Social Media Dilemma Revisited

My post, 

Where do you comment? A social media dilemma

, six months ago in which I asked where should I post my comments on blog posts drew some excellent comments. As a result I developed a personal policy that I would post my comments directly on the blog in question.


In the light of recent developments in the social media arena with the introduction of Google+ and the +1 Button I am reflecting on my dilemma and thinking about my policy on linking to (promoting) my blog posts and commenting on posts written by others.


I am aggravated when people with multiple online personalities tweet the same link in quick succession via two or more accounts, I see this as a form of spam. I will continue to tweet only as Geniaus and only tweet links to my blog posts once.  


Only in exceptional cases will I use Facebook to post links to Geniaus blogposts. I will use the GeniMates Facebook page to announce to its fans when new profiles are added to the GeniMates blog. 


As many of my genealogy contacts are now on Google+ I will use that platform to promote my new blog posts. I choose this in preference to Facebook because I can easily target my posts to my Genealogy Circle and not clog up the streams of people in my other circles.

I try to comment on a few blog posts each day. Everyone enjoysa bit of positive reinforcement. As I believe that blogging is a a two-way street , a medium for online conversations, it is important to connect with those who have gone to the trouble of sharing  their experiences and knowledge with me. The number of comments I make each day is dependent on the quantity, quality and relevance to me of the blog posts that day.

Some of the sharing options on my Android Tablet

As a result of the responses I had from bloggers to my initial dilemma post I will continue to comment directly on a blog. By commenting there I can add to the conversation the blog posts have evoked. If I were to only comment on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ about the posts those comments would stand alone and out of context from the original post.

I will use the +1 button on Google+ to notify my mates on Google+ of blog posts I find interesting. I do not need to complete a weekly 'best-of' as the +1's on my Google profile do that for me. I will use the share option on Google+ to tell others about those posts I find particularly noteworthy.

When findling links to blog posts on Twitter I will continue to retweet those I have found interesting or noteworthy and perhaps add a short comment to the retweet.

The majority of the notifications I have come via my RSS feed. I mostly read these on my Android tablet which gives me an option to easily share via a number of platforms. I select the most appropriate for each post I wish to share.

 I wonder what preferences or policies other genealogists have for giving and receiving blog comments.
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