A Comment on Commenting

I've enjoyed looking around at some of your blogs, my fellow 23's. Some of you are so good at writing, I feel intimidated. Others are more tentative about blogging - good for you for giving it a go!

I have to admit, I didn't leave comments on every "23 Things" blog I read. Sometimes, I just can't think of something worthwhile to say. I know it feels great to see that someone has commented, and even better to see that several people have commented; especially if they get a meaningful discussion or debate going. It builds a sense of community and connectedness. But I feel there's a bit of a let-down when the comments are of the "Just saying hi!" variety. I know that I hate scrolling past all of the "I love this author! I love this artist!" one line comments on my favorite web-comics. The comments that share other readers' interpretations or predictions are the most valuable to me. Because of this experience, I'm actually pretty hesitant to leave a comment unless I feel pretty strongly about something in the post.

Even when I am going to leave a comment, it takes me a while to write it. I often feel a pressure to make sure it's witty or profound; a pressure I'm pretty sure is self-imposed. Those are the comments I like to read best, so that's what I try to leave. Does anyone else feel like that when writing a comment or a post? That your comment will be valued more if it's clever?

I also struggle with brevity. (She says in paragraph 3.) If I feel strongly about something, it's easy to write a novel on it. (Though it occurs to me that the best idea would be to write a blog post in response, then leave a summary comment that links to it...) I tend toward wordiness in general. I talk a lot, and that translates into my writing. I think my scientific and mathematical training are also to blame - "express your ideas fully and clearly". (I think I missed the day when they taught us to do it concisely!)

Anyway, if I don't leave a comment, it's not because I don't like your blog. It probably means I like it enough not to clog your comments with unnecessary blatherings.

I have a somewhat related question. If I were to create a blog with my students, one where they do most of the writing, how do I get the blogging community to take notice, read and affirm my students' blogs through comments quickly? One thought is to have them leave comments on other blogs, so that readers there can follow the trail back to our blog. Are there other ways? I believe that thoughtful comments affirm that your thoughts and words are worthwhile, and build an interest in continuing to share those thoughts and words. I wouldn't want to wait till the end of a term for that to happen for my students. The blog would become unwanted work with no rewards.

One last quick note: If you want to insert a link in a comment (which doesn't have all of the handy-dandy editing buttons), check out this post by Rosidah Abidin.