Sue Waters

Sorry still trying to catch up on the Comment Challenge!

While I’ve written my reflections for the Challenge for Day 1 – 10 on the same day I’ve broken it into two posts to make it more readable.

Day 5: Comment on a Post You Disagree With

Michele’s tasks for Day 5 was to comment on a post I disagree with.

Most Challenge participants haven’t enjoyed commenting on posts they disagree on. I think this is a reflection of human nature that we don’t like to be disagreeable in a public setting — most of us don’t like to rock the boat.

Ok, I have been know to be pedantic and outspoken (I rather not say disagreeable). So it wasn’t hard to find a post were I had be a tad disagreeable.

1. What happened as a result of you disagreeing with the blogger?

Tony Karrer is well known in corporate elearning and his posts (Social Conference Tools – Expect Poor Results and Reframing Conference Social Tool Participation) were in response to David Warlick’s Reaching Out With Your Conference. Tony questions the value of social networking tools because of low participation rates in conference attendees using them.

I was a bit outspoken (as were others) as I’ve seen social networking tools like Skype, Twitter, Ustream opening up conferences to global participants. Results were:

• Tony did an excellent job interacting with the commenters.
• We both expanded our conversation using Elluminate — I showed him how educators are using the tools and Tony told me more about the corporate sector.
• Tony has even joined twitter now (that’s weird somehow my twitter account unfollowed him by itself — I’ve fixed it now).

2. What do you usually do if you find a post with which you disagree?

I prefer not to be too disagreeable in public, so if I totally disagree I may move on without leaving a comment. If I do disagree and leave a comment I try to explain my position and ask questions to understand their position more.

3. How do you feel if people post comments where they disagree with you?

No issue because most let me know that I’ve made a mistake (which helps with my learning) or explain their position to give me insight into how they feel.

Progress = Completed 😛

Day 6: Engage Another Commenter in Discussion

Michele’s task for Day 6 is to engage another commenter in discussion because as Michele says “Conversations can become richer, though, if we also respond to other commenters”.

Yep I do this (sometimes too much). If you read comments on Tony’s posts Social Conference Tools – Expect Poor Results and Reframing Conference Social Tool Participation you will see this in action.

Mmmm Brent feeling definitely neglected re-twitter (ROFL)

Progress = Completed 😎

Day 7: Reflect on What You’ve Learned So Far

Michele’s task for Day 7 is to reflect what I’ve learned so far. I’m pleased that this was one task I completed on time and here’s my response — Online Participation, Commenting and The Comment Challenge.

Progress = Completed 😀

Day 8: Comment on a Blog Outside of Your Core Niche

Michele asked us to comment on a blog outside of our core niche as our Task for Day 8 but I’d argue that I already do it. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

Progress = Completed 😎

Day 9: Should We Be Commenting on Blogs?

Michele’s Task for Day 9 was to reflect on the value of commenting on blog posts compared to writing posts in response.

Some bloggers disable comments preventing readers from adding their comments to the post as they would rather their readers respond by writing their own posts. The most important aspect of blogging for me is the conversations. My belief is disabling comments limits conversations (like going to a conference presentation and not being allowed to ask questions).

It’s definitely better to build community through a combination comments and conversations occurring across blogs (i.e. respond to ideas by writing our own posts). I use a mixture of both but am more likely to write comments than a post since posts take considerably longer to write and comments are easier for other readers to follow the conversation.

Progress = Completed 😀

Day 10: Do a Comment Audit on Your Own Blog

Michele’s task for Day 10 was to do a comment audit on my Blogs. I think I’m doing an OK job building a sense of community on my blogs that invites people to leave comments.

What I will say is I feel some bloggers have conflicted emotions about comments on their own blogs. Partly probably because they 1) feel others may judge a blog’s success on the level of commenting 2) know new bloggers become despondent and stop blogging due to lack of comments 3) feel worrying about whether people will comment on their posts impacts on their writing.

My response to their concerns:

• Don’t worry what others think — we all judge our own success using different measures.
• Don’t give up blogging because of lack of comments (I hardly had any the first few months I was a blogger). It takes time (and work) to build your blog’s community. It helps to learn to be a more effective blogger and learn about community building.
• If you are blogging as part of your personal learning — comments and interacting with your commenters means your learning will be greater than what you gain by writing blog posts.

Progress = Completed 😎

FINAL THOUGHTS

There’s still time for you to join us for 31 Day Comment Challenge! Just go across to Michele Martin’s blog to get started with the tasks and add your name to our participants page.

Remember to follow our tagging recommendations for the Challenge.