Wednesday 30 November 2011

Do bloggers have a responsibility to respond to comments?

This is an interesting topic that I have been struggling to get my head around properly lately.  As somebody who is on a blogging crusade, I love it when people comment on my blogs but I rarely write anything in reply back to them.  My thoughts are that this is a very inequitable system.  A reader has taken the time to leave a comment and I feel that if I don't give them the time to respond to their comment, I am actually undervaluing there contribution to my learning.  I have blogged about this before but still I continue to struggle with it.  The more I think about it, the angrier I get with myself.  It is actually very disrespectful to not even take the time to thank a person who has left a comment with an acknowledgement of thanks or a response.  By responding to a comment, we can continue to add value to the post and a possibility of discussion could continue on and thoughts / ideas could be fostered.

Am I totally off base with this?  Would love to hear your thoughts and I promise to respond!

5 comments:

  1. Hi Ashley
    I think it is important to continue the conversation after someone has left a comment. Having said that I totally get sometimes we are time poor and it just doesn't happen. I try to respond to all comments left on my blog even if it is just a simple thanks. As someone who comments on your blogs, I'm not stressed either way if you reply to my comments as we talk frequently on other online spaces. Maybe that's the point. The continued conversation doesn't always have to happen on your blog. Something to think about for sure!
    Cheers Jodie

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  2. Hi Jodie

    I guess that the time poor issue is something that is the biggest one (and the one that I use) but I think that if conversation can be added and valued, it will continue on and grow and prosper.

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  3. Hi Ashley

    If the blog itself prompts me to reply then there is acknowledgement of value implied (as my lawyer friends would say). Guess we don't have an established etiquette built around blogging so we have to wait for it to appear. I don't currently blog but do get that boost of intellectual energy when responding. Seems a fair trade-off to me to have the advantage of access to interesting people for the small "price" of a response.

    "Conversations" on the net are odd things. They start and stop in irregular patterns that would never "pass" in polite company. Could it be that we are witnessing the birth of the era of the unfinished thought? That blogs and replies are snippets of giant and continuing dialog that's too big to see and too compelling to resist?

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  4. Scott

    They are odd things aren't they. We sort of dip in and dip out of them and it is not considered overly rude if we just stop all of a sudden

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  5. Ashley- I have been chewing on this question for a couple of days, So great question... and yes, 'a real boost of intellectual energy!' as resulted from me puzzling over this discussion....

    I keep getting drawn back to Nancy Whites idea of social artistry and how we need people to encourage others to comment,acknowledge their presence and build a context for further dialogue.

    When people write a blog and someone comments I think unless there is a further acknowledgment , even a thanks this form of communication isn't really a conversation or dialogue. Conversations are a two way process.... I don't really know what to call it...

    I love to engage with blogs with heaps of comments as I like to hear many different voices, ideas and thoughts. The one shared feature of such blogs is that the original blogger has taken the time to feedback, comment, acknowledge and value all posts..They have provided a linking magic thread and has kept the conversation moving... This is social artistry....

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