Social Media is Social – So Why Closed Comments?

Excellent post. There's a lot good information correct here, though I did want to let you know something - I'm running Mac pc Os with the latest experiment with of Firefox, and the actual appear and feel your own weblog is kind associated with quirky for me. I read the posts, nevertheless the navigation doesn't work therefore nicely.

I think blogs took over the web world because they were in fact a social form of a website. Until blogs came around you could visit someone else's website but there was very little interaction if any. By letting visitors engage in conversations with other visitors and the site owner over the topic on hand makes for a very successful form of web media.

That being said, a blog that wants to restrict that communication by forcing users to register for the ability to comment with others will only stifle it's creativity and usefulness. I run several blogs myself and the only hindrance I place on my users is that there is a form of moderation in place and I only institute that to restrict the flow of spam commenting.

Hey Danny,

I think one of the most important things to having a real and meaningful discussion in the comments is that it is allowed to take place in real time (or as close to as possible). That isn't possible if a blogger is moderating his/her comments.

For bloggers that are concerned with spam it's worth looking at third party commenting systems like Disqus. I've rarely seen a spam comment on a Disqus enabled blog.

PS thanks for the link.

I agree Susan. I hate to throw around a somewhat outdated term, but Web 2.0 saw an evolution from the static to the dynamic; the tools which allowed participation were created and made available so that people could really collaborate and create progress together (this is discussed well in Wikinomics by Tapscott and Williams). I believe that what is commonly termed Web 2.0 was simply the point at which these technologies were made available, the driving factor behind which was a changing social pattern which revolved around connectivity and creativity. Interesting stuff!

The Lovable Rogue´s last blog post..It's all about Growth... Or is it?

@ Susan. I agree - that's often what separates blogs from any other type of online commentary, the interaction on the posts. Like you, I've seen some fantastic conversations take place in the comments section, and I've also learned previously unknown information (or been intrigued enough to click on a link).

Without that interactivity, I may as well just read a newspaper... ;-)

Thanks for sharing your views.

The thing with blogs etc is that there are so many of them that it makes signing up for each one of these communities impractical. At present, I follow around 35 blogs or so, which I imagine is a small figure in comparison to some people. If I had to register on each of these communities simply to donate my insight I am certain that the number of blogs which I were following would drop considerably.

Picking up on Keren and George's points, perhaps the 'closed community' approach is an attempt to not only hold onto the old media approach, but also to retain a connection the early web. As George mentions, registration has been obligatory for forums since their creation. Whilst registration can help build a profile of a user, thus helping to confirm authenticity, pushing users away through the implementation of a registration form jeopardises comments from interested observers.

The Lovable Rogue´s last blog post..It's all about Growth... Or is it?

Danny,
For me, the key to the new social media is leaving nobody left out of the party.
I see the close comments phenomenon as if reverting to the old media.
Do you remember those days of seeing a couple of pages with only selected letters to the printed magazine?
Keren

Keren Dagan´s last blog post..Being Chris Brogan

Lots of sites do things to make comments difficult or unlikely. Sometimes they hide the usability with clever controls. Other times, they require logging in (to try and cut spam). Sometimes, they have crap-ass captcha that makes it harder than passing a test at Harvard to get a response up.

GIGO, the coders say. Garbage in, ...

So yeah.

Chris Brogan...´s last blog post..Quick Dad-o-Matic Update

I tend to agree that eliminating comments entirely is a bad move, something akin to blog suicide, but I'm not so sure about limiting comments to registered users. There is a trade off here.

If someone registers then it is much more likely that he or she will become a regular. You choose between having loads of casual commentators or fewer more dedicated ones. After all registration has been required on forums since their inception and nobody seems to complain.

Regards, George

George Cozma´s last blog post..More Link Love, an Upcoming Contest, Some Twitter Musings and Why Entrecard Sucks

Hi Sue,

It does seem to take away the whole "community" aspect of it all. I can see the reasons for MySpace privacy, with the abundance of spammers on that particular site. Yet I'm not quite sure why blogs would fall into the same category.

There are excellent spam filter tools (free and premium) that stop malicious or spammy comments getting through. And, as I mentioned, for companies that keep comments closed on their business blogs, it doesn't seem a particularly effective way to encourage potential customers/clients to choose them.

Thanks for reading and commenting (in this open comment forum!). :)

What frustrates me more than anything is when a fantastic blog really draws debate, but then insists on making commentators sign up before comments are allowed. You know what? It's them that loses out. I benefit from their knowledge, but they won't benefit from mine. If I feel really strongly about an article, I may post it to Digg or one of the other news communities, but this requires significantly more effort on my behalf, as I have to effectively 'sell' someone elses' story to a new community. I would assume that very few people would be willing to undertake such action for someone elses' gain.

