Okay, y’all. This confession has been brewing for a while now.
I am a bad blogger. Because I have a really hard time commenting on all of the awesome blogs I read daily almost daily.
I read them, I do. I’m a super fast reader. Just ask the kid who asked me if I was ever considering being an auctioneer as I read through some directions yesterday. So I totally read them all. That’s the easy part.
But commenting on all these fantastic blogs I read is the hard part.
If I know that someone is on Twitter I will try to say “Hey, enjoyed the post about x, y, or z” like I did with Suzanne from Bebeh Blog yesterday with her post on man poops taking an eternity. But I am really bad at visiting the actual blog and commenting there.
I want to be a good blogger. I want to share the comment love with people. But I do not know how to make this happen in an easy and time-friendly manner.
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If Google can figure out how to take over the e-Universe, how can they not figure out how to make commenting from Reader happen? (Get on that, Google people.)
Furthermore, I want to share the comment love with the people who comment here regularly. And I think I’ve tried to do that. But I know I’ve failed. And some of y’all are probably “That Miranda. She’s such a comment hog!”
I don’t want to be a hog of any kind. Unless it is an International Delight Skinny Caramel Macchiato creamer hog. I will keep that goodness all to myself.
How do you do it? How do you keep up? GIVE ME YOUR TIPS, PLEASE. The word kind. Not the money kind. Though I will almost never turn down money if you want to give me that, too. After all, I love shoes like any red-blooded woman.
Do you think I’m a big fat comment hog? If I’m not reading you and I should be, or if you think I’m not reading you and want to see if I am, tell me, please! I promise this will not hurt my feelings. Just a “Hey…read me you meanie pants!” will do.
Help make me better. Please.
So here is what just happened: I read your post, I thought “oh me too!” and then “I should definitely comment”. But then I remembered I’m on my phone, and commenting from here is a pain in the ass. IRONY: DEFINED.
Like I said, I read a lot from my phone which makes it hard to comment. And about 30% of the time the blog platform won’t even LET me comment. So I make an effort to read from my computer a few times a week so I can comment. Also, instead of the reader for Google I use the “next” button, which takes me to each actual blog where it’s easier to comment (Google next button for a how-to).
But to answer your question, no, you’re not a comment hog. In the scheme of bloggers you’re about average, like me.
I installed the “Next” button, but the thing about that is that it seems bottomless. In the Reader, I can see the number go down! There is a sense of accomplishment! I am climbing Blog Reading Mountain. And the button? I do not see the end. Scary.
Commenting from the phone IS a pain in the ass. A huge one.
And I’m glad I’m not a comment hog.
I’m the same way, Suzanne.I use my iPhone almost exclusively for reading my feeds. Mostly during boring meetings… But, commenting is hell on it. I’ll have to check out the Next button. That may help me out some.
I’ve installed reader on my phone, but I’m still more apt to read on computers because of the lack of meetings in my job.
The Next button is for computers only, I think. If there’s a way to add that to your phone, I don’t know about it. Yet. 🙂
I can’t even remember the last time I read a blog on my computer. And I constantly feel bad about being a terrible commenter. But it’s just so inconvenient to comment from my phone (if for no other reason than the predictor text on my android phone makes me MENTAL). But I really want to make more of an effort, especially on your blog miranda, because there’s so many times when I’m just like, “YES! I am going through the exact same thing and you say it so much better than I could!”. So starting today, you’ve inspired me to be a much more generous blogger.
Just don’t be surprised when all the comments are from 11:00 at night and there’s a few bizarre words that have nothing to do with what I’m trying to say. I can’t be held responsible for lazy proofing from a phone with terrible predictor text.
LOL! I won’t be surprised! And I see your updates on Tumblr, which is, oddly enough, the one blog I DO read mainly on my phone. Commenting on that is only made difficult because of that stinkin’ Autocorrect!
I just open up (out of my Reader) the blogs that I want to comment on. I try to do several a day, just to prove to the blogging universe that I’m out here reading. Perhaps you could make a daily goal/habit?
I really do need to just set myself a goal each day and tell myself that each day I’ll comment on X blogs. That’d probably alleviate some of my comment guilt.
First of all, I’m with Suzanne, I use the next button. (actually I think I heard about it from her). It does help me to comment. But it’s also endless, so it sort of forces me to “mark all as read” sometimes. When I start seeing posts that are a week old, I stop.
