Why you should not eliminate blog comments
Interesting viewpoints energize your online community, and filters catch most spam, so why not let your readers give you feedback and make connections through your blog?
Recently, a few top-notch bloggers, including Copyblogger and Jay Dolan of The Anti Social Media have opted to get rid of blog comments.
I have read (and re-read) each of their posts multiple times, trying desperately to understand the rationale for this move. Their reasons include:
As much as I respect these bloggers and the amazing content they crank out week after week, I find serious flaws in each of these reasons. I just can’t wrap my head around what would cause someone to remove blog comments from such large, thriving blogs.
Getting rid of blog comments is like getting rid of the essence of your community. Jeff Atwood, who founded StackOverflow, went as far as to say, “A blog without comments is not a blog.”
Though this may sound extreme, a blog is nothing without an audience. Most people are content to be passive readers and will never comment. This is one reason why Rich Millington, who runs the Feverbee blog, removed comments more than a year ago.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
