|

|

Where Oh Where Have My Comments Gone?

Where oh where can they BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE??

Okay, what gives?  I miss my comments.  My stats are consistent, but my comments have dropped significantly over the past few weeks.  And as any blogger knows, comments are the fuel that light the bloggy fire.  I mean honestly, without comments, WHAT’S the point?

Which leads me to my next thought.  What IS the point?  At first, the blog was just a fun space to decorate and to record our family life for friends and family abroad.  And, admittedly, it was for my own entertainment and humor.  I have always had the questionable blessing of being able to crack myself up.  But as soon as the comments started coming in, I was hooked.  And over the years the blogging community has become a source of humor, comfort, friendship, encouragement, and insights.

As my blog has evolved, I’ve been able to provide fun giveaways for my readers, I have taken opportunities to write elsewhere, and I’ve had some amazing experiences that would have never come my way otherwise.  There IS a business aspect to the blog, I won’t lie, but at the end of the day, it’s the comments that matter.  It’s the friends we make and the relationships we build and the encouragement we gain and the wisdom we find.  And the laughs, where would blogging be without the comic relief?

I have had people say to me in the past that I get so many comments on some posts that they feel like another comment won’t even be noticed (or missed) or that we seem to have such a community here that they feel intimidated about jumping in.  I assure you NOTHING can be further from the truth.  There isn’t a blogger in the world who doesn’t want more comments.  Not even Dooce!

I also realize that comments are a reciprocal thing.  When people ask me how to boost traffic to their blog, I tell them to get out there and leave comments all over the place!  I guess I should take my own advice sometimes.  You might want to get the coffee brewing.  I’ll be coming around.

So spill.  Are you commenting less?  Are you noticing fewer comments on your own blog?  I know I’ve seen other bloggers mention recently that they feel the same way, so I’m wondering if maybe this a trend.  Or maybe I smell. 😉

Honestly, I’m not complaining.  I’m just wondering if anyone else has noticed a similar drop in commenting.  Tell me what you think and then go and leave someone a comment!  Go ahead!  Shoo!

Join The Conversation

73 Responses

  1. I’d be happy to get the number of comments the blogs I read get. Most posts don’t get any comments, and some only get two maybe three.

    It’s all rather depressing. 🙁

  2. I can’t really say I have had a drop in comments – I don’t usually get that many comments over on my blog anyways. lol. I just figured I wasn’t very interesting.

    Of course the fact that I had something like a 5/6 week gap between posts may have had something to do with it.

  3. I LOVE to get comments! The most I have ever received on one post was like 15. Some blogs get hundreds. I look forward to the wit of my bloggy BFFs and also love meeting new peeps!

    I will try to once a week meet someone new through the blogs. I sometimes look through other blogs comments and choose a few to lurk on and one a week I also go through my feedjit and comment on each blog represented there.

    It is hard to know what “catches” the eye of fellow bloggers. I cruise through over a hundred blogs a day through goggle reader. I also have my favorites that I can just look at right on my Dashboard of my blog – it is a great time saver!

    Good luck on receiving tons of comments.

  4. Comments do make the blog world go round! Nothing makes me happier than to see comments on my posts. I like knowing people out there enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy blogging. I love visiting others, too. It is a highlight of each day to check in on my faves. I peek in on yours every day, but don’t want to seem like a blog stalker leaving comments after every post. Several of the blogs I read each day are people who I don’t know personally, so I don’t want to freak anyone out adding my notes each day. Personally, I would love that kind of attention! Ha!
    Keep up your great site – it is enjoyed by so many … even if they don’t comment!

  5. I completely blame Google Reader…

    I do the exact thing you were talking about. I can see both sides… I love to comment when a blog stirs something in me and don’t want to feel obligated to say something every post. I certainly don’t expect people to comment on every post of mine. Yet it feels so nice to get comments…even short ones!

  6. I love reading your blog and “mommy blogs” in general, and I like to leave comments for people, but I usually will only do so if I feel like I have something to contribute. Since I’m not a mom (yet) I guess I’m more into reading about what you all go through, to read/learn about things I may go through in the future. Even if I don’t comment, I do read every post.

