Keeping the Threads Together

Back in 2012 I noted that one of Jenna Mills' goals on Desperately Seeking Surnames for 2012 was "Post more comments to other bloggers on their blog itself not on Twitter, Facebook or Google+".

In the intervening ten years it seems that genies post even fewer comments on my posts than they did in 2012. Perhaps what I write isn't worthwhile, people don't actually read my posts but comment anyway or maybe they find it easier to comment on other social media platforms. Maybe I am just old-fashioned and need to move with and appreciate current trends.

While I appreciate the comments made on other social media channels I believe that this practice dilutes the value of the interactive element of the blogging platform. I am often heard to say that Blogging is a two way street  and I feel that blog post comments should be made on the street where the post resides not on some other social media thoroughfare like Twitter or Facebook.

By keeping the threads together in the comments area of a blog post the initial post can be enriched by a compilation of comments that build on each other to add value and opinions.  With all comments  neatly stored together various opinions can be explored in one space. Those comments made outside the blogging platform may just be loose threads that do not add value to the original post.

I'd love to know what you think on this topic.

How do you react?

This comment from one of the people in my genealogy circle on Google+ got me scratching my head:

"Interesting it says I have so many followers, but  I  do not see anyone commenting on the information I am placing for others to use and read. This concerns me if I should stop reporting information for Genealogists to share and use.".

I responded "Don't give up.I think we need to get into the habit of giving plusses to acknowledge posts of interest to us. I think that only a small number of those in our circles read posts religiously. Even if I only get a couple of +'s I feel that my posts have been useful and when I get comments I am really chuffed."

After dashing off that comment on my phone I reflected on my social media accounts and the Likes, Comments, Plusses and Shares they get. I blogged in 2010 about how I think Blogging is a two way street, this holds for all social media. Social Media  platforms are tools for communication and collaboration, but the communication should be two-way, those who do not avail themselves of these features are missing out on some exciting opportunities to connect and learn. 

My experiences with Google+ are similar to those of my genealogy contact, sometimes my posts get no plusses, comments, or shares. I wonder if anyone out there is actually reading them!

I hadn't before considered using the +1s and comments I get on my Google+ posts as an evaluative measure of the things I post. I feel that a post is successful if a couple of people give it a +1 this indicates to me that they feel the content has been worth posting or that they have simply read a post , if they comment then I feel that they really value what I shared or they want to connect, if their comment adds an opinion or extra information then I feel that my goals for posting have been well and truly fulfilled and if they share it then I think that is is also very worthy. 

I am not sure whether monitoring these is a valid measure because I believe many people read without acknowledging the value of a post to them. I am going to take more notice of the way people react to my posts on Google+ and try to work out which subject matter is causing a reaction from my contacts. 

I have over 700 people in my Google+ genealogy circle. I wish I could see how many people are actually reading my posts as I would hazard a guess that only about 10% of these people are active plussers who read most of the posts directed to them. I think only about half of these regularly acknowledge that they have read a post by plussing or commenting.  The remainder of those in my genealogy circle may have joined Google+ for other reasons so never really read the posts that are directed towards them.

Have I got it all wrong? What percentage of posts in yor stream do you read? Do you regularly hand out plusses and comments? What are your criteria for giving plusses and comments?  Do you feel that most people miss the point about two-way communication via social media? Should my genealogy contact and I give up on posting?

Blocked

I just read a blog post from someone I know and, as I was impressed by the content, I left a positive and complimentary message on the post. I wanted to give positive reinforcement to this blogger who has only managed a couple of posts this year. I may even have been able to help with the mystery that this blog post was aiming to solve!

After I tried to post my comment I received this message "Comments on this blog are restricted to team members". I took a look at the blog and noticed that quite a few people joined the blog but none had bothered to comment on the post!

I am a fan of blogging because it is a collaborative medium that encourages conversation and communication. If this blogger does not want to encourage that conversation  then why does she have a public blog. In my opinion she should make it private and visible only to those who are members of the team that is allowed to participate in the conversation.

I was annoyed that I could not post my comment after I had made the effort to extend the hand of friendship. I am giving this blogger the benefit of the doubt and presuming that she does not understand the commenting system on blogger.

Do you think I should ask her why she has her blog set up this way when next I see her?

What cheek - using my blog for free advertising

I have been mulling over what to do about some comments that were made on a blog post of mine in which a company posted a comment that was a blatant advertisement for their genealogy product.

What annoys me is that I have purchased this product and find it inferior to other similar products; I do not want to promote it. The company in question does not have a social media presence and their website is quite tragic. I find it annoying that they don't have a company commitment to social media yet they use my little blog to promote themselves.

Would I be mean-spirited if I deleted their comment from my  post?

It's never too late to comment

It appears that my Genimate from the Northern Territory, Pauleen Cass of Cassmob and I are on the same wavelength tonight.

