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Gardening, Blogging, Life, Comments and How Relationships Stay Made

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The Authenticity of Gardening … and Blogging

When I was a luxury farmer, I brought in bark mulch by the truck load. I had conversations with dirt that was so dry that you had to wet it to call it dust. It made be feel like a cowboy. It made me feel like a king. I could put my hand in the dirt, work for hours. Then through some miracle of nature color would happen. Things would grow. Not right way. Oh no. It took longer than blog years, but suddenly in the sun things started to show.

Every year we the weather gets warm and my hands want to be playing in the dirt I’m reminded that all things I’ve ever done have happened because I was willing to spend the time they took.

A blog. A garden. A life.

No one does them for the comments really.

But the comments sure do feel good.

Would you leave one for me now and then go leave one for those you know who’ve been working hard?

I’d so appreciate it and so would they. It’s how relationships start and how they stay made.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

The Value of A Comment

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Leaving a comment on a blog is an excellent way to say what you think about the content of the blog you have chosen to read. Commenting is becoming part of the conversation. People comment, or write a blog post about the topic themselves, because something they read interested, motivated, angered, intrigued or just plain made them happy. So why does there seem to be fewer and fewer comments on blogs these days?

Blogs with huge readerships, the “A-Listers “ have no problem getting comments. People comment there to be seen engaging in the conversation, challenging the ideas contained in the post and promoting their own sites. We don’t question that A- List bloggers input great value and knowledge into the blogosphere. I’ve gone to many other blogs that also provide great information and insight but have small readerships and very few comments. I wonder why?

There’s been some conversation lately around the issue of the value of comments. There seems to be a trend towards less commenting and more posting of links, for example, on Twitter. This isn’t new. I’ve seen the topic come and go. I keep wondering about this the longer I blog and the more I read.

I read a lot of blogs and comment on few. I’ve been thinking about that lately. At times I believe I don’t have anything of value to add to the conversation or I’m intimated by the other comments. Sometimes I have too many to read and not enough time so I just tweet the link. I know that when I receive comments on a post I wrote I feel like they add value and I truly appreciate hearing what others have to say. I enjoy and learn from the conversation.

What is the value of a comment to you?

from Kathryn Jennex @northernchick

photo credit: Linda Cronin

What Tony Lawrence Said … About Commenting on Blogs

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A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

Getting Folks to Follow You Home

When new bloggers ask how to get more readers, one of the first answers offered is usually to comment on other blogs. Connecting with like-minded thinkers with a thoughtful response to what they write is a strong way to let folk know who we are. The key is in the quality of the comments we write.

Here’s what Tony said . . .

I don’t think I like the idea of commenting on every post.

If you are really adding something worthwhile, fine. But how many of us have something useful to add on each and every post? And if it IS that useful, I’m probably going to blog about it myself and include a link back to my inspiration rather than leaving a comment. Of course that does zilch for building traffic links, but if I’m really saying something important, it may be better for me long term.

In fact, whenever I start writing a comment and it gets over a paragraph or two I start thinking “Shouldn’t this be a post?”

This comment qualifies, but I’ll leave it here just this once

I also don’t necessarily like putting links in my comments. If I honestly feel that I have something you really have to read, I might, but I’m more apt to just say “I do have a post on this at my site” or (most often) say nothing at all. I just don’t like using other people’s comments to promote myself.

When someone comments on one of my sites for no apparent reason than to get a link, I delete their comment entirely. If they have added something at least marginally useful, I’ll leave it be. I’m not draconian, but I’m not going to be spammed.

If somebody asked a question and I have a good answer on one of my sites, yes, of course I’ll link to it. But sometimes, and particularly if the post at my site is short, I’ll just cut and paste from the post instead of linking.

I’m probably too conservative in that regard.

Tony Lawrence from a comment on October 31, 2005

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

SOBCon08: In Celebration of the Conversation in the Comment Box

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You Don’t Have to Be a Blogger

SOBCon08 Logo50

Once upon a time on a Tuesday morning, I wondered what would happen if I posted a photo of a microphone and invited folks to talk. That’s how Tuesday Open Comment Night began.

People came and the conversation started. I had no idea what it would become – a weekly adventure of playing, dancing, talking, and making friends in the comment box. I had no idea that I was investing 4 hours of every Tuesday for next “rest of my life.”

