Coming from a family oft referred to by others as the Flanders, blog comments were fraught with peril for me. If posting them myself, I used to feel responsible for posting only positive, affirming words that couldn’t possibly be seen as negative – to ensure the blogger’s feelings would not be hurt, their self-esteem remain unmarred by thoughtless callousness on my part. Similarly, checking for comments to my blog[s] was always anxiety-inspiring; what if I had accidentally made an error, been rude? What if someone drew this to the attention of me and anyone else who might ever come across their posting – what if, in short, my shortcomings were exposed to the world? [Dedicated to preserving information, I wouldn't delete a post or its attached comments.] I clearly remember the comment that reduced me to tears and drove me into a self-imposed exile from the internet for three days.
Well, I’ve grown up a bit since then. Experience interacting with other bloggers online has helped me to see this as less of a public space for potential ridicule than a meeting area for ongoing discussion and learning. As a result, my blog posting deadlines no longer cause anxiety. I welcome comments that don’t echo congratulations. They’re opportunities or me to see things from a different perspective or to investigate new areas.
So, advice to Librarians seeking feedback from users in blogs and social networking sites: provide expectations. Explain what the comments are for, not just how rapidly they’ll be responded to. Clearly state that all people’s contributions are valued – because they are, and a reminder can’t hurt - and keep guidelines clear, brief, and inclusive. [For an explanation of what I men by inclusive, try tossing out any inclinations to think less of a post written in popular netspeak shortcuts, with capitalization, grammar, and semantic errors. These are not relevant to content value and may be an affectation by a user seeking to mask their identity that a conspicuous linguistic style may reveal.]
Comment on a blog today!
3 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
If you are looking for best credit card deals with reward programs you need to have good or excellent credit history and a clear vision of how you are going to manage your money. You need to understand your spending habits and find the rewards program that will suit you. Take a look at
0% apr transfer 10 000 credit limit
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
The shush slipped from her fragrances and fell to the floor.