I remember reading about Versioning years and years ago (was it 'Blown to Bits', or 'Information Rules', I can't remember). Why isn't this principle being used effectively here? If the blog or site absolutely insists on registering users, do so with the offer of giving something back in return. Don't deter people from imparting their knowledge on your debate; that's just daft!

The Lovable Rogue´s last blog post..It's all about Growth... Or is it?

I agree. I'm often sparked/intrigued by a blog, info, photo etc that has a comment area but am discouraged when registration is required. Also, several MySpace profile are "private"; what's the point? However, I suppose they have their reasons. Sue.

Excellent post. There's a lot good information correct here, though I did want to let you know something - I'm running Mac pc Os with the latest experiment with of Firefox, and the actual appear and feel your own weblog is kind associated with quirky for me. I read the posts, nevertheless the navigation doesn't work therefore nicely.

Thank you for sharing. I came to this site to read how things really are

Two other methods that can help to encourage comments are allowing DoFollow links (removing default nofollow attributes so that "link juice" is passed to the sites) and installing the KeywordLuv plugin, which significantly helps commenters with SEO because it allows them to choose the anchor text for links.

Overall, it is a good thing to encourage comments because the extra content provided by other people adds more keywords to your posts, which in turn brings in more traffic from the search engines without costing you any more time than it takes to write the original post.

I personally refuse to comment where I have to register. My thought is that if I took the time to read your article then you should listen to what I have to say about it. If I wanted to take time to register and login I'd find another forum to join

B. Durantu00c2u00b4s last blog post..No sherrif evictions in Chicago area

I think blogs took over the web world because they were in fact a social form of a website. Until blogs came around you could visit someone else's website but there was very little interaction if any. By letting visitors engage in conversations with other visitors and the site owner over the topic on hand makes for a very successful form of web media.

That being said, a blog that wants to restrict that communication by forcing users to register for the ability to comment with others will only stifle it's creativity and usefulness. I run several blogs myself and the only hindrance I place on my users is that there is a form of moderation in place and I only institute that to restrict the flow of spam commenting.

Hi Mike,

Unfortunately, even with some of the best filters, Spam can still find a way of getting through (hence my preference to spam filter and moderation, to offer double protection). :)

I agree with you regarding it acting as a possible barrier to conversation/instant response to conversation, although I think this may have more to do with the blogger moderating as opposed to the method itself. Maybe if we can devise a system that is foolproof at sorting spam from quality, we can begin to leave the doors open as far as immediate comment authorization. We can but hope... ;-)

Thanks for reading and commenting, appreciate it.

I left my last comment without realizing you moderated your comments. I assumed you didn't given the quality of the conversation here. You must do a good job of allowing good comments through quickly.

Having said that I still think moderation is a barrier to conversations, especially in the extreme cases when it takes days for some bloggers to approve my comments. When conversations can happen quickly and can be discovered the way we discover great posts I think we'll see some even better discussions happening.

Hey Danny,

I think one of the most important things to having a real and meaningful discussion in the comments is that it is allowed to take place in real time (or as close to as possible). That isn't possible if a blogger is moderating his/her comments.

For bloggers that are concerned with spam it's worth looking at third party commenting systems like Disqus. I've rarely seen a spam comment on a Disqus enabled blog.

PS thanks for the link.

Well stated! What good is a blog if you can't interact with your visitors? You might as well just have a standard html page with your info.

Great point there, Chris. Anywhere you read something online, you can be pretty much guaranteed that you will come across positive evangelism regarding Web 2.0 and how it's opened up the web to everyone.

Then you see the same people with a closed comment section on their blogs - seems counter-productive to me.

I agree Susan. I hate to throw around a somewhat outdated term, but Web 2.0 saw an evolution from the static to the dynamic; the tools which allowed participation were created and made available so that people could really collaborate and create progress together (this is discussed well in Wikinomics by Tapscott and Williams). I believe that what is commonly termed Web 2.0 was simply the point at which these technologies were made available, the driving factor behind which was a changing social pattern which revolved around connectivity and creativity. Interesting stuff!

The Lovable Rogueu00c2u00b4s last blog post..It's all about Growth... Or is it?

@ Susan. I agree - that's often what separates blogs from any other type of online commentary, the interaction on the posts. Like you, I've seen some fantastic conversations take place in the comments section, and I've also learned previously unknown information (or been intrigued enough to click on a link).

Without that interactivity, I may as well just read a newspaper... ;-)

Thanks for sharing your views.

Bloggers that don't allow comments on their blogs are not bloggers. They are people with static web sites. I don't even bother subscribing...not because I feel the urge to comment on everything I see, but because the comments are often as interesting (or in the case of my blog, MORE interesting :) than what the blogger wrote in the first place!

