BLOGGING 101 - Responding to Comments

BLOGGING TIPS – Responding to Comments


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC July 2011

Most of you who know me, know that I have an opinion about most things and I am not afraid to voice that opinion.  It wasn’t always like that – there was a time when I just kept quiet, sucked it up and said nothing.  Problem with that of course is that it does damage inside, to your being.  So once I realized that and got over myself, I stated my opinion, not just to be difficult or give someone a hard time, but to get it out there – to make others think perhaps a little more and even sometimes (if I am perfectly honest) to see if I can get someone to change my mind.

That means of course, that I often leave comments on the blogs or articles that I read and I must say that I feel kind of deflated when I don’t get a response.  I understand that we are all busy, that we all have 101 things that need to be done and usually they all need to be done yesterday – but that said, it’s kind of rude don’t you think?  It’s like not saying ‘you’re welcome’ when someone says thank –you, or not saying ‘bless you’, when someone sneezes.

Think about it for a moment, by ‘enabling’ the comments section on your blog, you are actually inviting people to interact with you, to share their feelings/emotions/thoughts on what you have written and then what . . .  nothing happens, it’s like having a one sided conversation and quite frankly, that for me is just boring.

For me, it would be the same thing as not answering questions about the topics that I train on or being ‘indifferent’ to others.  We all know that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference and ignoring someone who has taken the time and trouble to comment on something that you have written, irrespective of whether it is good or bad -  well that is just being indifferent in my book.

Being ignored, that’s just horrid and quite frankly, I often don’t go back to that particular author.  Why should I?  Blogging for me, is not only about getting my message across, it’s also about interaction and with interaction comes relationships and we could all do some more of those.

My blogs have opened my life up to the rest of the world and I now have people who I correspond with all over the world.  From the USA to Russia – from Holland to the UK, Australia to Canada – I’m sure you get the picture.  Do I get business from these people – well not directly, but I have learnt a great deal and I am exposed to more than my little world and yes, indirectly I have gotten business and even a mentor or two.

Responding to comments for me is a must, it’s a way to open up a dialogue, to interact and to grow as a person.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za