Blog Comments: Frustrating or Fun?

Everyone proclaims that one of the big advantages of blogs over website is their interactivity: readers can leave a comment and you can engage in a conversation. For business blogs, this is a great feature.

So I am amazed at some of the blogging software that makes the process of leaving a comment difficult and frustrating. Why put barriers in the way of the conversation? I understand the necessity to keep out the spammers, by including codes that you have to type in to verify you are a human and not a robot.

But some require that you create a username and password, and then you forget what they are...

I'm not the only one... Dr. Ellen Weber, over on her Brain-Based Business blog writes about her frustrations and what you must prepare for when you go out to the blogosphere to leave comments.

Here's how to prepare yourself for commenting:

-- Look to see if the blog allows comments before you waste effort reading to formulate a thoughtful dialogue…. You’ll save time….

-- Be prepared to rewrite ...several times ...that little code that tries to separate humans and makes it impossible to detect some numbers and letters.

-- Don’t waste too much time looking for posts to add a comment… or fighting the systems that enable your two-bits to appear. It’ll only make you angry... so that while you started out with cheerful responses … by the time you fight your way through systems ... shut out comment sections and codes to copy... you end up starting a flame war in return…

-- Track the permalink to your comment page .. so you can retrace the comment to check for any responses.

-- Ignore any comments made in poor tone… and use an Online tone that shows you respect others … while at the same time articulating different views with supports to add edge….

Good points, Ellen. And I agree, commenting shouldn't be that difficult. I like the Typepad blogging features for their ease of use, but others software can be baffling.

Technorati Tags: TypePad, Blogger, comments

Comments

[Denise aka The Blog Squad]

I'm especially frustrated by Blogger where you have to have an account just to comment. What a pain. Makes me not want to participate. I also am annoyed by those that require login to be part of the conversation. My advice is to make it EASY for your readers to have a conversation, not difficult. Thanks for posting this.

[Paula Gregorowicz]

I agree wholeheartedly. Nothing frustrates me more than going to a blog (that proclaims to help you with marketing & espouses commenting on blogs as a marketing strategy) -- yet they have their own comments turned off! Many others moderate their comments, which is ok, I guess, but I find it frustrating wondering if my on-topic comments and trackbacks get lost in a vast wasteland or not.

To me it just makes the value - the conversation - more difficult to exist.

[Monica Ricci]

Oh Amen to all of you! It's so frustrating to get all excited about leaving a comment and then discovering you have to become a MEMBER before you can post?? Uhhh thanks anyway. I'll pass. I always wonder if those bloggers are stumped as to why they don't have many comments and interactions. Not too tough to figure out when you make your readers jump through hoops just to have a conversation. ~Monica

[Mitch]

I'll join the chorus. I'm not subscribing to all these services just so I can leave messages, so I tend to not go back to reading those blogs. I know some big time bloggers who have determined that they don't have the time to respond to comments, so why have them, and though I understand that argument, I don't much like it. But I did have to add something to get rid of all the spam; that was irritating.

[Tammy Ames]

I'll join it to say ~ I walk away from what might be a great blog to get involved with because they make it so hard to post a comment. The thing with blogger is that I don't want to post using my blogger profile or blogger account - so only post on blogs there that let me sign in as "other."

I know it takes alot of nerve to post a comment if you are new to it so it's best to make it as easy as possible! Like you did ~
Tammy

[gobala Krishnan]

Hi Dr Patsi,

What do you mean by "Online Tone?"

Is it some general statement or response you give to negative responses..?

[Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D.]

In response to Gobala Krishnan's question about 'online tone,' that was used by Dr. Ellen Weber in her post. I can't respond for her. I do know that you must be cautious in interpreting 'tone' because email and blog postings are subject to the interpretation and perspective of the reader. I know myself, I re-read most of my messages, for the possibility of being misinterpreted. It can be easy to read negativity into something that is not intended to be.