Tue 5 Aug 2008
I am a lurker. I’m the person that sits in the knitting group and listens rather than talking. I just don’t talk much unless I have something to say (this habit is also the dominant cause of sporadic blog posting). If someone else has said what I was going to say, or if there are already several comments on the post, I don’t tend to add my voice to the chorus. But I am listening. The problem with blogs is that people can’t necessarily tell that you’re paying attention, unless you leave comments. I keep telling myself that I need to be better about this, but old habits die hard. So, if you’re commenting here and I’m not commenting back, I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you know that I am listening.
I’m curious, though…how do you decide where and when to leave a comment?
Excuse me…I need to take a moment and indulge my scientist side and admit out loud that this informal survey is inherently flawed becase it’s asking people to comment about commenting, therefore biasing the results toward those that tend to speak up, and potentially missing the ideas of those that lurk.
There, I think the inner scientist is satisfied now…
Interesting…I find I dontt leave a lot of comments either. The main reason that I might not leave a comment is be because I often feel like I don't have anything meaningful to add. Another reason is when there are already a LOT of comments (like 70, 100 or more) and I get to thinking, "Why even post a comment and be the 211th comment?" I'm hard-pressed to believe that anyone (including the blogger) will read all 210 comments to even get to read 211. Actually I rarely read those high traffic, personal blogs like that anymore because a lot of them are so impersonal IMHO.
I tend to comment on the blogs that I read frequently in a sort of "mmhm, I'm listening" kind of way (what we linguists call "backchannelling"), even if I don't have anything big to say. But that's only on the blogs that a) I really keep track of, and b) where I think that the blogger might actually care that I commented (as opposed to those blogs with hundreds of comments, where I figure they already know that someone is listening).
BTW, thanks for the survey caveat; the social scientist in me appreciated it 🙂
I guess I'm a lot the same. I read a lot of blogs, but only comment on a few. I try to comment on the blogs of people who have commented on mine, and there's one blog where I comment fairly regularly, primarily because I know the blogger in real life. Otherwise, I mostly lurk unless I see something that really strikes me – an absolutely gorgeous bit of lace, a story I can relate to, etc.
I do feel I should make more of an effort – especially on blogs that don't have many comments but which I enjoy reading. If only time would allow…
I agree with a lot of what's said here. I won't comment "what, what a beauty" if I'm the 48th commenter. I like to comment on posts that engage me in a discussion (like this one) where my comment can add something. I really like to comment on blogs of folks who comment on mine or who connect with me via email after I comment. And I often comment on posts that speak to a social issue about which I feel strongly.