Still talking about Commposting…(no it’s not misspelled)
Posted by: Dean Shareski in Blogs, socialnetworksI’ve written about commpost rating a couple of times. It’s my own made up term to calculate the ratio of posts to comments. Not comments on your blog but comments you make on others. You need some type of tracking software, in my case it’s CoComment which by the way has been working better as of late espescially in terms of my RSS feeds. How else do you track conversations you’re interested in? Don’t tell me you just leave a comment and then never return? Anyway….
So I started in January with this:
- 99/140 =0.71 Meaning I wrote more than I commented
August
- 155/107=1.45 Getting better trying to reach my goal of 2 to 1.
Today
- 94/48=1.96
So as of August I’ve been commenting almost 2 times to every posts I make. Admittedly I’m boasting but in my discussions with teachers about sustainability and building networks, this practice is critical. You will never create a global audience but sitting on your hands and waiting for the world to drop in on your work. I can’t think of a short cut around this. If you want a friend, you have to be a friend. If you want a network, you have to be part of the network and commenting and contributing to other’s work is the best way.
I’m not sure how or what Stephen Downes uses to track his comments if he does at all, but I continually see his name in many conversations outside his own blog. He understands networks. I have an amazing network but it’s not by luck or chance. I’ve had to work at it. If I expect to get a response and support from my network, I’ve got to do the same for my network.
If you’re still wondering how to build a network, there aren’t many shortcuts. Start commenting….seriously. What is your commpost rating?
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November 14th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I have been guilty of not returning… but it was only because I was having so much trouble with CoComment … It can be a nightmare with tracking your interactions… (Putting head down in shame).
I am revisiting CoComment now…
November 14th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
I love these V-8 moments! I sort of feel shy to comment on other people’s blogs and wikis. But, what if I tweak the same sort of inspirations they spark in me? Duh. (smacks head again)
November 14th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. Everytime I log in and see I have no comments I think, is anyone reading this thing? Then I see all of the hits all over the world on my clustermap and that I have had over 1000 visitors in the last several months. I would love to know who these people were that visited! Even if they only say what brought them there in the first place. I will continue commenting on other blogs and follow up with the ensuing discussion. Thanks for the timely reminder!
November 15th, 2007 at 12:19 am
These insights on networking are helpful. I’ve been far too guilty of reading without contributing to the conversation. I have to agree, though, that commenting is at least as important as posting, and I admire your goal of 2:1. The challenge, of course, is time. I sometimes wonder if some of the people I follow ever sleep!
November 15th, 2007 at 12:23 am
A positive collection of thoughts from all. Two comments for each post…. That is a good challenge… Let me begin now. Melanie, your thoughts inspire as well.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Dean,
Thanks for this post. It got me thinking about my own ratio. I’ve been using BlogBridge as an RSS reader for the past month and I’ve been “pinning” posts that I comment on. I may go back to using CoComment since you say it’s working better.
I did take a moment to count the number comments that I’ve left in the past month (18, not counting this one) and the number of blog posts that I’ve made (17). I had no idea that I’d been blogging so much. Considering I’ve been writing about the importance of community, I really need to be doing a better job of practicing what I preach and get to commenting.
November 16th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Dean, this is something that I often feel guilty of. I think so often I am in such a rush to get through everything and onto another tab I rarely take the time to share. I routinely have Aha! moments while reading the blogs or twits of my network but I rarely share my own opinions and reflections. I have recognized this as a weakness and have made it a goal to narrow the scope of what I am following to allow more time for active dialog with the nodes that are a little closer in the network. I am always too excited trying to soak everything up that I miss golden opportunities to extend my own thinking and learning.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I don’t track my comments. If I see something that interests me, I comment. I have done that all my life. It used to be a fault. Now it’s a virtue.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Stephen may be on to something. He’s a part of the conversation without keeping any kind of a scrapbook of everything that he said. Perhaps the tracking of comments is part of that narcissism that Rob was talking about recently.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Stephen,
How do track conversations and know if someone has added something? I find without it, I’m not likely to return. While the comment itself has value, for me, the value comes from occasionally returning and clarifying, questioning or just reading? I know you do that, just wondering how you track that?
