- I am a shameless egotist.
- I love praises.
- I love compliments.
- I love comments.
When I started on blogger, way back in February this year, I did it because of contempt for my corporate blogging censure. I hate it when my posts get rejected for their questionable content, whereas stupid love stories get published because they do not ask straight questions. When three posts got rejected in a row, I knew it was time to bail out. To search for a safer haven, I transferred all my IPs from the corporate blog to blogger and set shop here.
I was new to the blogging world with no readers and more importantly no comments. I was suddenly missing my old place. I had scores of followers and people who appreciated my writing style. I was hungry for appraisal.
It was then when someone suggested me that you need to build up a network for attracting readers. Blogging is a very esoteric community task and you need the secret password to join the club. For a few days I tried hard, commenting on all the stupid blogs out there, adding people on my blogroll and even inviting people to review my blog on Indiblogger. I had installed a counter to see how many people checked in my blogs, and a widget to check where they came from.
In short, I tried all the tricks in the book. But all an exercise in futility. People checked out my comments, thanked me for blogrolling them and then forgot about me. Poor me.
Today I came across an ongoing discussion on Indiblogger and a post by a guy named "Udtahaathi" (what a name!!) about the impact of networking on your readership. This was my reaction to the question put up by him :
"hmmmm... there are bloggers, good bloggers and then there are great taggers. People who tag others and share awards among themselves.
Blogging in our times is distraught with people who have the networking clout of 200 followers and 40 people who comment daily on their posts. Even a post about "Why I sneezed today?" gets a lot of *wink wink*'s and bravo's.
I really envy people with so much of a loyal fan base. Why, I would give one arm and a leg for having 200 followers of my blog. But then, on second thoughts, I may not. Who the hell cares if someone likes my blog or not. Or then is it? I am confused. Udtahaathi, you owe me an apology for bringing me down this extrospection lane."
But the real question is, Do we really need readers' comments to know that we are good in what we do? Or rather, Do I need readership? I like to categorise my blog as "Personal Blog". Wikipedia defines a personal blog as :
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following.
So, a personal blog can have no readers and I can have no comments on my posts. Sad. Not fair. But that's how life is!
13 Comments:
there is a difference between blogging and a social networking website! The responsiblity of safeguarding the sanctity of the content (by means of the posts or the comments) rests on our own shoulders! Let us rather go for some real thoughtful comments!
Dude this is a bug which bites every blogger.... You really don't know what works and what does but I see networking works for blogging like I see people (including me) post an update in social networking site when the blog is updated though it never got me any reader but still I do...
I have seen with time and relentlessly interacting with fellow bloggers on their blogs got me a small group of regular readers which is growing I think and I am fine with it...
It will work for you too... just need to keep networking the blogosphere style.... I comment you follow rule :D (everybody here is looking for new readers so they'll come rushing like me ;) )
@Neeraj
Who will do that? Do you think anyone will go for deleting some crappy "Wow! Thats so wonderful" comment?
@Dhiman
I know bro... but I think people have been very reckless in this aspect of blogging. Everyone considers this to be a popularity sports. I know everyone is hungry for appreciation, so am I. But to have a network of loyal readers who comment on whatever crap you churn out so that they inturn will get appreciated for their crap is bullshit.
I can completely identify with ur attempts at getting a proper readership....
and yes...i completely envy those bloggers who can write gibberish and get two dozen comments....as far as i've read...the best posts are almost always the least commented ones...
I dont know how i missed this post of urs. :(
Actually the same goes with me. I tried to network my blog too and i think a specific kind of posts earn comments and I am not ready to write such posts, even if they mean less readers and less comments. I cannot degrade my blog content because of that.
I once thought of posting something about this but then didnt want to be rude. And then I have my set of readers and I am happy with it. I am done trying to popularize my blog :P
Thanx for the post Paritosh ! :)
but then are good blogs with popularity too... i think its a matter of time and undying spirit, :P
@Mustafa...
Such is life... :(
@Mou..
Hope my spirit doesn't die nor does my blog.
Your post is almost an echo of my thoughts. The same thing has bugged and bogged me for a while. I seriously don't know what works. Who doesn't like comments even if its silly. Unfortunately some use it to promote themselves rather than comment genuinely (it bugs me though at times).
Let not the absence of readers or commenters stop you from blogging. Keep up the blogging spirits. Have patience and keep writing good stuff and am sure it will earn you enough of readers who will be loyal and not just adorn the followers space for namesake. =)
Hi! forgot to tell u. Am following you. Smile! You can bank on my loyalty...lolzz
...And there are some quite followers like me , who loyally sneak peak into quite a few blogs but never leave a comment. Sometimes it was not worth it , sometimes because it was worth so much, that you fear others would get to know that your thoughts resonate so much with that blog.
Keep blogging..comment or no comment, I will be reading it :)
There is a happy medium, I think. If I wrote "only for myself," it would just be easier to keep it all up in my own head, or in a private file on my PC. But I don't write for a clique, either. It means nothing to have a "gang" of loyal followers leave this "wink, wink" type of comment - I know what you mean - but it means everything to connect with readers who have something to say about what you've written, and take the time to share it with you. It's not about "approval," because I love the thoughtful commentators who disagree with me, too. It's about a meeting of the minds - knowing that your words have not only been read, but understood, and that they have provoked a response.
It's quite natural, over time, to develop a small circle of blogging friends, and your post makes clear the importance of reaching outside that small circle to discover new blogs and embrace new friends, lest a "circle of friends" become a "clique" or a "gang." (I've run into and afoul of one or two of those, and it's not pretty. It's the antithesis of what blogging should be about.) It's also worth noting that if you want to persuade someone, you need to reach out to readers who are NOT already in agreement with you. If you want someone to buy your product, you need to reach out to people who are in the market for it - not just hang out with others selling similar products or trying to figure out how they can break into the same business.
@Holly
Quite a valid point you have. I, on my part, also love comments about the quality of my posts and any (counter)view people may have.
But to comment just because I want them to come back to my blog (and put up a silly comment) is a strict no-no.
I wish not concur on it. I assume nice post. Especially the title attracted me to be familiar with the whole story.
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