Metaphorically strolling through the recent entries on the Freshly Pressed page, I noticed a disturbing trend. Some of these recent winners of that coveted page placement aren’t responding to their comments. They are responding to a few, but not many.
When I got Freshly Pressed last year, I tried my damnedest to answer every single person who commented. I would have continued doing so if I hadn’t had a heart attack and wound up in hospital and almost dying. At that point my blog and getting Freshly Pressed was forgotten. I think it would be safe to say that the only things that existed in the world for me at that point was the hospital.
If I remember correctly, when I came home four days later, full of scars, stitches and medication, the first thing I did was to check my blog and answer comments.
I can hear a lot of folks saying now, “What makes you think that what you have to say on the subject is worth reading! You don’t have hundreds of thousands of followers.”
And they would be right.
But what I do have is appreciation, manners and courtesy. And a real idea of time.
I have quite a lot of time. I’m ill-heath retired and I don’t have another paying job to go to. I am writing/hosting for other web sites, but that is non-paying and not enormously time-consuming. I do all my own housework (But honestly? How much mess can one bloke, on his own, make?)
I do my laundry, cut my grass, run errands. But all of these things, as a rule, don’t take hours.
Stop shifting in your seats and looking at your watches! I am making a point here!
But where I have a lot of time, most folks do not. They have full-time jobs, children to raise, an entire family to clean up after, hobbies to pursue and lives to lead. If one of these people take the time to read or like or comment; they are making a statement.
They are saying, I like what you’ve just written, or your point of view, or how you write. By commenting, they’ve taken even more time out of their busy lives to say something.
If these busy people can take the time to comment? You can take the time to respond. Don’t let getting Freshly Pressed make you forget your manners or, more importantly, your appreciation.
If you are like me, you would keep writing your blog, even if no-one liked, commented or reblogged your work. But it is precisely those little things that make blogging more satisfying and enjoyable.
Try to remember that in future you Freshly Pressed bloggers. I’ve been there and I’m telling you; only a heart attack kept me from responding back to everyone who commented on my Freshly Pressed post.
Etiquette is not just about leaving comments, it’s also about responding to them.
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Agreed! 😀
I always respond on each comment I get, even if it is just a “thanks for commenting”, interaction is the most fun part of blogging!
Most people do! I usually will only comment a couple of times if I don’t get a response then it’s, “Audios!”
I feel so good when all you of reply to me. Remember Sally Fields, “you like me, you really like me.” I still feel embarrassed recalling that evening.
However, I don’t expect it every time I comment. I do notice though.
I can understand “new” bloggers doing that (I literally didn’t have a clue about that sort of thing when I started) but when their comments start to dry up, they’ll wonder why! Thanks, for stopping and sharing mate!! 😀
Great post, Mike! I try to respond to every single comment, too. I feel like some bloggers who’re used to getting comments get complacent and don’t respond, but I’m even more baffled by those who get few comments and still don’t respond!
Funny, those are as hard to answer as the more “strident” ones. I guess it is hard to respond to any form of “extreme” comment. I will often respond to a strident comment once and along the lines of, “Thanks for sharing that mate.” It seems to fit most situations where I cannot think of something more appropriate and I DO appreciate their sharing. Thanks mate! 😀
I agree. I try to respond to every single comment I get. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to know how to respond to someone who leaves a particularly poignant comment.
Careful what you wish for, when I got it, I had a heart attack!! LOL
Exactly! 😀
Well said Mike. I always respond to comments even if it’s just a ‘thanks’. If people have taken the time to comment, the least I can do is respond. Just need to work on actually getting Freshly Pressed now!
I try to answer everyone..sometimes I have those comments that I check randomly and then run off and forget to answer. But sometimes I have this weird thing of double checking my posts just to make sure I didn’t forget and then I answer them like a week later. But you know, I still answered them, right?
I always think its polite to answer back. It encourages others to comment again also.
LOL My comments vary! Thanks for reading and commenting…LOL Seriously, thanks mate, you always leave GOOD comments! 😀
I always try to respond, even if it’s just a simple, “thanks for reading and commenting”. Then again I rarely get more than 10 comments on a single page. XD
Good call! I will leave a comment no more than twice. If I hear nothing back, I figure they don’t want comments! Thanks for sharing mate!! 😀
I give a blogger three strikes – if you don’t respond to my comments three times and keep the discourse moving, I’m out. There are other interesting bloggers to cavort with!
Exactly! It takes a second to thank someone for stopping by and making a comment! You appear to be in the minority mate! Thanks for sharing and congrats on getting FP’d, although I think I’ve said that before! LOL
When I got Freshly Pressed last week, I was amazed at the number of people who read and commented, and I appreciated each one. For that reason, I responded to all of them. It’s the least I could do for all the people who took the time to communicate.
And yet another member of the “I hate the bloody auto-spell group” speaks! LOL Don’t you just hate it when that happens!!
Damn you auto correct! Aren’t turned into around? Really? What’s with the “ust?” Is auto-correct anti-J? Geez.
Awww! Thanks mate!! 😀
It definitely costs nothing to be nice and polite and respond! 😀
I’ll respond to you. 🙂
I still think mine was either a mistake or revenge for my previous post taking the piss out of the whole thing!!! LOL
Not bad, not bad at all! 🙂
Great topic my friend, I’m glad you discuss Etiquette because it’s so important.
My sentiments exactly. That’s the thing I was noticing about the FP’d folks that I was reading this morning. My first thought was, “How rude!” Only responding to a few, especially when all the comments left were of such a positive nature…Well, I decided to not leave any comments at all. Then the more I thought about it, decided to do a post! Oh! And thanks for the reblog!! 😀
Some of us are apparently not freshly pressable. We ust around classy enough 🙂
Fewer than half my comments get responses. I always wonder about that. I usually stop responding to blogs to which I get no return response. I figure if they don’t care, why should I?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ What!?!? Did someone say something?? LOL I always try to respond to comments, unless they irritate the hell out of me, but that was another post! LOL 😀
AGREED. I know I don’t comment sometimes but I’m always reading my friend.
Let’s see how long it takes for you to respond to this Comment….ready…..set….and GO!!!!
No, they just don’t have the benefit of the great job parenting that my folks did! 😀
‘Look at me, I got Fresh Pressed last year’
Change the record……. 🙂
LOL – Just kidding of course. I remember wishing you well and congratulating you back then, and whilst there is a huge error somewhere that I havent been Pressed yet, you know I was glad you got it.
I agree what your saying about comments. As my last Question Time was all about them, it really takes so little time to say even just a thank you. They arent the decent kind of folk you are though dude. 🙂
LMAO!!!! Oh and no comment! Hahahahaha
A heart attack is no excuse.
Reblogged this on SERENDIPITY and commented:
I try hard to answer every comment, at least to acknowledge that I’ve received it. It’s courtesy and it’s also the only way to have a dialogue with ones readers and get to know them (and vice versa). I think it matters. Others obviously don’t agree. Because I know that the response rate to my comments is no better than 50% across the board.