So many people have come along, left a word, made a friend, and moved on. That the comment box is filled with laughter, discovery, and wisdom. I could leave my blog today, and relationships and memories made here would still be.

When Terry and Chris first got serious about SOBCon07, I stood back wondering whether it was a good idea. They stood smiling and tall, shook their heads, and brought me along until I was with them. My gratitude will never find it’s way to the right words.

Last night, Joanna Young arrived in Chicago — her first trip to this continent — to meet everyone and share in something we started. She said

But as I was flying in I started thinking about all the people I knew in these mysterious places that have just been names on a map up to now, and it suddenly felt a lot more familiar and real.

I realize now that we had made a worldwide comment box on the ground.

C’mon. Let’s Talk!

You don’t need to be at SOBCon or in Chicago to know about conversation and connection. You don’t have to be a blogger to know how words can bring people to know each other’s head, heart, and purpose in life. You don’t have to put your thoughts and your feelings in the comment box every day to make a relationship that will last a lifetime.

But it helps.

Thank you to every person who’s ever joined the conversation.
You’ve changed the world.

Do we ever know how many lives we touch with what we say?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!! SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

Blog Post Fatigue? Please Take the Keys . . . Again!

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The Day I Learned What I Know

relationships button

A turning point in my blogging history was called “An Open Thought: Please Take the Keys.” I knew when I wrote that piece that something was wrong; I even had a feeling what it might be. I had been looking for a way to bring it up. . . .

When I did, you were there. You stepped up and told me what I was doing wrong. It was the coolest thing. That was the day this blog became a community.

I’ve always been grateful for the day that you took the keys.

Relationships grow and change.

Last week at BlogHer I overheard someone say something. It’s something I’ve heard in passing on this blog. I’ve also heard the same thing inside the compliments that you give me and in the apologies that come when we talk.

The person at BlogHer said, “If they post more than once a day, they’re banned from my feeds.”

You’ve been more tactful than that, but you’ve been sort of saying the same thing.

Blog Post Fatigue? Please Take the Keys

Not to worry, it’s no longer about me being brave. This time it’s me asking you what you think, what you need, and what you like to read. I can tell from your comments a few things. I’m also perceptive enough to read a bit of what you’re not saying.

On the other hand, I’m as blind as every other human. No one knows that better than this human being.

You’re the people I trust and the people I serve. So, you’re the ones I’m coming to. I’ll lay out the problem, and I hope that you’ll tell me what you know.

The problem: I’m about head and heart, business and life, information and relationships, so I post twice a day at least. When I add in the projects I want to keep up with, references lists and resources, 200 outstanding blogs, and the questions/photos things I like to throw in for discussion, I’m feeling like I post way too frequently.

It’s not like anyone’s advice is going to change who I am, how I write, or maybe even what I do. I’m still the one who has trouble walking in a straight line. . . .

But you took the keys one time and you didn’t steer me wrong then. I’d be downright stupid not to listen now.

I’m many things, but stupid ain’t one of them.

Please take the keys.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Is your business stuck?Work with Liz!!

The 4 Keys to Reader Comments and Conversation

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The People Connection

relationships button

The living web is built on relationships that grow through conversation. A certain magic happens when blog comments turn into conversation. When a blogging conversation happens, ideas, thoughts, and information gets passed from person to person. In the process, we find a human connection.

The Four Keys to Reader Comments and Conversation

These won’t surprise or stun you. You already know them. They’re what we all do when we talk to any person we value.

  1. Come down from the podium. Talk to me like a person who can listen. Let me be as smart as you are, even when I don’t know what you do.

  2. Leave what you say a little unfinished. Then I can add a word in. When a talking person fills in every idea and detail before anyone else talks, that’s called a speech. The response becomes applause or that awful noise.

  3. Blog your experience. I’ll respond to what you tell me. I don’t have to agree with you for what you say to resonate.

  4. Hold up your end of the bargain. Respond to my comments as you would my conversation. It’s only polite.

They say “no blog is an island.” But a blog can be one, and blogging is not the same in isolation. The ideas, thoughts, and information that we share in blogging conversation make us stronger and expand us, as people, not just as bloggers.

Therein lies the magic — we meet and make each other better.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you’d like Liz to help you make a plan to meet your goals, click on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

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