Easy & Fast is the Name of the Comment Game

10/20/2011

In this life of fast food, fast technology, instant information, and instant communication, is it any wonder that people expect the whole "comment leaving" experience on blogs to be easy? Simple? Fast? Instant?

I get it. You want my name. [And really? I want you to have my name.]

I get it. You want my email, but you promise not to publish it. [And really? Mine are plastered all over the internet for all and sunder to find so why I want to be so secretive, I'll never know. I'm already getting spam that's filtered straight into its very own folder.]

I get it. You'd like my website address. [And really? I SO want you to have it.]

But anything else? Is way too much. Also, I have a confession to make. Lately I've been bypassing comments on blogs if they have those Captcha puzzles on there. Maybe I'm too lazy. Or sometimes it's because I get it wrong and have to re-enter it. Several times. [That's annoying.] I know. I know. I'm too impatient. And I get where you're coming from as well. You don't want to be spammed in your comments, etc., etc.

But lately I've noticed a drop in comments on my blogs. And just between you, me & the gatepost, there are some days I wouldn't mind a spam comment or two. At least I'd know someone was reading what I'd written. [Maybe.] Seriously. Then I'd laugh. Shake my head. And hit the delete button. Easy-peasy and I got a good laugh. [And I'd probably tweet about it too.]

Also, most of the time I'm reading blog posts on my iPhone. Those Captcha thingies are too hard to do on there. But if you leave a question on your blog that I can answer or *gasp* we're related and I want to tell you all about it, it's a little difficult.

The point is that it's important to foster a community and to foster a discussion on your blog so that people want to come back. Again and again and again. And that's hard to do when your comments are closed awaiting for you to approve whatever your reader had to say about what you wrote. If someone does leave something inappropriate, you can delete it just as fast as you can approve it.

And Companies?
I've noticed more and more lately that companies and organizations are adding blogs to their sites, which is excellent. [Can you feel the 'but' coming on?]

BUT then they have comments turned off. *Big Sigh* and *SMH* Blogs are a part of the social media realm, and the whole point of social media is fostering a social network ~ communication ~ between their organization and their potential customers and current customers. Why? So that if they are in need of what they have to sell to them to solve their problem later on down the road, they remember the company or organization that helped them. And companies don't want to be remembered as not caring about what a reader had to say in response to a blog post. That is, if the reader remembers the company or organization at all.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that companies and organizations don't care what I think and that they don't want my input at all when they don't have comments open or if they make it really hard for me to sign up to leave a comment [i.e., 3 web pages to register in order to leave a comment and then it doesn't take me back to what I want to comment on. Seriously?]. What if I wanted to tell that company how great their product or service is and what an awesome impact it has had on my life? Don't they want to hear that? Don't they want other readers [potential customers] to hear that?

Blogs are not just a place for one-way communication from the company or organization to their readers, but a place to interact. They aren't just a place to post your press releases either. Sure, they can [and do] post press releases on their blogs, but it should be sandwiched in between blog posts that are fostering communication between the company and their readers. No one is going to check back into a blog to read press releases. [Well, almost no one.]

Your blog can be so much more than just a bulletin board. Don't waste it.

And? Make it easy and fast. I'm impatient. ;)

More about blogs for beginners to professionals coming soon on my blog BloggingGenealogy.com, where comments are open and welcomed. And where I invite you to subscribe to that blog's mailing list. [And you can sign up for this one, too, in the top right hand corner after scrolling up.]

Please feel free to leave comments here, there and everywhere. Really. Please.

~Caroline

18 Comments

Nigel Greaves link

10/20/2011 05:27:29 am

A lot of people are using blogs, not because they want to interact with their readers, but because they believe it's what they "should" be doing.

They launch a blog after reading somewhere it's the done thing but simply don't understand the benefits. As you quite rightly say Caroline it's perfectly acceptable to promote your content but only in the correct manner.

What is the correct manner?

By doing so in way in which the reader will benefit and, as you point out, as part of the full range of posts. Just as we, as bloggers, want to get our points across the readers want to know WIIFM?

WIITM?

What's In It For Me. Yup, the pesky varmins are in for themselves. They might want to be entertained or even learn but if they're so engaged they want to comment at least let them do it easily. Because if you do they might just want to come back and do it again. And that... feeds your WIIFM.

Once you can make life simple people will respond and you can actually make your blog a valuable resource for all concerned.

Carol link

10/20/2011 05:31:02 am

I hate captcha too, and I had the stinkin' thing turned off, then, I started getting too many spam and advertisement type comments on the blogs, I think I was on the "hit" list for spammers/sploggers.

So, reluctantly I turned it back on. I apologized publicly (via G+ and FB) to my friends, who were all as sweet as they could be and forgave me.

That said, I will try taking it off again very very soon.