I try to comment when I have something to say. I hate the “hey, I’m here” type of comments. And I equally dislike when people comment on my blog JUST because I commented on theirs. It makes me feel sort of bad like they see my comment and think, “oh, shit now I have to go say something on hers”.
All that being said, I think blogging and twitter and facebook and all of it is about engaging. And I don’t think you have to choose one vehicle to do it. I enjoy this (all of it) because I’ve created relationships from it. (as a side note, I do hate it when I feel like someone’s groupie – when they never reply to anything. I mean my God, how hard is it to reply on Twitter?… then I quit trying with that person.)
So, to answer your question, no. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong because I don’t think it’s all about the comments. I think it’s about the person and the interaction.
Does that make any sense? Or have I taken up a huge amount of space in your comments section to leave you scratching your head, going W. T. F?
Bahaha, “someone’s groupie”. Totally. I agree the it’s more about just engaging with blog friends/readers and less about where you do it. But it is so obnoxious (and embarrassing) when people don’t respond to you on twitter. I mean, it’s one thing if you don’t have time to respond to all the comments in your blog, but to not respond [consistently] when I’m reaching out to you on twitter is sort of obnoxious. Especially when the person is readily available to others on twitter. Are you a celebrity? Do you have dozens of people CONSTANTLY @’ing you? No. So you can respond.
In case you can’t tell…I’ve unfollowed several blogging tweeps for being this way…
Completely and totally obnoxious for people to not reply when @ed. Completely.
I totally agree that blogging and Twitter and Facebook and all of those things are all about engaging with other people, so that’s why I don’t feel bad if I go “Hey you–great post about blahblah” on Twitter. I’m at least acknowledging that I read it and enjoyed it, you know?
I also hate people who don’t reply back on Twitter. It’s just not that hard to do. At all.
I also don’t mean to imply that I’d comment back on every blog belonging to someone who comments here, but some people comment here a lot and I feel like I’m awful because I almost never make it back to their blog to comment. But I read it. I so do.
First, thank you for getting rid of Disqus. A huge reason I dont comment on blogs is because the “other” comment systems kinda suck.
Second, the easiest way for me to comment on blogs I read is subscribing to them via email. I get their posts in my inbox, read, and I’m already on their site so I can easily leave a comment. I do 95% of my internet surfing, blog reading and other social media addictions from my phone and that is the easiest way I’ve found to engage myself on blogs I love.
Third, blogs with partial feeds in my reader will not get comments, partially (pun intended) out of principal and because it’s a major time suck and pain in the ass. Neither of which I care for (timesucks and pain).
So that’s my advice. Email subscriptions.
Since WP has threaded comments, there was no reason for me to have Disqus anymore. Blogger blogs? I understand why they have the third party clients installed. STEP IT UP, BLOGGER.
I don’t know what you mean about this email thing. I have email subscriptions for my blog and people can sign up for that. Or do you mean aggregating the RSS feeds in your email somehow?
Oh, and partial feeds in my reader? Get skipped. Except for Pretty All True.
I am not getting your replies via email :-(.
If you want to become a better commentor on sites, subscribe to their blogs via email. I rarely use a reader now.
Is this thing on???
GRR, still not working. and now my site isn’t either….hmmmm
Hellooooo, is it me you’re looking for?
I’m totally with LCW on this one. I have email subscriptions to most of the blogs that I love to read so I can get them on my blackberry… but I’m still a bad one for not commenting. I have good intentions that I will do so when I get home, but life seems to get in the way. Not good when I’m just starting to blog and love love LOVE when people leave ME comments 🙂
I’m trying to get better at it.
Good luck!!!
See, and that’s where I’m coming from. Comments are like crack for me. So I want to give other people crack, too! Who doesn’t love a good comment buzz every now and again?
I hear ya! I struggle with commenting on the blogs I read regularly, too. Come check out my blog sometime, http://www.doylesdays.blogspot.com
Miranda, I share the same challenge as you. I read blogs from my feeder and comment here or there but gosh, I sure as heck can’t get to all of them. I wish I could! Working part-time and taking care of 3 kids the other part of the time only allows me to do so much without speading myself thin. I try to always re-visit those peeps who leave me comment love for sure. Otherwise, it’s hard.
