How do you handle your blog comments? I’m not asking just about the ones that come into your own blog, but the comments you give as well.

As the administrator of an online blogging community I read quite a few posts a day, as well as posts from the dozen or so blogs I subscribe to.  I also cruise the net just to read different blogs. So, I read a lot.

As far as commenting goes, I see everything from no comments allowed to full out flame wars, but the best of what I see is engaging back and forth conversations that are debates.

From a blogger stand point, I always welcome opposing views, as long as they aren’t outright torch sessions that border on name calling. Maybe it’s my argumentive nature, or maybe I just like the entertainment. But what is more likely the truth is, I understand that when I write a post, it is my opinion or viewpoint. That doesn’t make me right in anyone else’s mind but my own.

I will debate my stand until the other side gives up, or I relent and agree they are correct. I am comfortable with admitting I am wrong or that there are two or more sides to every issue.

Sometimes I’ll write a post just to piss some folks off, and I’m disappointed when everyone who comments agrees with me. This means I’ve tuned into the a community that thinks like I do (not all together a bad thing), but it also means that my blog isn’t getting much in the way of new traffic.

I know when I read some other blogger’s post and scan the comments afterwards, if I see a disagreement, I’ll stop and reread the post to see what I missed.

When I comment, if I disagree, I will write my point of view in a civil and maybe fun manner. Never degrade the blogger or any other commenter, this is a sure way to get people to quit commenting or even reading the blog. I would never want to be the cause of damaging another bloggers blog, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything they are writing.

There are deeper issues at the core of all of this. Issues of censorship and prudence. Some believe that to agree even if you don’t is the just and right approach. I see that as a lie. If to no one else, you lie to yourself. You sell yourself out in name of socially acceptable good form. You become a sheep.

Now, I can hear someone in the back say that if you don’t agree, then don’t comment. That to me is another form of censorship. If you can give your opinion in a civil and exacting fashion, then you should be allowed, and I support anyone who wishes to educate or open our eyes to another point of view on the same topic.

My opinion is important to me, but it is not infallible. I know this and am comfortable with this. I also know that if I am brave enough to write my opinion, I had better be damn well brave enough to defend it and not be hurt because not every reader thinks I am all seeing and all knowing. By god I don’t want THAT onus in my life.

So tell me, am I all daft when it comes to blog comments, or do you honestly agree with me?

© 2009 – 2010, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

Related posts

• Are You Worth Listening To? (2)
• Not A Damn Thing To Blog About (3)
• Lilly Wants A Blog Off (0)
• Leashing the Blogs of War (1)
• Homeless blogger offered writing job (1)

The last few weeks I’ve been horsing around with a new project which led me to write a lot of  SEO tutorials, only because SEO is a requirement to survive this tangled mess we have gotten ourselves into.

The Internet is crowded and we’re all yelling to be heard but the only ones that hear us when we yell are the ones who are close; our friends. Yet, we have something to say and we want thousands to hear it, damnit!

To be heard, we pay the concierge with keywords, back links, and link wheels to get our words to the booths that sit high above the dance floor. We hope those that sit in those lofty booths will give us a nod and a mention, because one word from those dudes and people will give us a look.

We can use every trick in the book to get thousands of visitors to our blogs, but can we deliver? Seriously, the simple truth about success on the Internet, or anywhere in life, is that we must satisfy a need. We must deliver the goods or we will lose all that we spent.

What is it we must deliver? A solution. We are all marketers trying to service a niche were people are clamoring for relief from some problem. Products, ideas, knowledge, or good old fashioned entertainment, we are all selling something. If we’re good, we get repeat customers. If not, we’ll be kicked to the curb quicker than a homeless chick after a date.

That is the measure of success in life. When we advertise and try to deliver, do people come back on their own? Do they bring a friend the next time?

Sound SEO  practice will deliver sheep, but good solid content will always feed them the sweetest of meals. It is a difficult juggling act, but if we take a good look at a lot of the SEO tools as not part of a separate task of blogging, but as agents of freedom, we can find that writing content is getting to be more like writing than advertising.

If you’re not familiar with some of the tools available to you in your blogs, look around, dig into them. But don’t look at them from the pure Internet geek angle, look at them with your writing heart in mind. If you can do this, you’ll get ears delivered to you AND get them to come back time and time again.

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

Related posts

• Should Blog Comments Always Agree With The Author? (7)
• Leashing the Blogs of War (1)
• Blogging From The Couch (0)
• About Alex (0)
• Things To Consider Before Asking Me To Fix My Platform (5)

from Mirror.co.uk News

At the grand old age of 24, Lily Allen’s not about to retire – or is she? The singer announced yesterday: “I have not renegotiated my record contract and have no plans to make another record. “The days of me making money from recording music have been and gone.” Oddly, this quote – and all other comments by others on her blog – was later deleted after she complained: “The abuse was getting too much.” It all kicked off earlier this month when Lily started blogging about filesharing music (she’s against it). Our insider said: “Many of Lily’s fans illegally download music but they support her in other ways like buying her concert tickets. “I think they’ve stopped seeing her as a happy-go-lucky pop star and more as someone who would tell you off.”

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

Related posts

• Single Mom Blogs To Save Son’s Life (1)
• Should Blog Comments Always Agree With The Author? (7)
• Recruiting Firm Warns Of On The Job Blogging (0)
• Leashing the Blogs of War (1)
• Blogging Is In The Group Of The Fourth Busiest Activity On The Internet (0)