I do have comment moderation on, and will approve those comments as fast as I can, via smart phone if necessary. And, I monitor that stuff pretty much every waking hour.

Still, I really hate captcha, but, I hate spammers/sploggers more.

SIGHHHH

Elizabeth O'Neal link

10/20/2011 07:13:34 am

I have captcha turned off on my blog. It almost always drives me nuts, but I have to admit, sometimes the words are pretty funny. I do moderate comments because I don't want anything thinking I'm promoting porn sites or anything.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, you cannot turn captcha on or off in Draft Blogger; you have to go back to Old Blogger to do it. Draft Blogger only gives you the stuff it thinks you should have. Kind of like a parent.

Stephanie link

10/20/2011 07:39:59 am

This is a great thought provoker for me. I just started my blog, and I'm normally in "hide me" mode. Why? I'm all over the internet between my life as a homeschool mom, my personal genealogical research, and my day job as a telecommuter. Don't even get me started on Facebook... Thanks for giving me another perspective. I think I should review some of my settings before I actually get a following on my blog. Maybe I'll end up with a comment or two!

George Geder link

10/20/2011 08:13:08 am

Hi Carol,

Yes, it's a pain at times for sure. You just want to have a 'conversation' and the platform puts you through so many hoops. Folks need to re-think that captcha thing.

I can only imagine how many great thoughts and comments were lost due to captcha.

Carol link

10/20/2011 09:02:06 am

And, what will we do about turning captcha on or off when Blogger forces us into the new Blogger in a few weeks, because, as Elizabeth points out, you cannot turn it on or off via the new Blogger. I do believe that we can opt out of the new Blogger, and, believe me, if there is no option on the new Blogger for captcha on or off, I am gonna opt out pronto.

I proudly, with a limp these days, display a widget that announces that I have a Word Verification Free Blog. I hate it that someone in another country, that writes in a language I cannot read, and or someone that wants to sell something through my blog can just flood my comments with garbage. It was first 1 a day, then 2 a day, then, more a day, and then they got to my Flora and Fauna blog, and that really irritated me! LOL

So, in an attempt to slow them down and maybe discourage them (I can hope, right?? SIGHH) I turned the captcha back on. Oh, and since then, NOT one of those advertisement foreign language comments. NOT ONE! SIGHHH

Sometimes we can only deal with the crud, err, captchas that are dealt us in blogger land.

I value my readers too much to subject them to comments un-moderated, that show up with advertisements and language I cannot read. One friend had comments in a language she cannot read either, guess where it went, yep, porno sites.

I have seen the reactions of people that find porno links or do not understand any abbreviations you might use. Yep, I had a guy contact me in private chastising me to no end because on a non-genie site I used the abbreviation FAG. You know what he thought I was saying, right?? ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Gotta watch what you say all the time. I'll let your imaginations go where ever, you can't imagine how livid I was when a supposed friend contacted me and called me on the carpet for using the phrase, "KKKKKKKKKKKKK" instead of "OK". Read it outloud, it says, kaaaayyyyyyyy, not, well, you know what. He took multiple letters and reduced it in his mind to 3 letters. I am still disappointed in my friend, errr, now acquaintance and not a good one at that.

I will try taking the captcha off Reflections again, but, it will have to wait to next week, cause this weekend is twin grands weekend, and I don't want to be upset by the splogger comments this weekend, I know you understand! Twin grands come first. :-)

A. CAIN link

10/20/2011 09:48:12 am

Caroline,

You got me when you said you sometimes would welcome the spam bot, just to have a comment to view! (-: Not really, but yes, I get what you mean! And yes, the captcha irks me, but only because I really CAN'T read the words!!

Enjoyed the post,

Caroline Pointer

10/20/2011 10:03:41 am

Wow! Lots of responses. Yay!

Okay. Yes, Elizabeth is correct. You must revert back to the old Blogger interface in order to turn Captcha (or word verification) off. Then you can go back to the New Dashboard interface.

Now, Carol, I know where you're coming from. I used to get those p*rn spam comments and comments left in foreign languages.

However, Blogger added (or revamped) their blog spam comment filter, and I haven't had one single spam comment since then on any of my Blogger blogs.

Now, either I don't rate high enough anymore to get the spam love [sarcasm], or it's working. In the new Blogger Dashboard interface, if you click Comments on the left hand side, there are the Published and the Spam 'inbox' selections. In the Spam inbox will be comments that the filter catches & you can review.

I used to get spam in the inbox but now I never have any there or on my blog.

Hope this helps & thanks to everyone for reading and commenting. I appreciate it!

~C

Carol link

10/20/2011 11:30:47 am

Caroline, this is a very recent event, err, events. In the last month. SIGHH

They were really sly, they wrote some comments that sorta made sense (well, snicker, the ones I could read!) and then, in the middle of it, they would put their advertisement.

I could not figure out why they were not tossed into the spam inbox on Blogger.