Susan Murphyu00c2u00b4s last blog post..To Vote or Not To Vote

The thing with blogs etc is that there are so many of them that it makes signing up for each one of these communities impractical. At present, I follow around 35 blogs or so, which I imagine is a small figure in comparison to some people. If I had to register on each of these communities simply to donate my insight I am certain that the number of blogs which I were following would drop considerably.

Picking up on Keren and George's points, perhaps the 'closed community' approach is an attempt to not only hold onto the old media approach, but also to retain a connection the early web. As George mentions, registration has been obligatory for forums since their creation. Whilst registration can help build a profile of a user, thus helping to confirm authenticity, pushing users away through the implementation of a registration form jeopardises comments from interested observers.

The Lovable Rogueu00c2u00b4s last blog post..It's all about Growth... Or is it?

I remember these days all too well, Keren - I was always of the opinion, "What? That's it? But they didn't cover my thoughts at all!"

Which is exactly how I feel about the closed comments approach - how can you possibly gauge what your readers are thinking if you don't ask them?

Thanks for sharing your view.

Danny,
For me, the key to the new social media is leaving nobody left out of the party.
I see the close comments phenomenon as if reverting to the old media.
Do you remember those days of seeing a couple of pages with only selected letters to the printed magazine?
Keren

Keren Daganu00c2u00b4s last blog post..Being Chris Brogan

@ George. I see where you're coming from re. having to register for forums, and having a trade-off between casual commentators and regular posters. However, the way I look at it is that people who register for something do so because they already have a positive view about that subject. Compare that to people who can simply leave any comment they wish, and it's the difference between a biased view and an honest view. But... that's just how I see it. :)

@ Chris: And that's the point. There are so many ways to keep control of your comments that it seems bizarre to try and limit them via your actual comment box. Unless you have no interest in what your readers are saying - which seems kind of redundant to me?

Lots of sites do things to make comments difficult or unlikely. Sometimes they hide the usability with clever controls. Other times, they require logging in (to try and cut spam). Sometimes, they have crap-ass captcha that makes it harder than passing a test at Harvard to get a response up.

GIGO, the coders say. Garbage in, ...

So yeah.

Chris Brogan...u00c2u00b4s last blog post..Quick Dad-o-Matic Update

Can you really claim to particpate in the social media when your blog comments sections is closed?
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I tend to agree that eliminating comments entirely is a bad move, something akin to blog suicide, but I'm not so sure about limiting comments to registered users. There is a trade off here.

If someone registers then it is much more likely that he or she will become a regular. You choose between having loads of casual commentators or fewer more dedicated ones. After all registration has been required on forums since their inception and nobody seems to complain.

Regards, George

George Cozmau00c2u00b4s last blog post..More Link Love, an Upcoming Contest, Some Twitter Musings and Why Entrecard Sucks

You got it in one, Chris.

Blogs or sites that don't feel the need to open up and share with their community are simply risking the same feeling in return - as you say, why would you take the time to share their story with your friends if they can't even allow you to share your views with them?

As social media continues to evolve and the benefits of full and immersive interaction come to the fore, those that aren't using it now will find it's too late to become involved and open up.

Thanks for sharing your views, appreciate your comments.

Hi Sue,

It does seem to take away the whole "community" aspect of it all. I can see the reasons for MySpace privacy, with the abundance of spammers on that particular site. Yet I'm not quite sure why blogs would fall into the same category.

There are excellent spam filter tools (free and premium) that stop malicious or spammy comments getting through. And, as I mentioned, for companies that keep comments closed on their business blogs, it doesn't seem a particularly effective way to encourage potential customers/clients to choose them.

Thanks for reading and commenting (in this open comment forum!). :)

What frustrates me more than anything is when a fantastic blog really draws debate, but then insists on making commentators sign up before comments are allowed. You know what? It's them that loses out. I benefit from their knowledge, but they won't benefit from mine. If I feel really strongly about an article, I may post it to Digg or one of the other news communities, but this requires significantly more effort on my behalf, as I have to effectively 'sell' someone elses' story to a new community. I would assume that very few people would be willing to undertake such action for someone elses' gain.

I remember reading about Versioning years and years ago (was it 'Blown to Bits', or 'Information Rules', I can't remember). Why isn't this principle being used effectively here? If the blog or site absolutely insists on registering users, do so with the offer of giving something back in return. Don't deter people from imparting their knowledge on your debate; that's just daft!

The Lovable Rogueu00c2u00b4s last blog post..It's all about Growth... Or is it?

I agree. I'm often sparked/intrigued by a blog, info, photo etc that has a comment area but am discouraged when registration is required. Also, several MySpace profile are "private"; what's the point? However, I suppose they have their reasons. Sue.

What do you think? Does it matter if comments are closed? Do you feel the need to share your opinion on something youu00e2u0080u0099ve just read, or are you more interested in whatu00e2u0080u0099s being said as opposed to what you want to say? Iu00e2u0080u0099d be interested on your views.
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