who I would like to actually meet someday as we have had a friendship for almost 2 years via Pourquoi Pas.
Well, it was very nice to come here and look at your writing. It's a struggle to live here in France and want to be French but knowing in your soul that you could never really be French. I don't know very many Americanss who have successfully made the jump and been able to sink beneath the surface successsfully and learn to breath under water.
My unfalteringly adventurous appetite has been my greatest asset, plus I have no fear of appearing to be an idiot.
I work for a chateau in Lalande Pomerol a few months a year performing all the tasks of viticulture and that is total immersion....
Well, I will be back.
a bientot
Love and hate comments both. I read them (on other blogs) rarely, am not good at replying to comments on my own blog, but LOVE it when a fight breaks out in comments. Hahaha!
sun is shining today. that is all.
Something else I do, is trawl for potentially interesting blogs to read in comments(I've been giving this post far too much thought since my throw away comment). See, I've written other bloggy things in the past and become bored and removed them. That is why this time I decided to have a vaguely 'themed' blog to fit in with my current obsession.
There are a million American/English, and the occasional Aussie living in France blogs. But not so many that I relate to. And frankly, I don't have time or desire to look. o, if people crop and comment in (say) your interesting blog regularly, then there's potential they would interest me too. So I click and follow to see if they have a blog, and if it might interest the new 'themed' me.
Gah. Does that make sense? I really should not comment anywhere, or indeed attempt to function at all without my first fort(e?) cafe noir.
If I read a blog that has lots of posts but zero to few comments, I will make a special effort to comment because if someone has retained the comment function that means they are willing, able, and, no doubt, interested in having comments made to their posts.
I try to put myself in the blogger's shoes and imagine how s/he would feel after having made all the effort to express her/himself and have no feedback.
I also try to keep my comment in alignment with the post itself. If someone is posting about something personal and is eliciting commentary, I will comment if I feel that I might have something useful and sincere to offer. If the post is a hilarious, zany one and comments are just a free-association riff of good humor, I'll play.
Sometimes, it is not clear what the etiquette is supposed to be. If I comment, I do return to see if the author has responded to the comment because it is also a conversation. However, some people do not respond to the comments, as a matter of standard practice.
In the case of wildly popular bloggers, such as The Bloggess, it is obvious that she cannot respond to 200 comments but the commenters themselves have a cool riff going on among themselves.
Contrary to other commenters on this subject, I don't enjoy "comment wars" at all. I find them tedious, especially when I weigh the use of my limited time for writing versus reading some comment spat--no can do!
microdot-welcome! a fellow aquitanian! lol, the french would have my ass for that, I suppose...well i'm not striving to BE french just striving to be here. and here I am. and its only been 3 months so treading water is a feat unto itself. I am an integrater though so there will be some swimming underwater ... as I make my own way.
michelle-you're doing fine! at least I understand you so great! maybe that's why you keep coming back, we're blog-soulmates or somesuch ... at least we relate to each other, eh! shared passion for france and all that....keep reading, keep commenting, and most of all keep blogging!
laf - not a bit of what you've written surprises me about you at all! you are calm, wise, thoughtful, generously giving of your knowledge, and always add a unique and thoughtfully presented perspective.
i think those of us who said we like the comment wars were referring to the amusement factor of what *so called* adults can stoop to ... vs. the likelihood of standing on the perimeter shouting *FIGHT, FIGHT* kind of liking! sometimes the wars make me squirm, they can be so petty and wearing. but sometimes they are a war of eloquently phrased wording that is a sight to behold!
I've always thought that comments illicited comments. I'm not much of a commenter myself (don' know why really) and since I don't comment, I don't get comments on my blog.
Maybe I'm wrong. That seems like the math to me.
I usually only comment if I have something burning my fingertips, begging to come out. So unless the blogger hasn't made a request for conversation, I usually just lurk.
Love the word verification today: froggria. Sounds like a cocktail.
mrs c-froggria! is that a french sangria? lol. yol, commenting is an art and a science at the same time I believe.
I thought all bloggers loved comments. It IS all about us, isn't it?! :P
God I love comments. Is it wrong of me to say so? But I don't get a lot so here I am rationalising.
Har.
What would be in a French sangria? Hmm. Thinking hats on.
Wingobor. Nice word verification. Sounds like a valkerie.
If I ever get a tattoo, it'll be of that. Wanna fight?
mrs c- french sangria ... hmmm ... a nice Sancerre with cointreau and ?
rg- I think I'd prefer let's wrestle! ;P
Hey community - I'd just like to say ...
THIRTY-EIGHT comments (okay a sprinkling are my response, but still...) wow, who'd a thunk a mundane topic such as this would inspire such dialogue?! merci bien!
RG - The polite thing to do with our hostess is to let her wear the brass bra.
'Tis only fitting.
yeah RG, mind your manners! :-)
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