On the heels of my post the other day about blog commenting etiquette, the sequel to that post should really be me pointing out the shortcomings in my blog management.
A year or two ago, when I would get a comment, I would reply to it. I replied to just about every one of them. I was so thrilled to have someone on my blog, interacting with me, complimenting me, or even questioning me. Back in those days, I felt like a post had blown up when there were 15 comments on it, and I was grateful for every person who took the time to hit “Submit.”
But things have changed since then. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still grateful for the commentors, and I’m still thrilled that people take the time to hit “Submit.” The quality of my commentors, I feel, has become so much richer in the last 12 months. The quantity of them has also multiplied greatly.
But things have changed for me personally in that time. During the last year I spent at my corporate job, I had a lot of “free” time on my hands. I can say this now that I don’t work there anymore, but I spent a WHOLE LOT of company time updating my blog and replying to commentors. I was also pumping breastmilk 3 times a day back then, and for the hours a day I spent in the Mother’s Room, I was always pumping hands-free so I could type away. If I wasn’t doing my homework in the Mother’s Room, I was most certainly plugging away on TheFeministBreeder.com. For a solid 8 hours, 5 days a week, I worked free of almost all interruptions aside from the occasional co-worker drive-by, or the meetings I couldn’t get out of attending. I had mentally checked out of that place, and wouldn’t allow the stress of a totally meaningless job invade my mind anymore. Looking back, I’m surprised I made it there as long as I did.
But the combination of being home with two little kids, and the increase in blog traffic, contributed to the slow deterioration of my interaction with my commentors. I no longer have the time to respond to everyone, and I’m sure that annoys people.
I know that I have personally quit following blogs when the author never takes the time to respond to me. It may seem juvenile, but if she never responds, I wonder if she hates me and wishes I’d stop leaving her comments. And I really hope that none of my tribe ever feels that way.
Most of the time, I’m reading my blog comments on my iPhone while the children are running around the house. The comments always make me chuckle, or warm my heart, or make me feel connected to someone. So many times, I’ll think “That was the most awesome comment ever!” but rarely do I come back to tell the commentor that. I don’t mean to be an asshole – I swear. Life just takes over, I get distracted, and then I forget. Or, I take for granted that that person already knows what a great comment it was, and don’t think it needs a response.
But if I were the commentor, it would bum me out. I know how it feels to try to engage someone and not have them respond. So, in the future, I’m going to consider comment management part and parcel of having this blog. I need to stay on top of it, so that’s what I’ll do. I can’t promise that I’ll be able to respond to everyone, but I’ll do my best.
How do you feel about getting a response from your blog hostess? Does it annoy you when she doesn’t reciprocate, or do you not care one way or the other?
I have also been wrestling with this. Depending on the post I get a few or a lot of comments. I read them all on my iPhone (except I am having an issue with emailed comments as of late) but then forget to reply or don't get the time. I do the same with emails. Part is due to my toddler climbing the walls, the other is due to starting a new job.
I never really check back to see if an author commented back on my comment but I know some people do. Whenever it is a really great comment I do make it a point to reply.
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