Nina Simon explains:
Getting a good comment is like getting a million puppies in the mail. I am so so so grateful whenever you write back and share your thoughts with all those faceless people and with me. But I've also learned not to rely on or have an unhealthy relationship with that gratitude. I'm ecstatic when you comment. I'm thrilled when someone links to me. I'm elated by reader numbers. But what keeps me going is an interest in writing, learning, and sharing
Read the whole thing - it is detailed and good.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Eugene Wallingford had a post last week about blogging, and popular misconceptions:
When I first started writing this blog, several colleagues rolled their eyes. Another blog no one will read; another blogger wasting his time.
They probably equated all blogging with the confessional, "what I ate…
Four years and four months ago, almost to the day, I started a humble little blog way over in a tiny corner of the blogosphere. Back in the day, there were few voices of women scientists in the blogosphere, and even fewer of women computer scientists. I had never had much luck keeping any…
A reader of mine posed a series of questions to an earlier blog entry that I unfortunately neglected to respond to at the time. I am researching an article that I am freelance writing for a journal (deadline TODAY, YIKES!!) and ran across her original comment, which I reposted below the fold, and I…
I've decided to sit down and write out a few things I'm thankful for. I'd like to say that this decision is 'in light if the holiday', because it should be, but to be honest, it's not. It's due to reading studies that have found the effects of grattitude extend far beyond previously thought. (see…
Awesome! This will help keep my high school students motivated. So, I left a comment. ;-) Puppies!
I love getting puppies from you, Stacy. They are so cute, house-broken and well-behaved! ;-)
i hope you brought enough puppies for everyone. :|
Yes, look in the backyard: 101 Dalmatians and all the Chihuahuas from Beverly Hills!
Here's a puppy
I seriously doubt anyone would want to get a million puppies, most of which would arrive dead if sent by mail, and the rest of which would trash up your home, eat your shoes, and crap up your floors!
Having said that, Simon does seem to realize that it's the writing, not the comments, which make a blog, and it's also the writing which attracts the comments.
It's not so much a case of "if you write it they will comment", but "If you write it well, make it interesting and bring some novelty and humor with it, they will comment".
I think we're all grateful that you, Coturnix, and the majority of other bloggers on scienceblogs understand that, and understand it well.
Thanks!
Some of the most interesting post and popular posts hardly have comments... they are so well written that it doesn't leave much for anyone else to say. While I love comments, I love teaching more. Every now and again I make someone laugh or say "really?" and it's nice when they tell me. If they didn't, I don't think I would stop.
I guess I should have said, "it's like a million puppies showing up, not pooping, and leaving when you are tired of seeing them..." but that wasn't quite as poetic.
Mimi, I agree that many great posts don't elicit comments. It is kind of strange, however, that blogging is supposed to be this 2.0 participatory medium, and yet the participatory part is the fact that non-credentialed authors (i.e. bloggers) can become respected writers, not that the comments become a big conversation hall. I work with several museums that are always hopeful that a blog will create a community discussion about their content. It very rarely happens that way.