Comments, emails and shout boxes

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I'm wondering how others use the feedback methods provided on many blogs. Most of my comments come via the Blogger comment form. This is good and bad. It's good if the writer logs in so I have an email address or if they use their real names and I have them in my address book. It's bad if I want to reply and there is no link to an email address for them.

I could comment in the comment spot on the blog but I wonder how many folks ever come back to see further comments or to check for a reply. For me I do that maybe 10% or less of the time.

I used to have a shout box on this blog but the page was getting crowded so I removed it. Thinking about adding it back...it was SOOOOO easy to reply to folks that way.

That leaves the final way to respond, in a new blog post. That's fine if 1) it's not a personal discussion and 2) it would be of interest to other bloggers. Thus not the best solution.

I have heard that folks don't know how to email me...just click my name under my photo on the right side of our blog page, then click the email link on the left side of the page.

Questions:
  1. How to you prefer to comment on a blog?
  2. If via the comment form, how do you expect your reply (if question asked) to be answered? comment reply, email, blog content, other
  3. Do you use shout boxes when you see them? Do you prefer them to using the comment form?
  4. Should I add a shout box back to the blog?
  5. Do you use a reader for this blog or do you go to the blog page? (some readers force you to the main blog page but not all)
  6. Anything else you'd like to say about commenting and getting replies from blogs/bloggers.
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

21 comments:

  1. 1) I click on the Post a Comment.
    2) I don't know a good answer to this question.
    3) Haven't used a Shout Box, but you may be correct that it is the best way.
    4) Sure, good ahead and add one so we can all see how it works or doesn't work for you - ie you do the work, we'll sit back and observe, ha ha
    5) I start at the top of Blogs I Follow and click on each individual blog.
    6) Hope your post today generates a good solution. I'm not sure I even have my real email address set up in Blogger - I don't want to get spam from someone who searches for email addresses on the web.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I usually comment via the comment feature on the blog or if the blog is posted via Facebook, sometimes there. I rarely use a shoutbox, don't know why. I had a shoutbox on my site at one time too but it wasn't being used so deleted it.

    I rarely go back to a blog I've commented on to read the comment section unless I've asked something very specific. Usually I just forget! LOL

    Someone I find that actually answers comments is Gypsy. If I comment on her blog, she emails me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I only comment through a comment box. On my own blog there is an option for having the comments sent to me by email. That lets me respond to people individually. I rarely post a response in my own comment box but I do so occasionally. I also rarely go back to any one else's comments but there are a couple people I read where the comments are nearly as hilarious as the blog so I do check back on those.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a timely post! I just wrote yesterday about my new commitment to comments. (I'm discovering it's quite time consuming!) So, I'll take a stab at your questions...
    1) I use the "post a comment" button
    2) No...I don't expect a reply to my comments.
    3) I've never used Shout Box. It seems too "loud" to me.
    4) It's your blog! Your choice!
    5) Don't use a reader, either. But, that's something to look into!
    6) Margie's answer to this question made me check my blogger profile. With no email address there, one "invisible" blog and the alias I use on FB, it's a wonder anyone can reach me.

    I need to think about this. I look forward to hearing more on this subject from you and your readers.

    Meanwhile, safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  5. In answer to your questions Donna,

    Questions:

    1.) How to you prefer to comment on a blog?
    If via the comment form, how do you expect your reply (if question asked) to be answered? comment reply, email, blog content, other
    --------
    For me, usually the blog comment box...I always check the comments. If it's personal or something like that, then, please use my email address (posted on the side column of my blog).

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2.) Do you use shout boxes when you see them? Do you prefer them to using the comment form?
    Should I add a shout box back to the blog?
    Do you use a reader for this blog or do you go to the blog page? (some readers force you to the main blog page but not all)
    Anything else you'd like to say about commenting and getting replies from blogs/bloggers
    --------------

    I used to have a Shoutbox on my blog, but nobody ever used it, so I deleted it....actually, I never use it on other people's blogs either.

    So...for me, the comment box or email, if more personal. I've never used "reader".

    ReplyDelete
  6. I only use the comment box. I don't read Shout Boxes, except lately Tioga George's. I only read blog posts on my computer. I probably wouldn't respond via a Shout Box. Don't know why, but I haven't yet. I never expect an answer, although I often ask questions (?!?) I seldom respond to readers who comment on my blog, but when I do, it's in the comment section. I posed some of the same questions on my blog, and pretty much got responses that people don't expect answers, and will e-mail me the question if they need one. Otherwise, I should answer or not, as I wish. So that's what I'm doing. I have gotten e-mails from a few bloggers in response to MY comments on their blog.
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, I post comments... occasionally, but my response threshold is high. If it's more personal than public, I try to email but some folks seem to hide behind their blog and its not always intuitively obvious how to do that on some blogs.