Do your best. I think people will still love you regardless:) ♥
I hope people still love my brand of crazy!
And I wish I had a million extra hours in my week just to read and comment on blogs I love. That’d be awesome.
I think we all suffer from this. I’ve been a bad reader and commenter over the last couple of weeks. It’s stressing me out. My strategy is to pick a blog from my reader and catch up – I read them all and comment on the posts where I actually have something to say. So sometimes people get, like, 6 comments from me all at once. Oops.
I also try to support the bloggers who support me most – though I don’t quite manage that perfectly. If someone comments a lot, I will make an effort to read and comment on theirs.
Other than that, I just read the blogs that I like and that help me and that I want to keep up with. Which is why I read yours. And I don’t care whether you comment on mine or not – although you’re pretty good xo
But yes on the reader thing- I don’t use Google reader, just RSS feed through my mail client. If I could comment from there, bam! So much easier.
See, and you? You support me and I don’t get over to your blog to leave comments as often as I should. Which makes me feel like poop.
And I do that, too, where people will get a million comments from me in one morning or afternoon. I blow up their inboxes with notifications, I’m sure.
I am a comment suck pile.
I have certain blogs I ALWAYS read. Sometimes I comment, sometimes I don’t.
I am exactly like Krista in that I don’t like to feel like someone’s groupie…but I also don’t want comments just because I commented on them.
I actually don’t like the idea of “you comment on my blog, I’ll comment on yours.” It feels forced. We should all read and comment where we want to.
So no. You are not a comment hog or a bad blogger.
I guess I didn’t mean “You comment here, I’ll comment there.” But there are some people who comment on almost every post I write, so I feel bad that I don’t get back to those people more regularly to comment there.
It’s one thing if someone is a drive-by commenter. But someone who’s here a lot? Deserves more of my attention.
I rarely comment (except on your blog. hmm.) because I don’t have the time/energy/words. But I’m guessing karma knows this, as I rarely, RARELY get comments on my blog, good or bad. I’d be upset about that, but I do realize that I do little to no marketing for my posts, I shy away from social media, I don’t write very often, and I have no direction or theme in my posts. Basically, I’M the bad blogger, the worst kind of blogger. I’m the one that writes and hardly anyone reads it because I don’t have the follow-through to let them know they should. And maybe they shouldn’t. YOU? Are a pretty kick-ass blogger. And I don’t want to hear otherwise ;).
PSHA. Your posts are always awesome. And people should read it for that fact alone.
And thanks, friend.
Like most of the previous commenters, I read 95% of the time on my phone – which makes commenting a PITA. Either I take the time and comment, or I leave the post “as new” so I can get back to it once I’m on my computer – except that means my reader is *always* clogged!
I don’t “comment for a comment,” because I think that’s lame, but if someone gives me a genuine comment (as opposed to “Hi! Cute Blog! Follow Me!” ugh), I add their blog to my reader and then my comments there are more organic… I read a TON of blogs, and I don’t comment on everything, but I do make more of an effort when someone consistently comments on mine; it’s just nice, you know? I’m also less likely to comment if the post already has like 5,768 comments because, really, what can I add?
I have tried this “keep unread” thing and it never works for me. Ever. Somehow, some way, the things always get marked as read and then I can’t find them.
I’m also less likely to post if there are a ton of comments. What are the chances mine will be read/acknowledged as more than just a number, you know? Also, I don’t want to just vom up what everyone else has already said.
You’re one step up on me… half the time I get so overwhelmed in my day to day that a) I post nothing for days, sometimes weeks, on end or b) I don’t get to even READ all the blogs I subscribe to, no matter how good my intentions are.
BUT, I stay subscribed because when I DO have the time to sit and read, I don’t want to forget which people I want to read. I’m so horrible. =/
I know that if I want to hang on to the following I’ve got, I’ve got to write something. And if I’m not going to be able to write, I’ve got to say “Y’all, hang with me. I’ll be back.” And so far? They have.
I organized the blogs I read into folders in Google Reader and that helped tremendously in terms of helping me read the blogs I am subscribed to. And I stay subscribed to blogs I don’t necessarily want to read anymore because I know how much it sucks when I see my Google Friend Connect number drop. So I don’t want to be that person for someone else.