  7. I try to always comment, but I don’t read the huge number of blogs that some people do, so I usually find the time.

    My comments go up and down and I can’t always see a pattern or know if it really had anything to do with the post. I do think it makes a difference what day the post is on and what time it’s posted. If my post goes up at midnight for the next day, I tend to get more comments than if I post something mid-morning or mid-day. Tuesdays usually have the least comments for me – but that might be because I always post about tea, which doesn’t appeal to everyone.

    One thing I know for sure – I love comments! Mine range from 2 to 20 (more if I have a giveaway and it’s linked up somewhere) though I’m very excited about that with my little old blog. 🙂

    I love your blog and you have lots and lots of followers – nothing to worry about!

  8. Who doesn’t love a comment?! i get all kinds of excited when I see that I have gotten one. I don’t get many though. Haha.

    I don’t know about other people, but sometimes there are just days that I really would love to comment, but for the life of me just can’t. Basically I get lazy about it. Haha.

    Hope your comments go up!

  9. I love TO comment, but as of late, I’ve had a sweet baby in one arm or the other, while I read online…so comments are a bit more challenging to make.

    Now as for my blog…maybe one comment a week. Even on weeks that I post a lot…which hasn’t been often enough lately…that one-handed typing again.

  10. I don’t have a blog, but I do read many a day. Yours is only one of 2 in my reader that does the partial post thing out of around 60 blogs. I must say that I do often click to the next blog because your one or two lines of copy doesn’t hook me in.

    Sorry, but I think your hunch is true. Love your blog. signed….a lurker 🙂

  11. Jen – Trust me! I know what that feels like. 🙂 It’s been a while, but I remember it well. If you are really involved in the blogging community, the comments will come, I promise. They may wax and wane (clearly! LOL) but they’ll come. Good luck!

  12. As a fellow blogger, I love the comments. But I have found myself lately reading blogs and not commenting. Sometimes it’s because I just have nothing to say and lately I’ve been pretty lazy. I need to snap out of this though and start leaving more comments. I need to stop loitering and start typing!

  13. Well, this is my first visit but I can totally relate. I used to have quite a few comments on my blog but they really are less and less now. I think that I’m finding most of my readers spending their day on Plurk.com and I visit with hem there. I hate to say I spend quite a bit of my time over there too.

    I can send you an invite if you’ve never been 🙂

  14. I’m such a new blogger that I really haven’t found a pattern to my comments. I’m just happy if they seem to increase over time. 🙂

    I THINK I’ve commented here before. Like others have said, you’re at the top of my “to read” list. And you were already a role model for where I want to go with blogging; after what you wrote today, you are even more so.

    Thank you for all that you write. I find it inspiring on a lot of levels. 🙂

  15. So, I’ll have to admit, I read your BLOG every day and I’ve only commented a couple f times. OOPS! BUT, now I’ve started a BLOG and I know what you mean….COMMENT please!!

  16. I have noticed less comments on my blog lately. I’ll admit that I have been commenting less often just because I have less time for blogging. I do try really hard to comment at least once a week on every blog I read though.

    I am wondering if there are just so many blogs out there to read, and we get overwhelmed and don’t have time for them all.

    And I also wonder about the partial posting in a reader. Many blogs I read have partial posts and I feel I am more likely to click over to read the rest of a post. However, if it is just a title and no text, I am much less likely to click.

    I love comments too. If the comments ever stopped, I would clearly quit blogging.

  17. J-

    Yes, I’ve even noticed this “trend.” My daily stats are way higher than before, comments tend to be skimpy, at best. I had a post drafted but told hubby to read it and be brutal, and he said it was a bit on the whiny side, so I never did anything with it. All that to say, yes, I’ve noticed a disconnect with the amount of readers to comments. I agreed with everything you said in this post… 🙂

  18. My poor little family blog gets very few comments (very few readers to be honest with you) But I enjoy each and every one of them and always try to comment on my friends blogs even though they often don’t on mine…I would like to sit down and beg for comments – I feel super needy but to me it is an affirmation that people read, enjoy reading and want to see more. My blog is for ME it is my record of all things us…but the comments people leave make me smile, pick me up on a bad day and keep things moving. I agree… Comments are good and should be left more often. Maybe people think we don’t read them? Especially on older posts? I don’t now but I will take all the comments anyone wants to give me!

