An informal survey of a small group of bloggers, reported on today on BlogHer, turned up this interesting result–most of those who responded said that there isn’t any relationship between how hard you work on a post and the reactions it generates. In fact, some reported that it’s an inverse relationship. The less you work on a post, the more attention it garners.
1. Relationship between time and energy into creating a post and the response to that post:
26% reported a direct relationship (more effort = more response).
58% of you say there’s no relationship between the energy you put into a post and the response it garners.
16% reported an inverse relationship (more effort = less response and vice versa).One respondent said: Sometimes posts that I took enormous pains over sank without a trace. Sometimes posts I dashed off (usually in a temper) garnered dozens of comments. And sometimes, vice versa. I still don’t quite understand it.
And this comment is quite insightful: It seems to be more the amount of EMOTION and energy, rather than time and energy.
Bottom line for a 84% of us? Don’t try so hard!
I often feel the same way. Entries I work the hardest on often garner the fewest comments. Perhaps it’s because a tightly presented argument offers fewer entry points for opinionated arguments, which is what seems to get readers going.
I sometimes find it more than a little depressing, to tell the truth.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I actually take a different view. People are still reading the brilliant posts take took tons of real effort — and since they find few holes to seize upon, you see fewer reactive comments, even from the most emotional posters.
On the other hand, when people post ridiculous comments, little thought is required to react to them.
Maybe this will help: Your blog is excellent, Ian. That’s why you get so many readers and rank so high. Continue on. Sometimes we express that by not commenting. Why? Time is limited!
I’m with Tim on this one, Ian.
I check here first thing every day. I refer to your posts frequently in conversation.
I don’t often comment, here or elsewhere. Check your stats, especially returning visitors. That’ll tell you how many readers benefit from your hard work.
I’m in agreement with the above comments – and especially that numbers of comments have little to do with the value of the blog post.
I just wondered: is BlogHer covering all types of blogs? For example celebrity gossip columns, like those dealing with them Car-dash-he-ins?
Your blog is the first thing I read every morning also. Your hard work is much appreciated. And the clowder of cats also.
Ian, your blog is my ‘go to’ in the morning. I have a list to which I send info and hardly anyone responds, but I get lots of comments on my posts when I am out and about in the community!
Take heart, my friend. YOU ROCKand everyone who reads your blog knows it!
I thought I was nuts but it’s absolutely true. It’s not just the actual number- it’s the number of postive responses to what are essentially “no thought” posts that are greater than the well researched pieces. Go figgah…
I agree with the other comments. Unfortunately, bloggers have to take note of how many comments they get–and how many eyeballs roll across their pages. Even if you don’t make money off the page hits, you still want confirmation that your effort is having an effect.
Sometimes I read your posts and feel disqualified from commenting. Your grasp of the complexities is so superior to my own, I feel content just reading and learning. I can, on occasion, keep my mouth shut.
Kat is right. Everybody reads your blog and it affects the discussion. When you call a government official on something, that criticism is felt. When you raise doubts about a bill, its proponents have to take your questions into consideration.
How can you get confirmation of your effectiveness in the face of few comments? Just listen to Kat. She’s damn smart!
What Kolea said. Especially graf No. 3. You not only broach items no one else does, but provide depth and analysis found nowhere else. Keep up the great work.
I think that what may be missing is what Facebook has, a Like button. It gives the writer feedback that a reader agrees with him which is always gratifying if sadly rare.
I agree with others who said that they often value what you have written, but don’t comment because they have nothing to add. Like them, I read you to get news and opinion, and when it is coherent, well thought through, and informative, I go on my merry way to visit other sites.
It is only when something feels incomplete, or biased, or needing an insight I uniquely can provide, that I submit a comment.
Bottom line: I like your blog and enjoy reading it each day, even when I don’t agree with your take on the situation.
More comments might equate with greater interest and popularity, but not necessarily with relevance or influence. For instance, I think that your great passion is openness in government, which might be expected from a journalist. I am personally very much in awe of the Talmudic precision with which you parse the law on this matter.
But I also tend to find the issue of openness a little boring, especially its dry legal aspects, although I know it is extremely important locally. Like most of the vulgar crowd, I am stirred up when there is blood in the water, when words like ‘racism’ and ‘colonialism’ are being thrown around.
But you do have influence on the esoteric questions of openness, and I think that this blog is the primary reason a cynical operation like the Star Advertiser is suing (actually spending money!) the Abercrombie administration on the issue of openness.
It’s important for bloggers to throw in the occasional cynically calculated inflammatory posting to generate page views, I’ve read. I do not have a problem with that. The problem is when that is all there is. So please do hit us up with the odd “fire starter” post despite your journalistic scruples. It’s okay to think like a shrewd columnist now and then. I also like to respond in an unorthodox way to those hot-button posts that elicit so many low-brow comments; I like to respond with something middle-brow, or even high-brow! It’s a challenge.
Also, think of Pablo Picasso. In his later years, he would say “There is only Matisse.” That meant that only Matisse could really appreciate Picasso. So when an artist starts his career, as he becomes better, he hopes for a broader audience. But if he becomes a great artist, his audience shrinks dramatically. More is not necessarily better. (Is McDonald’s the best restaurant?) Let’s avoid getting brainwashed by democracy and capitalism.
I pay little attention to the amount of comments are made on any blog site. What matters to me is what the blogger says… not the commentators.
Many of us have read your blog long before you even allowed comments on it… and would continue to read it if there were no comments at all.
You are an inspiration to all of us who strive to blog!