Discovering each other in the comments

Do not comment on another website, when you can write on your own by Disassociated →

Blog comments were also a great way to build rapport and network, but I almost think the case can be made that they spelt the end of the personal website. Now that readers of a website/blog could respond to a post in the same place, many people no longer needed their own website to do so.

I get it. And the spam, whoa.

Yet I loove comment sections. Why?

Because I gain unique insights or personal perspectives from others by browsing the comments. And discover new bloggers to follow.

It’s the joy of discovery that makes comment sections so worth it. Pure serendipity. They often send me down wanderous¹ rabbit holes in my noggin and the web.

An unexpected bonus: I comment on your blog, curious readers discover me. You comment on mine, they find you and so on in a ripple effect. More serendipitous cross-pollination in the blogosphere.

It’s no different from how we communicate in the flesh either — some folks are talkers (bloggers!), some are commenters (readers!), some lurk on the margins (introverts?). It’s a great way to meet new people, just like bumping into someone on the street or in a park and making a new friend.

Not everyone can blog (nor want to) so it’s nice to provide a place outside the mayhem of social media for readers to chime in and be a part of your little commons in the comments.

Any thoughts? _↴

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