    Happy Friday

  19. Moriah – I can relate. I have rewritten this post about fifty times because I didn’t want it to sound whiny!! I hope I succeeded.

  20. Well, now, the problem may just be solved through this one post. 😉

    I do know I’ve not been commenting as much lately, which obviously affects my own comments. I just don’t have the hours and hours every night to be on the computer like I had while hubs was deployed. So I find I’m spending the little time I have just trying to get my own posts up, work on a design, or quickly scanning my daily reads. I did cut my feeds down to only 55 (!!!) so it’s helping me comment on the ones I actually read.

    I wonder if the face of blogging is just fixin to change again? It happens every six months or so. 😉

  21. What I find interesting is that more people seem to comment over a short post, maybe about something funny someone did and I just wanted to record it.

    When I get deep and personal? People seem to shy away. I can understand that, too. Some times it helps just to write/talk about something that’s bugging me.

    I have also discovered that I tend to comment more on other blogs because I know how cool it feels to see someone took the time with mine.

  22. I try to leave everyone I read a comment. It may just be a great post or a teehee but as a fellow blogger a little feedback is always appreciated. My problem is on window’s live people have a difficult time figuring out how to leave a comment. Not wanting to sign up or what not.

    I have been thinking about moving my blog but I’m not sure how to do that.

  23. I’m a regular commentator 🙂 I think the only times I don’t comment or for contests that involve baby thing and sometimes I’ll just look at pictures, think to mysel ” CUTE!” and then not comment.

    Please don’t be discouraged. You have a great list and you are on my “A.M. Coffee Top 3” before I start my day, wake up my daughter and get going. You write about things most of us are thinking, but don’t put into words and you are an encouragement to all the moms out there who want to be a Mom with God’s grace, patience and discernment.

  24. Try getting zero comments, now that’s discouraging and has probably NEVER happened to you! I think some people just don’t comment unless they really have something really worthwhile to say. I’m sure this post will get your comments up — now everyone knows just how important they are to you.

  25. PS: I’m not a blogger, so perhaps this is no big deal. But if I WERE a blogger I think perhaps it would bother me if I had such a great blog and only a handful commented and then when I had a give away all these people who supposedly ready my blog “like every day!” came out of the woodwork to try to win something. Maybe I’m just a little extra touchy that way.

  26. Typically, I only get like 3-5 comments on my posts…I can’t believe how many comments some of the popular blogs get (you included!).

    I try to comment on people’s blogs though because I know that I love to get them too!!

  27. I think I am just in a slump.. I am not posting.. im not commenting..Im reading.. just not typing 😛 Seems like a lot of people are in a blogging funk lately.. I need to get my act together! Maybe I will go write something now 🙂

  28. BFF, you know if I come here I am commenting! you are just to awesome of a writer for me not to say something…and I always got something to say!
    I do notice that there is lots of traffic on my page, like 150 visits a DAY! and yet the most comments I get are like 15 to one post…and that’s a contest! SO yeah, do I know!
    I’ve only been in the blogging world a short while and so comments are my life! And that’s why I try to always leave at least one comment a day on the pages I visit! Maybe I’m an odd ball.
    Ok, Okay, I am one!
    hugs!

  29. Maybe it’s the time of year? Things seem to be hectic from the beginning of the school year to the holidays…

  30. I still get so excited when I get a comment.

    I haven’t noticed a dip, but I have been getting involved in a few more Mr Linky things, and also there is a Blog Train on the main digital scrapbooking site, so I visit their blogs, and they visit me.

    I think feed readers may be playing an increasing part, but I prefer a few meaningful comments/dialogs than quantity, if you know what I mean.

    I love it when a blogger replies to a comment, and while on some of the “big bloggers” can’t possibly recipricate, when anyone does it really encourages me to keep visiting.

    That’s why you can’t get rid of me!!

