Aside from writing a post every day, participants are asked to read and comment on at least 5 posts from participating blogs each day. I've actually found that part of the challenge to be the most difficult.
There seem to be a lot of fiction writing bloggers participating, and while I have nothing against fiction, I just seem to have been born without the fiction reading gene.
Perhaps it's that I'm slightly dyslexic, or a bit challenged in the attention department, or maybe I'm just downright lazy, but when I open a page and see text with no pictures scrolling off the screen... and lots of dialog, and it's written in third person... it's like my little brain just seizes up on me and refuses to cooperate.
I dunno... reading is such hard work for me, that I'm loathe to put the effort in unless there's something genuinely interesting in it for me.
So while I've visited a ton of these fiction blogs, I've yet to finish reading a single post or leave a comment. I mean, I suppose I could write something like "Great post! Didn't make it past line 3, but I'm sure it was great!" But somehow I don't really think that would be in the spirit of the thing, if you know what I mean.
Then there are the bloggers writing about topics that don't interest me at all, or people who I can tell right off the bat that I share little with in the way of values or approach. Some of the blogs are so cluttered with random garbage, that I have a hard time finding the actual post!
And surprisingly enough, I've run into at least one post per day where I can't even figure out what topic the author is writing about! I'm hoping these are just some cultural references to which I'm oblivious, but it does make me wonder...
But I have found enough posts that are both interesting and well written that I've been able to get my little brain to cooperate enough to read them completely, and to leave some comments. So I have to say that it sorta hurts my feelings when I've gone to such trouble to read a post and leave a comment, and the author can't even be bothered to respond.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that people can get overwhelmed if there are a lot of comments, and there are days when, say, your plumbing explodes and you have to ignore the interwebs completely.
But what I don't understand are the bloggers who get very few comments, yet still refuse to respond even to those. I guess it gives me the message that they don't really want me reading their blog - and generally I oblige and go away after a few tries.
But if you don't really want "strangers" reading your blog, then why would you enter a challenge like this and post a link to your blog knowing that people are gonna go there and read it? I don't get it.
I dunno... what do you think? Am I just taking this all too personally? Do you keep reading a blog if the author doesn't respond to your comments? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
I like the conversational aspects of commenting, so I do go back and check blogs to see if the blog writer has responded to my comment. Mostly I do not continue reading a blog if the author doesn't respond to my comments, though I would make an exception if I considered I was gaining some useful information from the blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree - there are some blogs that I read simply because I like the content - and most of those are uber-popular, getting 50-100 comments per post, so I wouldn't necessarily expect the author to respond. It's the blogs that seem more conversational in style that always make me wonder when the author turns out to not want to converse!
DeleteI too am understand the challenge aspect of this A-Z exercise. I am developing blogger fatigue from coming up with a concept and writing every day. And yes, there are a lot of writers out there in this challenge, and from my perspective, some pretty strange blogs.
ReplyDeleteI better move on if I'm going to visit five extra blogs today and comment. We'll see what happens. Just as you've found, sometimes your comments are acknowledged and sometimes their not.
Well, I'm not coming anywhere close to the 5 new blogs per day goal, but I figure I'm doing well if I can keep up with reading the few that I've found interesting!
DeleteThis really is a challenge for you. I didn't realise you had to do the other blog thing also,,,well you are half way there now...keep going you can do it!!
ReplyDeleteI like reading your blogs, seems to have the same values as mine about the state of the planet, but the kitties are such a bonus, I'd read just for them:)
I don't care for blogs with pages and pages of topic because I don't like reading like that on a computer screen, I will admit that if I find something interesting I have printed it out so I can read it like a book.....why yes! luddite is my middle name.
I do like it that you respond (though with this challenge I'd understand it that went by the wayside for a time)
I also read blogs where the response is hit and miss(Root Simple)
I also read a few where there are no response, but that is usually on a topic that is really interesting or I consider important.
In some blogs I can learn as much from the comment section as in the blog
(non-consumer advocate)
Lastly(sorry this is so long) I really like checking out the blog lists. I've come across some very interesting blogs that I would have never otherwise known about.
By the way your kitties are great today
Marieann
I totally agree. Sometimes on the really popular blogs, the most interesting stuff is the conversations that take place in the comment section - which often don't include the blog author. And I hadn't thought about printing out a post to read it - that might actually help. It's like my eyes have a hard time finding the next line or something, and I end up re-reading the last line or skipping lines... hmm... not sure if it's worth it or not, but in some cases it might be.
DeleteI think anonymous pretty much said it all for me! Actually I've been trying to comment more on blogs I visit regularly as I tend to do a lot of lurking - this is how being a social introvert translates to the internet, I guess.