Color me befuddled, SIGHHH.

Color me hopeful that when I try to go OFF the captcha that they have forgotten about me. :-)))

If I were paranoid, I would ask, WHY ME??

I refuse to be paranoid.

Kimberly Powell link

12/21/2011 01:00:09 am

Carol, Yes, I get a lot of those spam comments too. Probably more than I get real comments in recent weeks. Those crazy ones that talk about how much they enjoyed your post or the great tip that you shared, but it is really just a way to sneak in a link (these are mostly non-genealogy related sites). Then I get the ones in Russian and other foreign languages, but they are easy to spot! Spam catching is turned on for my blog, but not always effective. But no captchas and no moderation - blogs are about conversation, and as Caroline so eloquently said, there is not much point to a one-way conversation.

That being said, I have a long way to go with keeping up via Facebook and Twitter. Even my now-in-college oldest daughter has to remind me sometimes to check Facebook. There's never enough time in the day...

Caroline Pointer

10/20/2011 02:27:30 pm

Carol,

That's rotten that it was recent. Now I"m feeling unloved by the spammers. LOL.

Seriously, though, ave you reported the occurrences to Blogger so they can tweak their spam filters?

Happy Blogging,
~C

Carol link

10/20/2011 02:33:05 pm

Caroline, did not report, nor did I even consider it. Never crossed my ole tired out mind! LOL Been so busy with so many things that I just took the easy way out. If they show up again when I turn captcha off, I will do that tho, I promise! LOL

OH, and I will gladly let you have ALL my love when it comes to sploggers/spammers/nasty comment leavers! LOL

Kathy Reed link

12/21/2011 12:56:30 am

I wanted to leave a comment because I agree completely with your sentiment. It wasn't easy for me to leave one here, either. I needed to submit my name, email and website. My gripe in blogger is that I often have to sign out of my google account to leave a comment and then sign back in to look at the next blog. When you are reading several at a time, it gets to be one big pain. I know that I, like everyone else, has to be motivated to leave a comment because it is such a hassle. Glad you got comments on this post. You must have hit a nerve.

Caroline Pointer

12/21/2011 01:21:37 am

Thanks, Kathy. If I could, I'd eliminate the info that my website does ask for when someone wants to leave a comment, but I use Weebly to create my site and that's not an option. If it's any comfort it asks me the same stuff. Hello?!? Doesn't it know me? LOL.

I guess I could build a site from the ground up, but I don't want to. [I could tho'.]

And you only have to give your name and email on my site. The website question is to allow you to advertise your website if you want.

Why do you have to sign out of your google account to leave a comment in blogger? I've not experienced that phenomenon, but I don't doubt it. They're related in that Google owns Blogger, so that shouldn't happen to you. You should report it to Blogger and Google.

Thank you for visiting and commenting Kathy. I appreciate the hoops you went through to do it. ;)

~C

Caroline Pointer

12/21/2011 01:26:25 am

Thanks, Kimberly. I can't keep up with everything either. Smartphone helps tho'. I'd be lost without it. I have to remember to check in at Facebook but that's because I don't like it. And that's a whole other discussion. LOL.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

~C

Kristie Strum link

12/21/2011 01:48:21 am

I don't get enough traffic to really be too concerned, but I went with the compromise of moderating just the first comment someone leaves. It's not always easy for me to moderate comments (that regular day job!), so I wanted something, but I certainly don't want to moderate every comment (not that this is a problem so far) or have them delayed. Generally Wordpress does a decent job keeping the spam at bay, but not always.

Where I get hung up commenting on some blogs (when I have time to read them, which has been lacking the past few months) is that while I have a Google account, I don't use Blogger, and some blogs don't have an open system (like this one) or allow OpenID.

Ginger Smith link

12/21/2011 02:43:27 am

Hi Caroline,

I hate the CAPCHA too because I always get them wrong. I guess my eyes don't see the letters very well or my ADD just can't dicern between letters when placed so close together :-)

I took the comment moderation off of my blog last year or year before. I don't get much spam, although I've gotten more recently. But it is always a polite comment, with the name linking back to a site. I get an email notification that a comment was posted and I just go into draft blogger / comments and then say it is spam.

A lot of people delete the comment right from their post and this just removes it but leaves the poster's information, including the link to their site. You have to make sure to delete from your dashboard, or whatever it's being called these days. And it helps to mark it as spam. I can't complain too much. Blogger is free after all!

Elyse Doerflinger link

12/21/2011 03:00:04 am

Amen Sister! Amen!

I can't stand it when companies don't allow comments - or when they delete any comment that says anything remotely bad about the company. I like to see both sides - I like to see interaction - I like to see rebuttals. The way a company handles things like this is crucial to how I judge the company - period.

Find your family story.

Easy & Fast is the Name of the Comment Game

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