I find it interesting, actually make that I find it perplexing, yeah perplexing sounds right… I find it perplexing that people who write blog posts and articles don’t respond to comments that are put on the post or article. If you’re enabling your community to comment on your post then you should take the time to address what they have to say.
It’s been a long time pet peeve of mine, but it was highlighted today in an article on Vanity Fair around the media’s coverage of Obama. Dee Dee Myers wrote an interesting post which then had a number of comments within minutes. None of the comments were from Dee Dee. A lot of the comments bashed Dee Dee and called her out. As the number of comments increases the comments actually out weigh the post. It’s a shame Dee Dee’s not participating in the conversation around her article.
I try my best to address comments – even when they’re not on the topic I originally wrote about as tangents are sometimes good – as often and as quickly as I can. I started the conversation and the least I can do is participate in it.
Not respecting the comments can cause a real backlash as when one user disagrees, uses negative language or is abusive it can start a real tidal wave. As the writer there is a responsibility to facilitate the discussion. Why enable comments if you’re not going to stick around and see what people have to say about what you’ve said?