  31. I’m still here. I haven’t commented as much lately just b/c of time! I love getting comments, so I should know better. 🙂 I’m not getting as many on my site either, but I’m sure it is because I’m not posting as regularly. Again, with the time issue. *sigh

  32. I don’t have a blog myself, but there are a few that I read faithfully every morning, and yours is one of them. Not only do I find it entertaining (at your expense), but the stories involving your kids remind me of when my kids were little. I know sometimes it’s hard, but enjoy every moment as they grow up way too fast.

  33. I’ll admit it. I haven’t been commenting as much lately. My own blog and leaving comments has taken a back seat lately in order to make more time for real life.

    But I miss the ‘conversation’ and as I get used to the changes I’m making I am slowly finding where blogging fits into the picture again.

  34. I am just now going through and re-subscribing as so many feeds are not updating in bloglines and apparently are not going to be fixed! I am terrible about checking in if I don’t see updates in my feed reader!

    We need to make everyone do the same- if you see a red exclamation point by the blog title, you have to re-subscribe!!

    Steph

  35. I’m with you — comments are VERY MUCH appreciated! The wind beneath my wings! ha! I’m a relatively new blogger, so I’m thrilled if I even get a few comments. Love your blog and how REAL you are!

  36. I think this is a slow time of year in blogland because it’s such a busy time in life. I have several blogs that I regularly read that are slowing down with posting and reading. I was offline for a while with very sparatic posts and reading a whole week (or more) of posts at one time and not wanting to miss reading posts and not having enough time to read posts and provide comments on them like usual.

  37. I have been a pop over reader to evryone, my commenting has dropped off because of time right now. I am rying to get the outside of my yard done before the cold with the gardens and the activities with my daughter has started up so my blog time is super short! I do foresee it opening soon with the winter upon us. As for comments, mine have been pretty much steady, a small drop in traffic but need more. I have been promoting Homemade for the Holiday featuring small businesses from Etsy to kind of blog out the recession and the giveaways offered have been amazing! It really deserves more traffic and entries! Anyway, you are right, comments do get reciprocated. Cheers!

  38. I am definitely getting fewer comments, but I haven’t checked my traffic lately, so I might have fewer visitors. My blogging has been light lately anyway. And I confess, I’ve not been leaving comments much lately anywhere. I don’t know why–just nothing to say I guess. Which my husband would call a miracle. 🙂

  39. Comments are one of the best parts of blogging. If it weren’t for comments, I think I’d feel like I was just talking to myself!

    Comments go up and down for me — although I do agree with the person who mentioned that it can be dependent on when I post (time and day). The “readers” (bloglines, Google, etc.) sometimes make it harder to comment, because you have to click through, so I get lazy or, more often, distracted by kids. And then, I forget to come back and comment. I do like that WordPress has that feature where it has a direct link to the comments section through Bloglines. Sometimes I wonder if that helps encourage people to comment more. Just another one of the great perks of WordPress, I suppose! 🙂

  40. The more blogs I add to my reader, the less comments each individual blog gets. Perhaps I should weed out a few…

    P.S. You don’t seem to have a comment problem. I had to scroll a long time to get here. 🙂

  41. Perhaps it could just be that people have so many blogs in their readers that they are reading them but not commenting on them as frequently. I know that’s how it is with me.

    I also know that if I read a blog, enjoy it and comment time after time and don’t get any reciprocating comments on my blog (and I mean comments on my blog and not an email response to a comment) I feel annoyed – almost as if I am reading a blog and trying to create a friendship but the blog owner feels that I am(or my blog is) not good enough to warrant visiting and leaving a comment.

    However, if I really enjoy that blog, I’m not going to stop reading it, but I might not be as inclined to comment on it.

    But I know many bloggers (you included) are busy because your blogs have become more than journals, they have become businesses and you don’t have a lot of time to read and comment on other blogs. So I guess it’s a trade-off.

    So read only the blogs you really love, comment on them when you have something to say and enjoy the blog success that is keeping you busy!

  42. I’m sorry, I am not a very good reader. I read your blog every day, but using google reader makes it more of a pain to comment! haha. But I do enjoy your blog very much!

    I haven’t seen a drop… mine are never high, until the other day when I told everyone I was pregnant! record breaking commenting on that one! =)

  43. My comments have increased lately. I only recently noticed it. My comments come in my email, so I am just reading them one at a time, but recently I’ve looked at my blog and said whoa! I had 32 comments on this one!

