tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post4298054736891858531..comments2023-10-18T08:34:32.335-07:00Comments on Banana Pepper Martinis: How To Generate Comments On Your BlogKirk Battlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16612840105075834275noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-46775868092658800832009-09-17T05:44:28.990-07:002009-09-17T05:44:28.990-07:00I think it's important to say that the value o...I think it's important to say that the value of a blog post isn't equal to the number of replies it receives, and even though comments were a big part of what made writing Noble Carrots an enjoyable experience for me, I think that just talking critically about art into a vacuum has its own merit.<br /><br />It's nice to spread a message, and it's nice to engage in conversations, but I have no beef with those bloggers who close comments on their entries. I barely ever read them anyway.Spencer Greenwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13301448668194775788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-65093068285208664482009-09-14T09:25:54.186-07:002009-09-14T09:25:54.186-07:00I don't exactly dislike a blog that is more in...I don't exactly dislike a blog that is more interested in blurring itself with traditional forum styles of writing, but like a forum post their longterm value seems negligible. I'm approaching this from the fact that most of my writing can be categorized as a sort of stylized aggregate mixed with my own thoughts. The posts I select are culled from Googling and looking for something relevant to my own ideas. I usually dig through dozens of posts before I find a diamond in the sand.<br /><br />I'm not sure I can totally explain how I spot when someone has made a really good point or articulated a concept. Often I will see the same idea repeated by multiple people but select one because the phrasing is the best of the bunch. I suppose that's the sixth sense aspect of writing, the part I can't put into words. <br /><br />Question posts are a weird kind of inverse to that. They aren't answers, they launch topics. I've written a fair number of posts in response to Brainy Gamer ones, so I won't deny the usefulness for this. But I invest in this particular method of writing because I think that it is what the internet will look like in a few years. It's not what you're writing about, it's the context, the who, the what, and the why. <br /><br />Question posts, by themselves, fall into this context but it is the responses to them that people actually read. At least that's my approach.Kirk Battlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16612840105075834275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-88474993075361918632009-09-14T07:08:31.376-07:002009-09-14T07:08:31.376-07:00Oh, and tell your ex-law-school-turned-lit-student...Oh, and tell your ex-law-school-turned-lit-student that he should consider himself lucky. I've been in plenty of graduate literature seminars that were more contentious than AM radio. Having no "right answer" doesn't prevent people from taking sides.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15013986530878337869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-32365414513630885562009-09-14T07:05:32.322-07:002009-09-14T07:05:32.322-07:00I've got to admit that those "ask a quest...I've got to admit that those "ask a question" posts usually strike me as far too intentionally traffic-generating. Or, worse, lazy. I always get the idea that the writer threw that up there and is sitting back to watch how popular they are.<br /><br />It can be done differently, though. Even when he ends with a question, Abbott has usually written a post that is essentially his own answer to the question. That's fair, because at least then there's something to read.<br /><br />But then I think sometimes that I'm too "old school" by turning to blogs for someone else's perspective. I think the majority see blogs as conversational and dialogue-based from the beginning, with increasingly little difference between the blog itself and the comments. After all, how many blog comments already say, "your post made me post on my own blog about this topic"? The distinction starts to blur...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15013986530878337869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-29016290104933476702009-09-13T18:30:18.856-07:002009-09-13T18:30:18.856-07:00Heh, I guess another method would be to shamelessl...Heh, I guess another method would be to shamelessly create a title that will throw Google's Search system for a loop. Thank you very much for the comments, the impulse to write this piece just sorta came over me and I'm glad people are enjoying it.Kirk Battlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16612840105075834275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-51068344165884440072009-09-13T18:17:22.606-07:002009-09-13T18:17:22.606-07:00You could always try a top 10 list. I hear blogger...You could always try a top 10 list. I hear bloggers like them.<br /><br />Oh, also, you could try and categorise every blog within a particular slice of the blogosphere by linking out to them in a single post. Yeah, that's a good idea for cheap hits. Can't think of anyone who's done that kind of awesome post.*<br /><br />On a more serious note, I think you're fairly correct that bloggers have several archetypes for generating more discussion. Hell, there are blogs set up to help people bring in more hits and discussion, and asking a question is always, always up there. But it doesn't necessarily make for a good blog. If it's discussion I want, I can go to a message board; good blogging requires more than good topic-setting.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*For the record, I hate, hate, hate that post of Subject Navigator. Hate.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Hate.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09948773410766320849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-18521712191132740422009-09-13T17:30:37.294-07:002009-09-13T17:30:37.294-07:00FIRST PO... oh, that's not how this works is i...FIRST PO... oh, that's not how this works is it?<br /><br />I'll echo what's said above and say very interesting post and it's quite an interesting topic. I've been thinking about how useful comments are and what they provide a blog with for a while now, and I've toyed with turning the comments off on my blog and committing to just knowing (and making sure of!) the strength of the stuff I write myself.<br /><br />We actually turned comments off on the Crit-Dist link-out posts for a not-too-dissimilar reason. CD was supposed to be about encouraging the blogosphere, not about a new place to comment on it, and they just weren't generating comments very much anyway. It also means we don't have to worry about trolling in the comments so that was also a plus.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for this LB.Ben Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146790136740709664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-7748688746234014292009-09-13T17:22:02.867-07:002009-09-13T17:22:02.867-07:00I completely agree with the sentiments Josh echoed...I completely agree with the sentiments Josh echoed.<br /><br />Sometimes I'll strike a hit comment-wise, but most of the time it's hard to garner interest. <br /><br />I bookmarked this piece, and I'll be sure to let it marinate for months to come as my editing career progresses.Chris Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15454108232130372755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-56703876131377331912009-09-13T15:57:03.992-07:002009-09-13T15:57:03.992-07:00Nice topic. So relatable! :)
I have the same pro...Nice topic. So relatable! :)<br /><br />I have the same problem as you - I write like a newspaper columnist, and my stuff always ties everything up at the end and almost never ends with a question. Also I'm shy, so most of my pieces toss out an idea and then I hide around the corner before anyone can come and talk to me about it.<br /><br />But I'm trying to fix that, and the "ask a question" thing and the "talk about broad concepts" thing are both great tips. Of course, the downside is that a lot of the comments read as if they barely even skimmed the original post. In Chuck Klostermann's recent piece for the AV Club about the Beatles reissues, most people seemed to jump down to the comments thread so they could talk about the Beatles reissues. Not many of them read, let alone got the joke behind Klostermann's piece. <br /><br />I guess the real winner would be to ask a question and also write about something controversial, so that you also get the haters. Like: "I think we need more graphic rape in games. What do you think?"Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05888342907848302579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826783898962653229.post-46276993166860272902009-09-13T15:50:10.192-07:002009-09-13T15:50:10.192-07:00Excellent post! As a writer myself I have to keep ...Excellent post! As a writer myself I have to keep reminding myself not to use my comment count as a value judgment for my writing. If I did, I'd be no better than forum users that judge the validity of someone's statement based on the person's profile.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01370308939494373748noreply@blogger.com