I think comment if you want, don’t if you don’t want. I am very random with where I land on any given week with blogs. Sometimes I”ll go through a comment frenzy, other times, not at all. I also don’t mind if people shoot me a tweet about a post. Sometimes that’s just easier.
Shooting a tweet IS easier for many people, but I wonder if that’s the same kind of acknowledgement to the other person. Perhaps I should just not care so much. That’s probably best.
Your post? Was exactly what’s been going through my head. I’ve been struggling for what seems like forever to be able to get to all of the blogs I read and be able to comment on them. But in reality? I kinda suck at time management. I also read from my phone a lot so I find myself sending out a tweet to acknowledge it is easier than actually commenting from my phone. Maybe that can help?
But anyway, I don’t think you’re a bad blogger at all! I mean, I keep coming back, right? 😉
You do keep coming back 🙂
Thanks for that!
Time management? I also suck at that. A lot.
Commenting is hard–time makes it tough! But I’m like you, I feel like commenting is something I always need to be better about.
IF you use Firefox or Google Chrome, I might have a trick for you. There’s a plugin called Greasemonkey that you can add to Firefox that (among other things) lets you open a blog/website right in your Google Reader. Boom, commenting right from Reader. (yes, you have to let it load, but you don’t have to leave Reader. Works awesome). It’s also a great way around partial feeds. (here’s a link to the tutorial I used). http://www.guidingtech.com/2839/how-to-convert-partial-feeds-into-full-text-articles-in-google-reader/
Ooooh, I did not know that Firefox had plug-ins! I will check this out since that’s the browser I use!
i say “eh.” we do what we can! comment when you can! anyone who thinks you’re a meanie pants IS a meanie pants. Amen.
Amen.
When I am drowning, I hit up my favs most definitely. Then the rest I can skim through. But I definitely hithe people who have been super supportive of my blog. AlwaysThey get my attention first. And yes I do sometimes turn my shoulder on bloggers who never return the comment love. It’s only fair right?
This is pretty much my sentiment, too. When bloggers do not visit or comment back, ever, I stop trying. But I always read those who are my favs.
First, you’re not a comment hog.
I’ve been trying to figure out this “good blogger” thing for awhile. I know that about 1 in 10 of the visitors to my blog leave comments – it feels great to get comments (which is why I try to leave comments on any blog post I read), and I really try to be good about it.
Part of what allows me to do what I do is because I sit at a desk, often on teleconferences that I only need to be present for 1/4 of. That’s great “read blogs & comment” time. The problem is that certain writers make me think (I have absolutely no idea who I’m talking about here, no idea what-so-ever). A blog post will come out & I know, in order to properly comment, I need to sit back and formulate the right comment, actually taking the time to edit what I’m thinking. Because delivering the gift of thought to your readers is among the best gifts you can give (I maintain that an erotic fiction writer delivering the gift of masturbation is a better gift). Of course, when that happens, I’ll think through the comment, and then
Ooh, shiny.
So, I feel like a putz.
Chime in every now & then on blogs you frequent, just remind the author that you’re there (seriously, think about how good it feels to get a good comment, and realize that you’re delivering). And if Google Reader could allow them? That would make things even better.
I am also easily distracted by shiny things on the internet. It’s pretty awful, actually.
It’s way easier for me to comment on the weekends and during breaks. During the work day there is so much stuff that must be done!
YES. THAT. If Google could make commenting from Reader better? That’d be so awesome. I’d love it. I love reading but feel guilty if I don’t comment and just read. I promise I’m reading you friends!!!
No tips. Other than it’s nice to have free time during the day sometimes…that helps.
I asked someone once how they get so many GD comments all the time. Their answer? They spend hours commenting on other blogs. Well, I’m SOL then. Because I don’t (and will never) have hours to comment.
I don’t have a huge following on my blog. But I do have what I consider to be very loyal readers. I love them! But I work and I can’t always spend time commenting. I read a TON of blogs. My reader is crazy. I’m like a blog hoarder. Is there a reality show for that? If I commented on all of them I would never have time to shower or spend time with my kids.
I also read blogs from my phone and like everyone has said above there is no easy way to do that. I try to remember to go back and comment but life gets going and before I know it they’ve written another 5 posts.
I wish every blogger I loved would comment on my blog. There are some that I comment on every single one of their posts and they have never commented on mine. I guess I just don’t do it for them? Or maybe, they are just too busy to comment? I’m not sure.