The Comment Manifesto

Before I begin, go check this post via Brian Bailey. He has some very interesting points I’m going to discuss below. Also, hello to the awesome folks at Fun Times Guide who linked to me (and even got a photo of me) a few days ago.

So, here’s what I think: Blogs without comments are missing half of the goal of blogs.

This is not up for debate in my mind, you simply want to hear from other people or you don’t. Are links conversations? Sure they are. But so are comments. For someone like Dave Winer, who is a self-described egotist, it doesn’t really matter that he hears from no one else. He trusts no one’s opinion but his own, so what would it matter?

But for the rest of the world, and particularly for organizations (non-profit, churches, companies), comments are a must for those ventures. I’ll tell you why.

1. You Create Connections That Weren’t There Before

This post is a great example as to why comments work: Had Brian never replied to my post, and I never saw things from his point of view based on this feedback, he wouldn’t have a link on the right side of this page, I’d never have found his site, and we simply wouldn’t be having this conversation because I would’ve never found the Fellowship Church Blog.

2. You Hear The Good –and– The Bad

This is the biggest fear for corporate blogging, and something I’m having to deal with internally here at the company I work with: “What if someone says something negative?” Bah, I say. As Church of the Customer well knows, if you have a great product, service, company, or even just a solid readership, negative comments will quickly be called out or else they will spark discussion that wouldn’t have otherwise seen the light of day.

3. Comments Encourage Readership

Readers who know their voice is heard, and better yet responded to (either in additional comments by the author or even a new blog post), will return time and time again to read, take in, and respond to the postings found there. This simply cultivates readership and interaction, two things that are very important to a successful blog in my opinion.

Those three reasons are enough for me to include comments on any blog I have any influence over, and see no reason why they are not the defacto reasons every blog enables comments. Comments culture community. What else is there to say? I never said that blogs without comments aren't blogs, but I understand the position.

I for one think the FCB is a great idea and paves the way for thinking outside the box, something I honestly have never seen a church do before now. I mean, these guys are geeks who dig Christianity. They enjoy spreading their message through their technology. It just seems so weird, and as I’ve mentioned before, quite sad, that they don’t want that communication to be two-way.

If the Fellowship Church wants to show leadership for other church organizations who wish to blog, I think this is step 1. The pseudo-esque comments-via-email idea is kinda ridiculous for the reasons blogs exist in the first place. If you wanted private or list-based communication, start a mailing list! Don’t start a blog. Because with blogs you’re going to get talked about, linked to, and manipulated in ways you probably never thought possible. However, some of that manipulation is good, and most of that talk is worth hearing.

I just hope the FCB opens its ears.

Open up my eager eyes
I’m Mr. Brightside

Tags: Blogs Comments Commenting Manifesto White Paper