The Right Way To Comment On Chris Brogan’s Blog

He's got so popular now that people just hang out on his site. Comes with the territory, i guess.

Chris Brogan is learning too. If you want his site to grow, then chip in & give an opinion. The site, for me, is getting clogged up with wannabes and high fives. Maybe just me.

Guess so. I try to write shorter comments now but write things a little more clearly.

Thank you, thank you for saying this. Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media recently wrote a post about how to make social media better and I spoke in my comment about this “I agree” in blog comments. If someone agrees with me each day and on every single thing I write, outside of being creepy, it is a sign that they are wanting me to notice them and probably do something for them. Reality is that the best way to get noticed is if you do disagree and support your claim. The folks who disagree just to be different and do not support their claim are thrill seekers.

Speak your mind and share your thoughts -YOUR thoughts and not those of the author every day.

@SuzanneVara

the best way to get noticed is if you do disagree and support your claim.

Hi Suzanne,

Absolutely agree. I genuinely believe that he’d prefer people to give an honest account of what they feel. It adds to the mix. It also helps him see things from a different perspective.

One of the challenges for successful people is that they get fenced in by acolytes. You see it in politics and showbiz all the time. Odd to see this (on a smaller scale) being repeated on the web.

Even odder, I'm in a Philosophy group on Facebook and it’s sad/funny the number of people who end up in screaming matches because they don’t all agree. I mean it’s about Philosophy… the irony of it all is just incredible.

<The folks who disagree just to be different and do not support their claim are thrill-seekers.

That’s being kind, to be honest. I've read Darren Rowse when no-one knew who he was and he’s never changed. Still down to earth. But the folks who get happy/clappy, I just don’t get it…

I think there’s an element of being with in the ‘In Crowd’ about many of these folks. That’s just my take.
Lisa Barone is terrific. Haven’t read her for a while but thanks for the reminder. Will add her to the reader now.

Thanks for dropping by,
Ivan

Ivan

I think that the element of being in the in crowd is really where it is at. I mean we can agree with blogs and the point of view only so much. It becomes fake and is a red flag that yes, they want to be in the in-crowd. What I find funny is people who want to be in this exclusive club but have no idea what this means nor what it is like in it. It has to be incredibly frustrating to have 50 comments of I agree with no real conversation.

I will never understand it either Ivan but we can just hope that people will emerge for sharing their thoughts and others will follow suit.

I don’t get it either.

What surprises me is that most of these people are, I assume, fairly well-educated. So, you’d think they see thru this. Maybe not. Maybe I’m the one with the problem…

By the way, have you seen the new guy, Deceth, on CB’s blog?

He’s winding everybody up, adding his own little twist to everything. Hard not to like him somehow.

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-different-ways-i…

You see how I made that post more evil and eerie by using the word indeed?

High fives anyone?

I had not seen that. I read the post and not the comments today. Jamie brings up a good point above where it comes with the territory but as you say that these people are, we both assume, fairly well educated. Is it the I better agree with him so that he notices me or fear of disagreeing? I have seen people disagree with an author and almost been stoned to death by others commenting. If you are the one with the problem then you have a teammate in me as I yeah there are times I agree and like a post but I support it with why and always (or try to) put something in there that shows that I am not kissing butt. The need to be popular, the need to have a leader notice and make sure that everyone else notices that they noticed you is becoming unbearable.

I have a really good idea. Work really hard and then work even harder and forget about trying to get noticed by leaders – make them hear so much about you that they find you. IDK that is where I stand on it.

I will have to keep my eyes open for Deceth. Thanks for the tip.

I see what Jamie means in that popularity brings its own problems. It’s interesting to see how CB will work with this, i.e. you work for years to attract an audience but if the site gets overrun with fans, then those who joined early on will probably leave to new pastures.
Try http://ariwriter.com/ over here. He’s interesting as are the people on the site. A rising star in the making, methinks!

PS – Deceth is fine. Just winding people up.

Ivan

I see a trend of so many new people on blogs. Darren whom you mentioned earlier I have noticed so many new people. I have had this conversation with people about the need to cater to the new folks as we all were new but at the same time you have a very valid point regarding people leaving and moving on new pastures. Where do they go and who caters to them or does anyone need to?

I appreciate new bloggers who do great work and have interesting articles that are really focused on the content and not the numbers but I think at times we are being overrun with people who want that instant gratification and popularity. The funny thing is that is the demands on being popular are incredible and I do not think people think about that. Would I like more readers, certainly but do I want 20,000 tomorrow – no. I am realistic on what can be handled effectively and what cannot be.

It will be interesting to see how CB and the rest of em handle this as there are only so many times that you can speak to the I agree folks without running out of things to say to them. I am not sure how much he can do given his schedule.

I have to go now and check out ariwriter. I love reading new blogs. I read some posts, and I agree he is a rising star. Thanks for referring it to me.

I think that’s why he’s moved to the Tribes network.
I don’t think CB will lose the connection anytime soon, but he only has two hands… do you get his newsletter. Very different that the site.
Brian Clark on CopyBlogger has delegated many tasks to other editors and contributors (as has Darren) so they can focus on other strategic stuff.
Yaro is an exception as he’s still very active on his blog.
PS – if you can recommend any blogs I should follow, pls do so. Thx.

[...] Challenge the reader. Ask them if they agree with you? [...]

I agree with making comments interesting, but the occasional high-five that doesn't add value is just fine by me. It let's me know I'm on point, someone is reading, and they liked what I had to say. It's less about warm fuzzies and just knowing that someone cared enough to join in.

Hi Desarae,

I see your point. We're not trying to stop high fives. It's a free world and people can do so if they wish. I guess what prompted me to write the article was that it’s getting harder and harder to find the comments with real weight, for example on the CBB site, as there are sooooo many comments saying ‘that’s great’ but little else.

What I’ve love to hear is their opinion, more than just the compliments. It was make things that bit more interesting, well, maybe, who know!

Unfortunately opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and not all of them look nice. I think adding value is important and having an opinion is great, but the web has allowed everyone to become prolific without doing any research and forming opinions without any facts. So something in a comment section that may seem helpful can be inherently wrong without either parties realizing it and the web allows this false information to spread like wild fire. It's all fun and games until someone ends up on the news.

[...] Reach out to Other Bloggers – mention other bloggers, writers etc in your articles. Why? They might pop over and leave a comment or respond in their blog. Don’t write in a vacuum. [...]