DeleteI lurk sometimes too... guess it depends on the blog. If it's a blog without many followers, I try to comment just to let the author know that they are not blogging in a vacuum. On the more popular blogs, I tend to reserve my comments for times when I feel like I actually have something to add to the conversation.
DeleteWell, now I feel bad for not signing up because your comments to me could have counted! But I also feel good about not signing up even though I've kept up with the posting so far (though some of my topics have been a pretty big stretch) because I'm glad I don't feel like I should do the other part.
ReplyDeleteBummer that reading is hard work for you!
To answer you question, if I enjoy reading the blog, I will read it regardless of whether the author responds to comments. However, I will generally leave a lot fewer comments (or none).
Ha! Well, I'm taking a rather loose interpretation of the read 5 blogs a day thing. I think they actually want you to read 5 new blogs every day, and there's no way I'm even close to that.
DeleteAnd I agree - there are blogs I read regardless of the comment section, but they tend to be fewer than the other variety.
I am terrible about responding to comments on my blog directly on my blog but will usually if someone asks a question leave an answer to their question on their blog after I read what they have written and leave a comment about what they wrote about (make sense?) Sometimes I'll respond to comments directly through email but lots of comments come on with no email addresses so can't do it that way. I follow so many blogs and write so many comments I rarely (never) go back to see if the writer responded to my comment. I'm awful, I know.........
ReplyDeleteBut if someone does come visiting for the first time, I always go and check out their blog (provided I can find it and it is easy to leave a comment) and I read what they wrote and try to write a good comment relative to what they wrote, even if it is one of the fiction ones you mentioned (I have the same problem being interested in those, though I know others do like that type of post).
My biggest frustration is not being able to leave a comment on a blog I read because it is so complicated to leave one. I found this with some Word Press blogs and Google Plus blogs. If it takes me 5 minutes to try to figure out how to leave a comment, I just don't have the time.
The thing I learned from this challenge from the first year I participated in it is to write the posts before the month starts. I had them all ready to go (except N, LOL) before April 1st.
betty
Your blog gets a LOT of comments, so I wouldn't expect you to respond to them all. And blogger is not great about ease of commenting, but I'm not sure there is a perfect system out there.
DeleteI have most of the rest of the alphabet at least sketched out... but it would be good to go into it more prepared if I do it again.
I was able to list out maybe eight or ten ideas before starting. Then I keep track of other ideas as I think them up. I don't actually write the whole thing until the day it's required.
DeleteI think it would have been easier if I'd known about it earlier - as it is, I've been working on as many posts as I can ahead of time. I've got all of my topics except for W chosen, and most of them are at least outlined out.
DeleteWell, back when I still blogged (ugh) I wasn't great at responding to every comment and it certainly wasn't personal. I read them all and loved them and commented when I had something to add or say. But if I read a comment and didn't think of anything to add then I didn't force it just to respond to each one. Also, some days I just don't have a lot of time to spend online and comments that came in then I didn't always get back to.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy it when bloggers respond to comments, but unless I specifically ask a question, I don't mind if they don't and still read blogs that interest me regardless. I don't check back on every comment either though I do note who responds and check back on most blogs that do (like this one). :-)
My commenting frequency has gone way down now that I do most of my surfing from my ipad. Most of the time I try to comment from it something goes wrong (my fault or the ipad's not the blogs) and pulling out my laptop feels like such a chore most times.
You make some excellent points. Perhaps the author simply doesn't have anything to say in response. I also hadn't thought of the tablet thing. I suck so badly at typing on the tablet that leaving a comment is almost impossible.
DeleteYou've actually made me feel much better about it. Thanks!
I think this is a really good post for N (which I always have a REALLY hard time with for some reason) and something I've been wondering about. I used to respond to all of the comments on my blog, but then wondered how many people really cared, so I quit responding to any. Some blogs I read respond to every single comment, always. Some never respond to comments. I'm really not sure which approach I like better. Recently, I've started thinking about only responding to comments that ask a question, since that just makes sense to me. I've been meaning to do a post and ask the people actually reading what they're thoughts are. I probably won't do that until after the challenge, though, since I think that will give me a more accurate response from the people who are actually reading.
ReplyDeleteI so get where you're coming from about not being able to comment on some posts. I try to figure out in a hurry if it's something I can come up with a half-way decent comment on, and just move on quickly if it's not.
Now that's another good point - perhaps most people don't go back to check for a response, so I could see how it could feel like a waste of time.
DeleteI think that I'll be doing some winnowing of my reading list once this challenge is done though - I just can't keep up with so many blogs. Perhaps this is all just helping me clarify what it is that I value about blogging - it's not feeling like everybody and their brother wants to read my thoughts, it's forging a few meaningful friendships.
