This week’s question on the Book Blogger Hop, courtesy of Coffee Addicted Writer is:
Do you reply to comments on your blog or do you figure folks won’t be stopping back to read your reply so you don’t bother?
As regular readers know, I generally try to respond to comments, even if it’s just to thank people for visiting. I suppose it’s now become a habit with me, after replying was suggested as ‘good practice’ by the A to Z Challenge gurus. Sometimes, of course, you want to have a chat about what someone has just said. Other times I think a reply shows the visitor you did do them the courtesy of noticing they visited!
I don’t think many people ‘stop back’, though. Mostly I suspect they have software that tracks their comments. For WordPress users you get to see comments and replies in a little box at the top of other wordpress sites so you can easily track what’s going on. Sometimes I reply using those boxes and find I’m replying as ‘admin’ rather than as me. That must be confusing to the commenter!
I’ve noticed that Dylan doesn’t reply to comments on George’s Guinea Pig World. I must discuss that with him.
I always try to answer comments even if like you it’s only to say thank you. There are times though when there’s nothing to say so I at least try to like something on their blog and tweet it.
Courtesy costs nothing but can sometimes be appreciated by our visitors.
xxx Huge Hugs Jemima xxx
Thanks David. I always appreciate your comments – and your “likes”!
It is funny. I always try to have Felicia answer – or I answer but it is usually the same two people who respond to comments on the blog – but there are tons of hits.
I recently read that a blog decided to turn off the comments on their blog so they weren’t spending time dealing with the spam and responses – it didn’t hurt them. It has given me something to think about and your post is timely. I would still comment on other people’s posts but maybe turn off our own. Granted, I wouldn’t do anything for a few months but there is something to say bout that, and people wouldn’t have to feel guilty about not leaving a comment.
Here is a thought… what if instead of comments a blog had a blurb at the end of each post that said, “What no Comments?” And explained that rather than take the time to comment, put any comments you may have on your social media channel of choice. That is where the real power lies anyway. oooo…my brain is going.
By the way, I always read responses, if a blog has the checkbox “Notify me of follow-up comments by email.” 🙂 I may not respond but it makes me feel good that the owner of the blog takes the time to respond, after I took the time to comment.
If a blog owner has comments on their site, they really should respond to them.
Well, I’d be disappointed if I couldn’t leave comments any more. I may not always leave them on your blog, but that doesnt mean I didn’t want to. Being able to leave comments does make you feel you are interacting with a person, not just reading a screen. Or it does me, anyway 🙂
BTW What if the social medium of choice is the blog comments?
I do get surprised by people who say they have trouble with spam. Both Blogger and WordPress (Akismet) catch 99.5% of my spam comments (or more), and the ones that get through are held in moderation. I just don’t understand why other people have this problem. Another blog post in the making, perhaps?
All good points. It is fun to think outside of the box, though. 🙂 As for spam – we got more of it when I used the blogger comments (before G+ was integrated). I rarely get them with the commenting system we use now for S&K. 🙂
I always respond to comments. It just seems courteous, and I hope occasionally to enter into a conversation.
As for leaving comments–I try to do so only when I actually have something to say, or at least a “thanks for sharing that, I found it helpful/interesting/irritating beyond all bearing” (okay, I’ve never actually said that last). And when I do comment, I try to remember to check the little box so I know if the person has responded. Most of the time it’s just a token response, but if they do want to enter into a conversation, I want to be there to hold up my end.
OK, so I won’t enter into a conversation on this one 😉