When I don't have time to comment on or even read a blog post I "Star" it in my RSS reader for later attention. Tonight I have been going back through a couple of months of starred posts, rereading them and adding comments to some. I hope the writers appreciate that, in the busyness of life, one cannot  always read or comment on a blog post immediately.

I know that I always get a buzz when I receive a comment whether it is on the day the post was published or some time down the track. Tonight I was pleased to receive a couple of comments from Pauleen on a post that was a couple of weeks old.

Don't be shy - if you come across an old blog post with content that strikes a chord with you say so in a blog comment. 

Engage with your readers through threaded commenting | Blogger Buzz

My blog is ready for engagement is yours?

Engage with your readers through threaded commenting | Blogger Buzz:

'via Blog this'

1,000 Comments

From time to time I carry on about Blogging being a two-way street and exhort blog readers to make comments on the posts they read.

Since I started watching the Blogger Stats for Geniaus in June 2009 a number of people have made comments on my posts, I thank you for joining in my conversation.  Today I noticed that 1,000 comments have been published (that is those that are not spam).

Thanks to Becky Jamison for my 1,000th comment "I was going to choose my classes today---I'll definitely be in this one! Thank you for the great post! on Rootstech News - International Panel: Genealogy 2.0".

Thanks to all my readers who regularly add comments. Please keep them coming.

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.
.

My social media dilemma resolved - Thanks for the feedback

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my social media dilemma Where do you comment? 

The consensus from those who posted comments was to comment on the blog. I copy the comments below for those who didn't subscribe to them.

8 comments:

Shauna said...

What an excellent question - I often feel the same & end up repeating myself all over. My preference for comments would be on my blog rather than say Facebook or Twitter but then more people probably see the last two rather than my blog. To me a blog is a more 'permanent' feature and more searchable, I think, by Google.

February 27, 2011 8:01 PM

Sharon Brennan said...

I'd rather see comments on my blog also. The comment is then linked directly to the post.

February 27, 2011 8:45 PM

Ramona said...

I like comments on my blog. Even though I do occasionally post to my facebook pages or twitter. I think it is of more use and interest to other readers.

February 27, 2011 9:07 PM

Carole Riley said...

I agree that the best place to comment is the blog. That's where the content is, and everywhere else is just a link to it. Comments on the blog are visible to everyone who reads afterwards. Having said that I'm happy for comments wherever they are, and I often get them on Facebook instead.

February 27, 2011 9:52 PM

lkessler said...

It gets even worse when you are trying to provide customer support. People ask questions on your blog, on your forum, on Twitter, on Facebook, through email, the phone, fax and direct contact. You have to answer and support them all. The "marketing" answer to this is that everyone has their preferred mediums. Some people may not see the comment on your blog, but may read your Tweets. So unfortunately, we have to choose whether to satisfy them all, or choose the media and thus type of people who we are able to handle. Maybe one day this will all converge again into a single info flow - at least we can hope.

February 28, 2011 4:30 AM

Joan Miller (Luxegen) said...

Good question. I prefer to have the comments on my blog for all the reasons Carole mentions but appreciate feedback from any source. One of the issues today is information overload. There has never been so much great content and value given away and freely shared as is happening today. The problem is keeping up with it all. I truly appreciate bloggers like Randy Seaver and others who do "Best of" posts. I also appreciate the content wikis that are appearing. Keeping up with it all is a challenge.

February 28, 2011 9:00 AM

Where do you comment? A social media dilemma

Many people who use social networking tools now create a post on their blogs and then tweet the post's link. In addition to this they make an announcement about the post on their Facebook page. Some even do these three things on their personal accounts and then on corporate or society accounts.

It is not unusual to get the same message delivered six times. Oftentimes I want to make a comment on the content that has been shared because I believe that Blogging is a two-way street. What am I to do? Where do I respond? What is the etiquette in these situations?

I do not want to respond on several sites as I don't want to be seen as having commentarrhoea.

Where do other genealogists respond?

Reaping Rewards

My policy of giving open access to the data on my family history website reaps huge rewards.

TNG, the software I use has a facility for visitors to the website to make comments.  This comment  I received today from a young Australian is typical of those that I get each week.

Comments: Hi. I found this page while searching the name of my great great grandmother. And I would just like to tell you that it's great!! Also it might just be a typo but you have ****** my great grandfather down as dying in 1973, I believe this should be 1983. As from what I know he died the same year as his son kevin a few years before I was born also you have two of *****  and ****** 's children down as living. Only one is still living my grandmother merleen. Mervyn *****  died on the 26th oct 1990. I know this is not much in the giant scheme of things and compared to the loads of information you have but I still hope that it is some help. Many thanks :) I learnt a few things about my family history that I didn't know before today.