It can be disappointing and disheartening to spend time on posts for your blog, if there is no feedback from commenters. Makes me feel good to know that people are taking time out of their busy lives to type out a few words, and I always read and reply to comments on moviesandsongs365.
But I think I'm slowly but surely becoming increasingly comfortable with just getting on with my life. "The big zero" as I like to call it, is no big deal, so long as you are happy with the effort you have put in to the blog. You can’t force anyone to be interested, right?
There are times when I only visit other blogs, in order for them to leave comments on my site. Pretty selfish I guess.
I began to realize it was probably not me that was at fault, but the system of commenting in the blogosphere has flaws. When you only leave a comment to get something in return, then you are doing it for your own sake. It’s like a girl once said to me, do you only talk to women who you are interested in dating, in other words, have a hidden agenda.
The best friends in life, at least in my opinion, are those who are selfless, who don’t expect anything in return. I don’t know if that is possible in the blogosphere.
Think about a volunteer helping in the 3rd world, you wouldn’t like them, if they told you they were doing it to advance their career and for fame and respect. But if they stated they were doing it because they were sensitive to the suffering and wanted to make a small difference, we would probably applaud them.
I guess that’s my problem with the blogosphere, a lot of comments are selfishly motivated, and not selfless.
Do we write posts so that other people gain something valuable, or do we write for our own sake for comments and popularity? Is there any point posting on a blog if nobody comments, should it then just be an offline journal? Would we put such an effort into the writing if it was offline material? Do we put too much emphasize on comments, and less effort into the posts, if comments begin to wane? Or the opposite, devote more time and energy out of a feeling of insecurity? Do we dumb down posts and make them more mainstream to attract commenters, or does it work the other way, spend hours on a piece because we want to impress and stand-out?
As a blogger, I find this discussion fascinating... I am grateful of self-help how-to-blog articles, but occasionally disagree. For example saying: "people don't bother with a site if they see a blog with no comments". I find this offensive and often feel the opposite way, if I see some obscure lonely blog, I want to leave a friendly comment to keep up their spirits. And sometimes a brief moment of kindness and support can make their day, and be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I also find it a little unsettling and controlling that there is a formula of the right way to be...
I just think you will be a lot happier and less stressed if you stop being scared of the big zero. You can be happy, even with zero comments. All the hours you are chasing comments in a year, could the time be used in a more constructive way? Even if it’s almost impossible given the way the blogging community is put together, a selfless comment is a lot more appreciated on my blog.
At the end of the day, life is mostly too complex to separate selfless and selfish behaviour.
I’m not saying my think piece is right, and everyone else is wrong, that would be arrogant. I’m not asking you to change your ways, only to pause for a few seconds, and give a few thoughts to commenting and what you think about it.
Haha, I just realized this piece sounds like an article Sarah Jessica Parker would type in Sex And The City. Whatever! I love comments (maybe I love them too much). You can become addicted to comments, you can become addicted to anything...
From Chris, moviesandsongs365
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