    yes, I do occasionally check back for a response in a comment from the author but only if I am hoping for one.... and if I can remember to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I view the comment box, as an extension of the blog that you wrote. If I happen to know something that extends the thoughts in your piece, I will add it. Or if I think of a question that will further enhance the overall information offered, I will ask it. But then, I feel that I must remember to go back and see what answers others and the blogger will provide.
    Shout boxes get stale! If I make a comment on a blog topic, the thought is lost as the daily posts change the direction of the blog.
    But there on the side bar is my old stale thought for days and days. Sometimes it is beyond comprehension what we were talking about back then. But the comment hangs on, like dried library paste!
    Thank you Donna for posting your email address on your about me page. Folks that don't leave an address, never get any personal mail from potential new friends, and bloggers.
    It always kind of burns me, when I want to email something only to find no email address present.
    I have answered questions in the comment section of the pertaining blog, but know in my heart that no one returns to read answers that way. If I feel that it is interesting, I will include the answer in the next blog, but sometimes as a PS at the bottom.
    Again this is only necessary if there is no email address available in the biographical area of the blog.
    Above all, keep blogging, as we wonder how you folks are getting along, when you give up for a while.
    Your pictures of Sturgis last summer let me tag along to somewhere I will never be allowed to go because I have a spouse that doesn't agree on the bike thing!
    Rod

    ReplyDelete
  9. I use the comment box...I've used other people's shout box a few times. We have a shout box, but no one is shouting..Maybe I should be glad no one is SHOUTING at me! ...Mostly I comment back, but sometimes I email...and..I always go to the blog page to read a blog.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I comment via the comment box. I don't think I've ever really asked a question, but if I did I would probably go back and check the comments the next day.

    I have never used a Shout Box - I've never even really noticed them on the blogs.

    I do sometimes go back and read the comments again. If the topic was interesting, and I was one of the first to comment, I will go back later and look to see what other people wrote.

    To read blogs, I usually go down the "Blogs I follow" list on my blog, and check them each when they have a new post.

    I think the comments are the only way to reach me - I don't remember if I made my email address available, but I usually don't - so I'd guess not. I'll have to check that!

    ReplyDelete
  11. How to tell if a commenter is a politician: They only post "No Comment"

    ReplyDelete
  12. I always log in when making a comment, but my email address doesn't come up. What am I doing wrong? (you can respond here - I'll check badk)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I prefer to use the built-in comment form now that they have improved the management options. If I ask a specific question, I try to send a duplicate of the comment via email if I want an answer or it is "personal". The whole "shout box" phenomena leaves me cold, so no skin off my back if it doesn't reappear.
    I try to read all blogs in a reader.
    Sadly, your blog forces one to come to the actual entry, resulting in a number of additional steps and page loads in order to actually acquire your content. That means I tend to read a week or two of entries in one sitting, rather than trying to read it daily.

    As a blogger, I enjoy comments. However, I blog for my own pleasure these days and am no longer driven to do daily entries. So, protracted comments conversations are pretty much a thing of the past.

    I find many of the comments here to be entertaining and informative, rather than of the "Me, too" variety.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I almost always use the comment box. I've had problems responding individually via email to comments, but hopefully Rick is going to help me with that. I never use a shout out box. I only check further comments on other's blogs occasionally. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I dislike having to wait for approval for my comment to appear. It makes me not want to go back and check further comments. :) so many steps is a pain.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Comment in comment box. Rarely read or use Shout Boxes. I do like links to Facebook. I sometimes return to read comments, most often if there is an email link that apprises me of further comments in the thread.

    The level of interest and therefor effort varies with time.

    ReplyDelete
  17. 1. I use the comment link.
    2. If I ask questions I subscribe by email for replies.
    3. Don't have a clue what a shout box is...care to share?
    4. Should I add a shout box back to the blog?
    5. Go to blog page
    6. I agree about having anonymous people leave comments...hard to reply and comment back. I like to get comments on my blog but don't get very many. I need to be better at posting comments on the blogs I read - I think that will help get others to comment on my blog.

    Great questions...I may borrow and ask the same on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I post comments via the blog's comment box. When I want to be sure to see other comments on a particular post, I check the "subscribe by email" link. It's only for that particular post.

    I do not use a reader, I go to each blog site.

    I enjoy reading others' comments, too. It's nice to hear other viewpoints. I don't comment as often as I probably should.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I post in the post a comment box. I usually read in reader, except if not all of it shpws up there, then I go to the site. But if I want to leave a comment, I go to the full site. When I leave my comment, I always "comment as" and select my google profile. I hope that goes to my Blogger profile which I just checked (after reading Paul and Mary's comment! thanks!) which does have an alias and not pic of me, but it does have an email that gets to me.

    I would not use a shout box, this is my MO

    I also don't remember to go back to look for an answer, but a lot of times leave questions, maybe that's why I am sure to sign in as someone. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I post in the comments, and try to leave my email address so that if I ask a question, or if the blogger wants to reply to me, they can. On some posts that are particularly interesting to me, I have gone back several times to read additional comments, but I don't do that all the time.

    I have never used a shout box, and really don't remember ever seeing one.

    On my own blog, if someone asks me a question I try to reply to them via email but people don't always leave them.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Being a long time lurker/follower but a new blogger, this info is so helpful. Thanks for asking those questions. I'm learning lots. Love your blog.

    ReplyDelete

Love to hear from you - drop a few words and we'll reply!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Sharing is Caring...