And now that I think about it, blogging is certainly in the grand old tradition of carrying your wooden crate down to the town square, standing on it, and taking a chance on whether people will listen to what you have to say.
I have been thinking a lot about the comment issue, and appreciate the perspectives that have been offered me by my dear readers. As well, the discussion has helped me remember why I started this blog in the first place, and made me more aware of how I respond to other people's blogs.
I know a couple of people who don't accept comments on their postings, mainly because of extremely nasty, threatening comments they have received. And, going back to the Yarn Harlot, good things can be achieved by the community developed by a popular blog - Stephanie raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontiers).
I began this blog mostly because I like to make things, and I like to show what I've made to my friends and family, and a blog seemed like an elegant format to reach a number of people. I like to write, and take pictures, and Blogger makes it easy to put them together. But I have been very gratified to find that people from all over the world have stopped by to visit, and I have made connections with so many lovely people that I can truly say that blogging has enriched my life.
I also know that I have people who read and never leave a comment. I only find out about them when I run into them in person, and they say "Oh, I haven't phoned because I read your blog." I find this very funny and still love them anyway! Time is a big factor, I know - it's the main reason I leave comments when I do. Often I'll read a post and just be in a rush and not leave a comment. And when I do have the time I usually say something, trying to be honest and genuine (and because I'm Canadian, polite.) I have also developed the bad habit of leaving messages for people that should probably be in an email, but that time thing squeezes me into a double duty comment.
And there's more to say, I'm sure, but that's enough from me.
Going off on a completely different path, I am lucky to have several people in my life who are born in February and I have been thinking about them a lot these days. Happy Birthday to my brother Rob, the handsome, brilliant and fabulous engineer and volleyball player; Helene, the wise, brave and beautiful artist; Shauna, so talented, funny and true; Arden, the nephew I barely know; and Reid, whose voice I will always hear in my heart.
I have been thinking a lot about the comment issue, and appreciate the perspectives that have been offered me by my dear readers. As well, the discussion has helped me remember why I started this blog in the first place, and made me more aware of how I respond to other people's blogs.
I know a couple of people who don't accept comments on their postings, mainly because of extremely nasty, threatening comments they have received. And, going back to the Yarn Harlot, good things can be achieved by the community developed by a popular blog - Stephanie raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontiers).
I began this blog mostly because I like to make things, and I like to show what I've made to my friends and family, and a blog seemed like an elegant format to reach a number of people. I like to write, and take pictures, and Blogger makes it easy to put them together. But I have been very gratified to find that people from all over the world have stopped by to visit, and I have made connections with so many lovely people that I can truly say that blogging has enriched my life.
I also know that I have people who read and never leave a comment. I only find out about them when I run into them in person, and they say "Oh, I haven't phoned because I read your blog." I find this very funny and still love them anyway! Time is a big factor, I know - it's the main reason I leave comments when I do. Often I'll read a post and just be in a rush and not leave a comment. And when I do have the time I usually say something, trying to be honest and genuine (and because I'm Canadian, polite.) I have also developed the bad habit of leaving messages for people that should probably be in an email, but that time thing squeezes me into a double duty comment.
And there's more to say, I'm sure, but that's enough from me.
Going off on a completely different path, I am lucky to have several people in my life who are born in February and I have been thinking about them a lot these days. Happy Birthday to my brother Rob, the handsome, brilliant and fabulous engineer and volleyball player; Helene, the wise, brave and beautiful artist; Shauna, so talented, funny and true; Arden, the nephew I barely know; and Reid, whose voice I will always hear in my heart.
Leaving a comment is always a difficult question: how can one say"I looked at your blog, found it interesting/ Funny/ OK/ boring, I'll come again" without being bland and boring? Just like you don't post if you have nothing to say, you don't comment unless there is something meaningful that you really want to say.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's nice to find comments, even predictable or anodine banalities, because after all sharing with others is what blogging is about.(Well, maybe not, I'll have to think about it some more)
Anyway dear Heather, I read your blog regularly, even when I do not leave a word.
I agree with startare.
ReplyDeleteIt's not only a matter of time. It's that one does not always have to something to contribute. Or does not always want. - I personally also tend not to say "ugly socks" unless the blogowner explicitly asks for it. (Like "I'd like to make this jacket ot go with that skirt. What do you thing about it? Will it go together?") Otherwise I restrict myself to an aspect I like. Or shut up. But I don't expect the rest of the world to do the same. :o)
Of course I like getting comments myself (btw thank you for your comment, Heather!), but still I prefere honesty over numbers. At least in the german "blog szene" you can find kind of "comment-circles" that work after the "you praise me, I praise you" principle and nothing else. Of course I like to get positive er encouraging comments... but only the honest ones.
I get some of my comments personally at crafty meetings with friends. And someone saying there "I've been thinking about your this and that post and I think you are wrong/ right because..." twice a year is more valuable to me than someone qho would post the same "Great" every day on any blog entry.
So... I'll continue to read here and from time to time I'll say something when I feel like it and have the time. ;-)