November 16th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
If there’s an ‘email subscribe’ I usually check it, so I can respond to follow-up comments. These subscriptions usually drift off to nothing after a few days (good thing, too, or I wouldn’t subscribe to them).
If there’s no email subscribe (like on my own site - something I need to fix) then it just drifts off into history. If it is something I really want to follow, I star it in Google reader and check back in a couple of days.
November 16th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Heather,
I’m not sure tracking it makes is narcissistic. For me it serves two purposes. One to track my conversations. Stephen uses email subscribe, I prefer the RSS within cocomments, in addition, I can subscribe to conversations even if I don’t participate. The second reason is that I do like a “scrapbook” of my contributions, not only to remind me of my obligation to participate and share but also be able to have a record of good conversations.
Just as having an archived record of your own blog is valuable so is having one of your conversations.
November 17th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
I am still new in the world of commenting, blogging and socializing with people I don’t know at all. After a while you start to feel comfortable and start to relate to people. I really enjoy it and the reason I would like keep track of my comments is to see how I have changed and grow in my views. I still need to learn all the tricks, vocabulary and short cuts, but I believe if I don’t try I will never learn
November 17th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Irma,
That’s a reason I hadn’t thought of but a good one. I’m not sure there are any tricks, vocabulary or shortcuts. I’m always thankful for those who respond in natural and personal ways. It sounds corny but just be yourself.
November 18th, 2007 at 2:28 am
Great post! Think of translating this in Dutch and put your story on my weblog (mentioning the source ofcourse).
Now, also I realize it’s much easier for us to comment on a weblog in English than the other way around. So what about globalization?
Should the whole world start posting in English so it’easier for everyone to comment?
I’ve tried the translators from MS and Google on my weblog but after translation I could’nt understand my own posts anymore.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Willem,
This is a great reminder that our audience is not only global but may not speak the same language. I’ve been frustrated with subscribing to non-English feeds because of poor translation tools. Obviously, ESL people like yourself (although even the term English Second Language assumes English is your second language when if may not be) are doing a lot more to attempt to bridge the gap.
I’m hesitant to advise everyone to move to English in commenting but rather continue to experiment with tools that allow us to publish content in our native languages and rely on technology to improve the translation tools.
November 18th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
[...] wrote a comment today and a post on my previous entry on commenting. He asks a good question: Now, also I realize [...]
November 18th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Hi Dean - I also track my comments but I prefer to use co-mment (http://co.mments.com/) so that way I can choose whether I want to respond back to later comments or not. Using co-mment means I can be an effective commenter which helps me be more effective as a blogger.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I like the idea of getting a blog post to comment ratio. I’m going to play with it for a while. Thanks for pointing it out.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:37 am
[...] is another reason why subscribing to comments is critical. Dropping in an leaving a comment and never returning robs you of great ideas that might be added [...]
December 1st, 2007 at 8:14 am
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who feels guilty about not commenting - and also not posting enough. Through the past several years, I’ve learned so much from the edublogosphere, yet I haven’t given back as much as I should. I’m going to try harder. Your post on the 2 to 1 ratio is excellent to share with those new to the blogging community, who want to know what it’s all about - learning that comes from interactions and conversations, not just from one way learning Web 1.0 style. Thanks.
December 1st, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I am a newbie to the world of blogs, wikis, and twitter. So far I’ve been mainly a lurker and a little nervous about doing my own post or replying to others. After reading this I’ll try to do more of both.
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 pm
I recently starting tracking conversations with CoComment. I really haven’t figured it out yet, but I’m sure I will eventually. I do try and comment as much as I can - even if it’s a simple “Great idea.” I really think the communication and conversations are keys to blogging.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
[...] My continued pursuit of a higher commpost rating. [...]