After reading "How to Comment like a King (or Queen)" I was a much more enlightened blogger. I especially liked tip #7: Remember the Power of Words: Beware of Darth Commenter. Basically this pointed out that there are people out there who will use derisive comments to wreak havoc on a bloggers psyche "like Darth Vader with a light saber" Newbies Beware!! I thought this was important to remember when a new blogger, you may not realize it but these types of comments can act as subtle detractors from the whole blogging experience-leaving one to lose confidence and momentum and possibly stopping a blogging career in its tracks. For the whole story go to:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-comment-like-king-or-queen.html
Another blog which discussed the commenting aspect of blogging was "(Drape's) Takes to Edublogger Etiquette". There is a great discussion here (full of reader comments!) about responding to comments on one's own blog. Should a blogger respond to all comments or just the more meaningful ones? Is it okay to respond to some or most comments by private email or is responding publicly better? What about never responding to comments? These were several questions which were discussed by readers, here is the link if you wish to read more...
http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/2008/05/edublogger-etiquette-responding-to.html
As far as my own comments go, I am working on responding to 5 classmate's posts re. their blogs. I am finding their blogs to be quite interesting!!
As far as finding two blogs of personal interest to add comments to, that was easy. As many of you know, I have a 4 1/2 month old daughter named Anna. What you may not know about Anna is that she was born with Down Syndrome. Going through the shock and struggle of accepting this after her birth (none of the prenatal testing I did showed this possibility) and trying to learn as much as possible, I went looking for blogs by other parents of young children with Down Syndrome. I found two marvelous ones that I have been following ever since (they are listed on my sidebar) and for which I am grateful to have as a part of my continuing quest into being the best mother and advocate for my beloved Anna that I can. As much as I adore these two blogs however, I have never posted comments to either and this assignment has given me the courage to do so. That in turn has made me become a part of the community of bloggers in a way that I was not before. I must agree with what the title of thing #12 is suggesting: we create a community when we comment and respond (whether personally or publically) to each others blogs in Blogland. Blogging is a new sort of interactive journalling, instead of the one sided process of just writing or reading the journal as in the past, Blogging allows the writer and the reader to respond to each other in real time thus creating a personal relationship between the two in a way that has never before been possible.
I also have been reading (for about 1 1/2 years) a blog but have never posted a comment. My daughter has diabetes and I have found a blog written by a lady that has had diabetes since she was young. She is a great writer and has so many intresting things to share. In her blog she has written about things that we have been through with my daughter and things that I know we will have to face as she gets older. Several times I have thought about commenting but just never done it. I agree with you that it is time to comment and be part of that community. I haven't commented to her yet but I will, very soon.
ReplyDeleteVery inspirational! I've never thought of trying to find a blog that I connect to in such a personal way. Blogs that are about diet, exercise, or crafts, yes, but not about deeper, more personal subjects. After reading about the impact those two blogs have had in your life, though, I feel I should maybe give it a shot. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree about the Darth Commenter - that's why I make it so the comments on all of my blogs have to be approved before posted, first.