new kinds and old kinds of christan... revisited!

One of the fun things I get to do is help Jason Clark look after his blog.  I like to liken it to guest services, making sure that the variety of guest writers who have volunteered to write are looked after as well as looking to develop the content of the site.  One of the guests could not post yesterday so I covered by posting this recent piece on why I am growing to value and appreciate and value all kinds of christian, but especially the old kind on Jason's site.  You can see it here [apparently this boosts the technorati links for Jase and for me as a spin off!].

A question of engagement

I also have a Q for you on engagement with the audience that reads blogs.  One of the things that Jason and I would like to do is to increase the number of readers who interact on his blog so I'd love to hear your ideas on:

• what makes you want to leave a comment on a blog?
• what doesn't make you want to leave a comment?
• any blogs you read which have a high number of commentators?
• any ways you can think which might help engage people to leave a comment?

looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

Comments

[John]

I normally want to leave a comment if

1. A post is fairly easy for me to grasp.
2. A post really grabs me.
3. I feel that a post would be interesting to engage in a discussion about.

I don't normally want to leave a comment if one of the above isn't there, and especially if I know that the blog owner or anyone else will necessarily respond. It's kind of like talking to yourself--and I normally prefer to do that in private :-)

[Helen]

Like John said.

With all due respect, sometimes the posts on Jason's blog are a bit long and complicated for me to get my brain around enough to comment on. And I feel uncomfortable about pulling a line out of context and commenting on it - or saying something silly (even though I do anyway, sometimes ;-))

And I don't like it when the blog host never responds to anyone - I feel like "He/she expects me to read his/her thoughts but I have no evidence he/she is interested in mine - what's up with that??" That doesn't apply on Jason's blog (or yours) - you both do respond to comments.

[Rupert]

I pretty much agree with both above. Also wanted to add that when people comment on my blog, i feel much more inclined to comment on others blog.
Paul, you are very good at that, and being new to this whole blogging lark, your commment on my blog inspired me to come out of the closet and stop lurking!

[Paul]

Thanks John, can i ask what sort of things grab you/or engage in discussion about - what is that does so?

[Paul]

thanks helen - i love it when you do pull a line/thought out, you have a real talent for making some astute observations - you certainly helpe me think about what i'm saying/meaning as a result - which i really appreciate!

[Paul]

Thanks Rupert - you do have a great blog so i can't help commenting on it! :)

[Tim]

Keep things concise - often by the time I get the bottom of the post I've run out of time to read any of the discussion.

[seekingsomething]

I have been lurking on your blog and others for a while and have only recently started posting.

what makes you want to leave a comment on a blog?

The times I've left comments are where I've felt particularly moved or that I can particularly identify with the blogger's subject matter. I've thought about leaving comments much more often than I've actually left them.... :)

what doesn't make you want to leave a comment?

If I leave a comment and it gets 'lost' in among more passionate/articulate posters then I tend to feel discouraged from posting on that blog again. I like discussion but I'm new to blog reading and shy about commenting and get put off easily. So, yeah, silence makes me not want to comment.

any blogs you read which have a high number of commentators?

I don't really know what constitutes a 'high number'! I'm afraid to say I only learned about the 'emergent' church through links from a relatively small personal blog. I tend to prefer smaller personal blogs as far as discussion is concerned. Probably because you get a sense of people being 'real' - not in the sense that the 'big blog' commentators are 'false' - not at all! But, I suppose, in the sense that when the discussion is more intimate (as intimate as the net can be!), then people are more likely to take risks, be less afraid of sounding silly or ignorant and ask questions that, well frankly, I might ask if I were more brave!!!!

any ways you can think which might help engage people to leave a comment?

Invite engagement directly? This set of questions was a good 'starter for ten' for me....

Good discussion, BTW. I enjoy THIS blog very much!

[Paul]

Thanks Tim - you have spotted my achiles heel, lol. I do try and get a mixture of short and long posts - which can put people off but then again sometimes i just need to write to think ;)

[Paul]

Hi Seekingsomething - thanks very much for lurking and thank you for contributing your thoughts to the conversation - both very much appreciated!

I know that feeling of wanting to leave a comment but not quite having that lil bit to tip me over, so i think there will always be a higher no of readers to comentators...

good point on being lost in the conversation responses - do you think that your shyness makes it a bit harder for you when conversations heat up?

Glad you like the Qs - am trying to do that more when i can - i love hearing what other people think and being inspired/informed by their thoughts so your comments have been great!

[seekingsomething]

Paul said:

good point on being lost in the conversation responses - do you think that your shyness makes it a bit harder for you when conversations heat up?

seekingsomething says:

I think that my shyness comes from feeling overwhelmed in this particular context. I'm not generally shy but blog discussions are new territory for me and I'm a slow starter with new things. Am shy, particularly because during my teens/early 20s I belonged to a (fairly fundamentalist, I think) church and would then have called myself a born again Christian. Now, after a considerable 'break', I don't know what I would call myself - a seeker again I suppose. Back then I would have considered myself 'expert' enough to join in the kinds of discussions on this and perhaps Jason's site (although the internet then was obviously not this developed!). Now I am shy because the subject matter is familiar, the language has echoes of a 'language' I used to speak, but at the same time I feel inexpert and new and the discussions are ones which I enjoy reading but just don't yet feel I can contribute to. Does that make sense?

This particular discussion has in itself served a useful purpose for me personally though. Talking about concepts and questions is what I can do, despite feeling lacking in the in-depth knowledge that everyone else seems to have (that I don't!)

So, thank you for this.... Maybe I'll join in some more now that I've got started and it has been a nice experience!

[Paul]

Thanks something, it's been great having you involved in this discussion...

I recognise some of your story, not least cos it echos a lot of my past as well [you can read about in my leaf series of posts if you haven't already].

I agree with you that this a lot like learning a new language - but i think no one is very fluent in it yet, i'm certainly not which is why i like blogging cos i can chat and hear whether i'm speaking something others feel or just babbling nonsense :)

My advice, which you are free to ignore, is that it's more about tone then content - we're pretty much feeling our way and therefore i guess i reckon i'll be wrong more than i'm right and i want to be generous and gracious more than i am right...

hope to hear more of your thoughts and you continue to grow in confidence - you've certainly got off to an awesome start!!