I am finally getting around to writing the post about comments, responding to them, etc, and I was wondering about one of the images that you used. The very first one. Is it one of yours? Or one you found someplace? I'd like to use it, or something similar to it. :-)
DeleteI just found it out on the interwebs. I've pretty much given up trying to post sources for that sort of image, because finding the original source is darned near impossible, and there doesn't seem any point in crediting someone who is just re-posting something they found out there. That's my take anyhow!
DeleteBeing the Neanderthal that I am, I didn't realize that such a thing as fiction blogs existed. I love fiction--sometimes I force myself to pick out a non-fiction library book and read it, but mostly I feel the need to purge myself from so much reality and re-enter my happy world of make-believe. However ... I don't think I would like blogs in fiction format, so I'm right there with ya on that one.
ReplyDeleteI tried to read a few other A to Z challenge blogs, but I'm in a busier season of life and I didn't stumble across any I loved, so I'm just sticking with you and Live and Learn. I like to comment on my faves (such as yours) because, as Sherri noted, the interaction is fun. I've toyed with having a blog of my own, but I think I'd have similar reactions to yours--do people like what they read? Why aren't they commenting? No need to mess with my somewhat fragile self concept ... so I'll just enjoy the blogs of others. :)
Ha! Well, apparently I'm right there with you in the Neanderthal department!
DeleteI dunno... I guess this is all just pointing out to me that people have very different reasons for wanting to blog. For me, it's all about the connections with other like-minded people.
I feel the way you do EcoCatLady! I also feel a little hurt if the blogger doesn't respond to my comments, especially if there are few of them as you say. I mean, I know I'm not the center of the universe or entitled to a response and all that, but honestly, why would I bother with the one-way communication in the long run? I have walls I can use for that. :)
ReplyDeleteMaria
"I have walls I can use for that." LOL. I guess some of it depends on the type of blog as well. I mean if your blog is more informational in nature, I could see how you wouldn't necessarily have a response for every comment. But when your blog is conversational in nature, why wouldn't you want to converse? It just puzzles me. :-)
DeleteI agree! (By the way, no need to comment on this comment - lol!)
DeleteOK... I won't. :-)
DeleteI always appreciate it when a blogger responds to my comments, but don’t expect it – although I would if I were taking part in the blog challenge. It seems like a reasonable courtesy to expect from bloggers taking part in the challenge. I’m not a blogger, but I have ideas for a coupla blogs I’d like to start. I am aware that the things I want to blog about would be of interest to a really small number of people, and it would be likely that no one would read or comment - I'll be talking into a void, and may have to learn to accept it. I do intend to try anyway just because writing about these interests will provide some personal growth and satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteWell... please let me know if and when you start a blog, because I'd love to hear what you have to say! :-)
DeleteI LOVE reading fiction and can read a book for hours with no breaks (well, unless I have to pee), but for some reason, the challenge posts with flash fiction or an ongoing story just... don't interest me. I don't know why. But I skip those, and the blogs that are only about a very narrow hobby I'm not interested in.
ReplyDeleteI usually go to the list and open about 10-12 blogs, then find myself commenting on MAYBE 3. I don't want to say anything dumb and pointless just to comment, and just to get someone else to visit my blog. But yeah, I don't like when people don't reply. I like having conversations in comments, or at least replying to what's said, as long as there's a point.
Well, that's very interesting - the fact that you love reading fiction in general, but still don't like the fiction blogs. It makes me feel a bit less crazy or lazy or something.
DeleteAnd I'm with you on the commenting just to get people to visit our own blogs - that always seems a bit... what's the word... self serving perhaps?
Don't take it personally. Of course as I write this, I am thinking of a few blogs I always write on and they never visit me either. I have been tempted to ask if I did something wrong, but I guess it is best to just write to those that interact with you.
ReplyDeleteI am like you with the fiction :)
I've certainly found my blogroll a bit overwhelming since I started this challenge. Not only are there a bunch more blogs in there, but with everybody doing a post every day... well, hopefully I'll be a better blogging buddy when it all calms down. And I think you're right, I shouldn't take it so personally.
DeleteI too have had difficulty finding others participating in the challenge that I have an interest in reading. I did notice when I signed up that the majority were fiction writers but thought that would change as more people signed up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I find a blog where the author doesn't reply to comments I generally quit reading the blog. What's the point? In some cases I have genuine questions and would like to read a reply. I don't understand the trend of not having comments either as some blogs are doing now. I see blogging as a give and take where we learn from each other but that is lost when you can't comment.
I totally agree. I dunno... perhaps this is reading too much into it, but when people don't want to engage in conversation, it just seems a bit arrogant to me. Like they're saying "Me: big important blogger. You: lowly reader." or something like that.
Delete