    What kills me is you have no idea what’ll make people speak up. I’ll spend a long time on a post, put up photos, write things I think are funny, and…6 comments. And then I write three lines about Mallo Cups and everyone has something to say. I do not understand the psychology.

    It does seem to come in fits and starts, doesn’t it? Unless you’re Dooce.

    I really doubt it’s anything you can control.

  44. I’m still here! Felt bad for scaring you about bed bugs and went into hiding! I just started my blog so I dont have very many comments at this point. But I agree, they do feed the fire!

  45. I made my blog public about 2 months ago and it was like taking a jump off the cliff. I waited anxiously for my first comment (thankfully I have a friend/neighbor who likes to read my blog). It is kind of frustrating when you put time & energy into a post and don’t get a single comment. I just keep reminding myself why I’m writing my blog. Having comments is the cherry on top. I do read all my comments and reciprocate.

  46. Yes, I have noticed fewer comments on my blog lately. Although my subscribers are up and my page hits are up.

    I have had so much going on lately that I have not had time to go around to other blogs and comments. When I have more time for that, I do see an increase in comments on my blog too. So it reciprocal.

    I love the conversation that gets going with comments. Although I know that I write for my own enjoyment, I do enjoy seeing comments show up in my inbox!

    have a great weekend!

  47. I found your blog a little while ago and while I haven’t commented very much – I do enjoy reading. You give me chuckles quite often! I’ll try to let you know more often. I have a little blog of my own, and do receive some comments (and that’s great!) but the blog is for my own purpose (and maybe just a little boring) so I don’t mind if I don’t get any.

    Thanks for blogging!!

  48. yeah i have that same problem, they hit hard then a slump and then back. I guess everyone gets busy here and there

  49. I’m new to this blogging world and definitely got into to ensure friends and family were updated about my little man. I use to email them updates every month his first year and then I thought with a blog they can check in whenever they want. Then I started reading blogs and got hooked on them, but felt funny commenting (not sure why probably b/c I did not have one). after I set up my blog and started the updates, I started commenting and sometimes I get a comment, but most of the time I don’t. But honestly, I get so excited when I do. Maybe I need to be more interesting and a better design 🙂

    Courtney

  50. I don’t always leave a comment unless I feel I can add something to the “conversation”. I don’t always have time to comment either (I haven’t blogged since late Tuesday night so there you go).

    Keep goin’ girl!

  51. I think it’s just fall and the adjustment of a new schedule. I know for me, it’s been HARD trying to find time to comment on blogs that I read. Heck, it’s HARD to find time to even write my own posts.

    I bet it the number of comments will pick up as winter sets in and severely limits our outside activities. Winter: The Blogging Season.

  52. It is a bummer to not get many comments! I love the comment you just received about getting comments about something as silly as mallow cups, but when you pour your heart out and get nothing it’s a downer. I’ll try to be better about commenting on others’ blogs since that’s how the bloggy world goes ’round… 🙂

  53. Well after reading all these comments, it´s clear to me, that you still get them. I agree with most of the reason´s that were written and I´m sure you´re happy with the response as well.
    For me, it´s like someone up top said, I get intimidated when there are so many comments and think that all has been said already. But I do enjoy your blog and wish you the best!

  54. This one is tricky. You never know what might trigger a response or why people don’t. I’ve been reading in Google reader lately, so I’ve been a bit lazy about clicking over to leave a comment, yet I read. I think time and mood play a big part too.

    I’m struck often by people in real life telling me they’ve been reading my blog and liking it, etc., but they’ve never left a comment. I don’t know why. Why not comment?

  55. Generally I am a lurker. Reading blogs is my “down time” after the kids go to bed and I am too wired to sleep! It is very easy to get too many blogs on my “must read” list. Thus I am trying to check-in on too many and don’t allow enough time to make comments. Been trying to do better lately though! But on the blogs with tons of comments, I feel like I don’t really have anything to add that 50 other people haven’t already said!
    I do have a blog but it is really only interesting to Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles 🙂
    Do enjoy your blog though, keep up the great work!!!

