I came across this story in my Facebook feed courtesy of BlogHer: The Gift of Comments under the Holiday Gift Guide. The author explained:
The greatest gift you can give a blogger isn't a new computer or a
year-long membership to self-host their site. . . It's the gift of the response: comments. . . What do writers want
most of all? They want eyes on their work and a response to their work.
Bloggers crave traffic because traffic equals human beings all
enjoying the words they've strung together. And they like comments
because no one wants to speak into a vacuum. We want to know that our
words were heard and know how the reader received them.
As with many of the commenters I gave a wholehearted, "Amen!"
I don't post just for comments, but I do think blogging is definitely give and take. Some super successful bloggers like to say they blogged for years without a comment and I totally agree that in blogging it's best to put your nose to the grindstone and focus on the purity of your craft without working too hard to please outsiders or gain traffic. I've found when I'm in my "blogging element" (aka not trying too hard!) opportunities and comments find me. I like that!
The other night Mr. Love Bird thanked me for blogging. I thought it was sweet. He really likes to go back and see how our lives have evolved since we were married and for me it goes back to when I was 7 and first started journaling. Blogging is somewhat of an extension of that, albeit much more public.
I definitely have seen an improvement in comments since installing my new commenting system. I now feel more connected to my readers, and I want to thank you all for coming to check out my corner of Harlem!
P.S. Speaking of thanks, I'll be having an amazing giveaway coming up soon to show my appreciation so if you're not a follower already please click the Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs buttons to the left to make it super easy for you to be entered to win.
