Do you like? Or comment?

Aug 13, 2010 by

like
Image by debaird™ via Flickr

It seems that over time there’s been a new blog comment ecosystem developing, and it’s not actually comments.  In the past, a blogger who was getting read could expect to see comments on their blog as people engaged with the content, wanted to give the content a thumbs-up, or just to say that they’d stopped by.  Now comments on some blogs are becoming more sparse, as the thumbs-up becomes the Facebook Like button and the engagement is happening on Twitter.

This is both good and bad.  The ease with which we can all share and engage has opened up blog content to many more readers who never set up an RSS reader but eagerly click through to links in their Twitter feeds or Facebook streams.  Content can flow much farther than it ever has through retweets and other sharing mechanisms such as StumbleUpon and Digg.  And commentary on people’s links is happening in short form on Twitter and Facebook.

But I wonder what’s happening to the deeper dialogue.  Yes, some blog posts still generate long comment streams with the author and commenters going back-and-forth in intelligent discourse.  And there are some deep discussions happening on Facebook; for example, there was a fantastic discussion about bloggers being compensated for attending brand events on Alli Worthington’s Facebook page a couple of months back, and people are still buzzing about it.

I do worry that our collective attention span is waning and that soon we’ll only be able to RT and Like and write in 140 characters.  But perhaps a new mechanism for dialogue will appear – voice comments, anyone? and my toddler son will someday be as intelligently engaged with individual’s content as we all were until Twitter came along.

Enhanced by Zemanta

No related posts.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

  • http://www.stephanieschwab.com Stephanie Schwab:Socialologist

    Thanks for your comment! I do tweet older posts which I think could still be of use to people; in most cases, my blog content is ‘evergreen’ and still valuable. If a post does become outdated (like if a tool has changed significantly or it’s about an event in the past), I take it out of rotation and no longer tweet it out.

    You are 100% right that I’ve not updated this blog much lately….I’ve been blogging a lot at my new venture, Social Media School. I’d be honored if you’d read that blog: http://www.socialmediaschoolny.com/category/blog/

    Thanks for reading!

  • Stephanie Schwab:Socialologist

    I do the exact same thing – and also feel guilty about it! Lately I’ve been trying to make a more concerted effort to comment. It ebbs and flows, though.

  • http://twitter.com/taunitweets Tauni

    Interesting that you bring this topic up Stephanie…I’ve been thinking a lot about it.

    I am totally and completely guilty of begging off with a “like.” As you can see by my delay in commenting on this post, I am thousands of posts behind in my reader.

    Typically, if I leave a comment, I like it to be meaningful. More than the pithy “Nice post,” or “Cute idea” that you often see…Therefore, unless I am totally engaged by the author, I am unlikely to take the time to post a response. So, for me the “like” feature hasn’t cut down on the quantity and quality of my comments, but rather it has opened up a whole new opportunity to comment when I otherwise wouldn’t have :)

  • Stephanie Schwab:Socialologist

    Hmm, perhaps you’re tweeting too much?

  • Mikejohnsonemailaddress

    Of course I would love to comment on this post but I just do not have enough time.

  • Pingback: Tweets that mention Do you like? Or comment? | Stephanie Schwab: Socialologist -- Topsy.com

  • Stephanie Schwab:Socialologist

    I could’ve sworn I’d seen some research recently about the decline of comments with the advent of tweets and likes, but I couldn’t find anything when I was writing this post. I’m sure someone has trended it somewhere, I’d love to see it.

  • Anonymous

    Interesting observation. Upon reflection, I find that I am more apt to “like” or Tweet myself.

    The reason? I mainly read blogs, such as yours, as a means to educated myself and keep up with current trends. While leaving a comment to say “great post” may give the blogger with warm fuzzies, it doesn’t further the discussion and adds no value. In this case, I’m more likely to “like” or share via Twitter to show my appreciation for the post.

    Additionally, I often find bloggers don’t open the door to conversation via the comments section themselves. I am more apt to leave a comment if the author asks for other opinions or asks a question. If a blogger is broadcasting information versus engaging the reader, the average reader isn’t likely to respond.

    Case in point: You titled this post with a question and I’m leaving a comment!

    It would be interesting to trend the value of the comments since the rise in popularity of Twitter and the Like Button. If one were to revisit the comments section on long-popular blogs and remove the number of shallow comments (eg. “Great post”, “right on”, etc.), would the number of meaningful comments be the same as they are today?