To Comment or Not To Comment

October 2nd, 2009 → by Erica Johansson

On my mind lately: when I neglect commenting on other travel blogs, I see a decrease in comments here on Travel Blissful. When I comment regularly on other bloggers’ content, my own blog posts receive considerably more responses.

Would I recommend commenting on other blogs as much as possible? Of course. The blogging world is much about participating and adding value to discussions through comments. If you prefer to only listen, no problem. But when you share your thoughts and bring something valuable, encouraging, or thought provoking to a conversation, all the better.

Sometimes, when my mind goes completely blank, or I don’t feel I have anything to add, I stay quiet. Other times, I write a sentence or two — or several paraghraphs. The same goes for answering comments on this blog.

I am curious, how often do you comment on other blogs? Every day? A couple of times a week? Or randomly whenever a link on Twitter or Facebook catches your attention?

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22 Comments → “To Comment or Not To Comment”

Final_Transit

5 months ago

Hi Erica,

Usually it’s better to not receive any comments than getting the generic “Nice post!” comment or a variation thereof. I regularly comment on other blogs (including yours), without any expected reciprocity because I genuinely like it.

There was a time I used to visit blogs and comment just because I expected them to scratch my back when I scratched theirs, but soon I discovered that this practise is not sustainable at all. Out of genuine interest, if someone likes something I write or has anything to add, guess they will. If they don’t, that’s fine too.

But probably the most annoying moment is when someone visits your blog after ages, writes a “nice story, nice pictures” (i.e. phony) comment on the latest post and goes away.

Priyank
Final_Transit´s last blog ..Blue domes of Bogolyubovo convent

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  Priyank, That’s a good point. Those generic comments like “great post” or “nice pictures” (which I can admit having used much in the past) don’t exactly add anything new.
  
  Sometimes I get so lost in reading blog posts and other comments that I entirely forget to comment myself. But my intention is to comment on other blogs regularly, not just once in a while. And, like you, I comment because I really liked the post without expecting anything in return.
  
  Reply
Anil

5 months ago

I read way many more posts than I comment and tend to reply to things I have a personal take or say on. Commenting is a great way to not only build relationships but I think also helps the writer in terms of feedback.

I do randomly comment on links I find and like from Twitter, but usually it’s a process of going through my RSS reader on a regular basis.

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  Same here. Of all the posts I read I probably only comment on about a third of them. And yes, comments do help the writer. At least they do more good than harm. Even if someone didn’t like my post, I rather them say it (and why) as opposed to not commenting at all.
  
  Reply
ian in hamburg

5 months ago

I won’t comment unless what I have to say either adds to the post, reacts to another comment or expresses my opinion – either positive or negative. Even spam filters weed out comments that just say, Hi, nice post!
ian in hamburg´s last blog ..Send Roman Polanski to jail

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  That makes completely sense. And I understand that readers don’t always want to comment on blog posts. The majority of readers actually don’t comment at all – and that’s no problem.
  
  Reply
Jorrit Jorritsma

5 months ago

Isn’t it like chatting at a party? One day you might welcome the cut and thrust of different opinions. Another, you’re in the mood for a quieter, gentler exchange. But you gradually find the throng of people you enjoy hanging out with, blog-wise. And at least you don’t end up squashed against the fridge while a gatecrasher tries to prise it open to raid the beers.
Jorrit Jorritsma´s last blog ..Sustainability…child’s play

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  Yeah, it totally is. Good comparison!
  
  Reply
Cate

5 months ago

I comment when I can get the time in. Sometimes I feel bad not commenting on my fav blogs because the writing is good, the topic is good and I want to participate. As for my blog – I would rather have a no comment than a generic “nice picture” or “nice post” comment. Like Priyank said – it’s phoney.

I guess it depends how much time you want to spend on blogs and how much time you want to spend doing other things like travel.
Cate´s last blog ..Photo Friday – Colour and then some

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  I feel the same way at times. There are so many good travel blogs out there (including yours) and I haven’t always had time (or taken the time) to comment as much as I’d like to do.
  
  The challenge is to find a balance between writing blog posts, commenting on other blogs and travel.
  
  Reply
Rory Jackson

5 months ago

Nice post

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  Reply
Monica

5 months ago

Hmm…that’s a question I always ask. In the beginning I use to rack my brain trying to figure out what to write as a comment to a really good post. But when I can’t come up with someone interesting to say, I tweet on Twitter.

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  5 months ago
  
  Spreading the word about a great post on Twitter is always good.
  
  Reply
Nisha

4 months ago

Hi Erica,

I very much agree with you on commenting and traffic it generates afterwards. But like Anil said, I read too many blogs to comment on all on my limited time allotted for blogging.
I reserve this time for deserving posts like this one.

And yeah, I believe it’s better not to get any comments than a ‘nice pic’ or a ‘great post’.

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  4 months ago
  
  Hi Nisha, Thanks for commenting on this post True, you can’t comment on them all when you’ve got limited time!
  
  Reply
Nisha

4 months ago

BTW, nice post ! *wink*

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  4 months ago
  
  Reply
waitinginthedark

4 months ago

Interesting question, and interesting answers so far. I would say I share the majority’s approach. I started feeling a little disappointed by feed-back like “nice post” or “I agree”. True that commenting is a way to increase traffic, but I strongly believe in comments that really embed some value added. That’s why I decided to follow three criterias:
1) I find a post interesting (that’s clearly a very subjective criteria…)
2) I believe I can add something of interest (no matter commenting if there’s no value added)
3) time

I know that there are far more blogs and posts worth to be commented than what I actually do. But available time is limited and one is obliged to prioritize.
waitinginthedark´s last blog ..Goby, a new search engine helping to plan free time activities

Reply
- Erica Johansson
  
  4 months ago
  
  Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Yes, whether a post is interesting or not obviously varies a lot from person to person. And adding something of value to a post is to prefer, although I don’t mind if readers just say a word or two (that’s value too) – as long as it’s not “nice post” As for time, I believe most bloggers recognize themselves in the need to prioritize when it comes to commenting.
  
  Reply
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