  56. Just wanted to let you know that I love your blog. It’s one of a handful I read every day. I don’t comment much because, honestly, I still feel a little bit creepy and intrusive reading people’s blogs. (Yeah, I’ll join the rest of the world in the 21st century one of these days!)

    Anyway, your post made me want to comment just to tell you that I appreciate what you do. Thanks!

  57. Yes, I have totally noticed a drop in comments. As usual, I attribute this to my not being a very commenter lately. My comments are directly proportional to the comments I leave. Plus, I figure if I feel so overwhelmed and busy that I can’t read blogs and comment regularly, chances are it’s in the air and others are in the same boat. Trying not to freak:)

  58. Wow you sure got a lot of comments on a post with no comments.

    For me personally my blog reading and commenting has been way down. The last month and half have just been overwhelming in real life. Then I come to bloglines and notice all the posts I haven’t read and I can’t deal with it so I go do something else. LOL. I just need to hit “all read” and just start from today but it’s like I think the world will come to the end or something if I did that. LOL.

  59. As you know, the last 3.5 months have been “yucky” for me due to morning sickness…hence my lack of commenting here. I’ll eventually get back in the groove again.

  60. I’ll take the bait…

    You brought up a very valid point and I’m glad you did.

    I know I’ve not commented as much since the kids started school again this year. Every day just seems to be filled with time consuming tasks. I miss taking the time to read and comment. Lately, I’ve just been reading.

    Here’s to commenting more!

  61. Boy, I guess this post did the trick. You got lots of comments. I would die to have as few as you have had some time. I recetly started a blog and it seems hard to break into the blogging world. I guess its my own fault since I don’t comment at often as I should on others. Love your blog!

  62. I’ll admit my comments have been scare for the past few weeks. I think with school starting, soccer pratice, PTC, working full time and everything else that makes us Moms my time has been limited. I read every day and I always think of something to say but usually my mind tells me… she’s not going to care it’s no big deal.

  63. I have never been by your blog before, but have enjoyed my tour. I will be back and WILL comment. 🙂

    I love comments when people stop by, but am soooo guilty of lurking a while before I join in all the fun.

    Thanks for the post, it got me to thinkin’

  64. For me, it’s the busyness of life in the fall with school, soccer, PTA, etc. I still stop by daily to see what you have to say. I enjoy your blog!

  65. I have noticed it. I also went through a time where I was not commenting/reading blogs at all because of life circumstances. It is so hard for me to keep it all up some days with blogging and commenting.

    I have noticed a dip in both hits and comments on my blog, but I would say for me it is in direct relation to the fact that I am not blogging or commenting as much.

    You rock, though!

  66. I love getting comments, but find myself commenting less on the blogs I read…only because of the time nature in my day. I love to have discussions on my blog… and see my readers converse with each other. However, lately, I’m lucky if I get five comments per entry. It is a little of a buzz kill when no one comments.

    I get a lot of emails regarding my entries on my site, but for some reason they don’t comment on the blog.

    To make myself feel better, I just reason that everyone is as busy as me and doesn’t have time to comment. lol

    ~Jaime
    http://www.ChaseNKids.com

  67. I think that Fall is a busy time for moms.

    I know that my blog reading has cut back a lot with starting 5 Minutes for Books AND back to school.

    I don’t comment as much as I used to (which was pretty much 75% of the time or more!) because it does take time, but for me — why just read a blog? I do want to be part of the community, and that means commenting. So–I read fewer blogs (or the same blogs, but less often), and still comment.

  68. I know I haven’t commented lately, because something’s been up with my bloglines feeds. Over 30 blogs I subscribe to have not been updating. And I’ve been too pressed for time to go check for new posts. But magically, today, they all seem to be fixed and I have new posts to read coming out my ears!
    I’m like many others though, even though I try to comment regularly, I often feel like I don’t have much to add. But I realize how important the comments are! (Of course, you have to blog to get them, and I’ve been doing very little of that lately!)
    Anyway, hope they pick back up for you!

  69. I’m not getting many comments either, not that I have a huge amount of readership or anything. One of the reasons I may not comment is that I read most things in Google Reader and it just takes more time to click on over to the site and post a comment. I will do this if I really have something to say but most times, I just don’t.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *