Why has no-one commented?
Everyday, I come into my blog and check if anyone has written a comment. None for a couple of days but I notice my clustrmap has a few more dots on it. So how am I going to get people to read my thoughts and questions and also post a comment?
I know, look at a few other blogs from well known bloggers, see what they are writing about, add a comment to something they have written.
Well I started with Sue Waters at Edublogger which I also read daily for her hints on how to improve your blog. In the comments, I then check out the blogs of those people and today found quite a few. I began with Cathy Nelson posting about her 2008 goals, keeping your head in the sand and women bloggers. From there I checked out a few of the other comments and this lead to Kathy Schrock with her list of tech educators and Leslie Fisher with her travels in Australia. I can see from this I am going to have to add to my blogroll.
Well I can see tomorrow will be another day of reading, writing lessons for my smartboard and updating my blogroll.
Hi Sue , Enjoying reading your first steps into the blogosphere- welcome!. I felt like no-one was reading my blog for ages too but if you start using twitter and add some links to people you may see what kind of chatting is going on and you will find heaps of support and ideas. Great to hear of someone else in the later years of teaching still seeing themselves as a lifelong learner. Hang in there and keep blogging because it only gets better and more addictive! All the best
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I’m certainly no expert in drawing readers in who comment, but I can say this: Write for yourself, put your heart into it, and you will start to see your map light up like a Christmas tree!
I searched my del.icio.us and found this resource for you… hope it helps you with your Smartboard:-)
http://docs.google.com/TeamPresent?docid=dhn2vcv5_106c9fm8j&pli=1
Dave.
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hi miss w
I was thinking that an ‘about’ section would be good. just a bit about you. sue w has created herself a wonderful profile – so she is a excellent exemplar and mentor and her blogs have great tips. I am commenting here cos I saw one of her recent twitter posts. I also agree with dave – write for yourself, from the heart, about what interests you, and you will find like-minded people out there.
does tasteach mean u r from tas? I am
the other thing I find re sue’s blogs is that they are useful; and full of great info; and on point. other people do more reflective blogs – hey there are thousands of sorts of blogs out there. that is the other thing I’ve noticed, there’s lots more competition for people’s headspace.
all the best on your voyage of discovery
jen
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Hey again
You’re not doing bad for day 6 or 7 now.
It took me a couple of months to get a first comment (although I did realise for about 1/2 that time my comment system had been broken… so people were trying but it wasn’t working) and I still find those posts I expect to get a lot of comments don’t – whereas posts I didn’t expect any response to seem to get more.
I’ve just subscribed to your blog RSS feed… so hopefully I’ll see new posts and be able to drop by in future with a comment or two
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G’day Dave – Thanks very much for that google link – I had seen some of those tips before but as I haven’t really started writing my own lessons yet, they will certainly come in handy in the next few days.
G’day Jen – Yes I am from Tassie – I have an about page but as I am going to be teaching internet safety with my students this year, I didn’t want to put too much info on there that would actually say who I am. You never know who is out there in the big world of WWW.
G’day Tim – Thanks for that info on the research – I have gone there and put in a great link that I use. I really am setting this blog up to use with the students hopefully this year, with them posting comments to my posts once we are back at school. But as a newbie, I thought I had better set it up early and then get used to actually writing posts and continuing conversations with those who make a comment.
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Well, you are doing much better than me.
I have been procrastinating about making my own personal edublog, but feel no point as “who cares what i say.”
Congratulations!
Mike
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Dear Sue
Given the fact that you only just started, you are doing great! A picture of you would be nice, or something that is a little bit personal in appeal, that way people can relate.
What also helps to enhance comments is writing posts that give guidelines, how to’s or provide explicit opinions on things that are relevant to your profession. If you keep your posts open to interaction and truthfull to yourself, the comments will start coming in.
In addition to the first post: indeed, twitter is nice to get connected, but it will also take time to get a good professional network going. I saw the twitter of Sue Waters and that is what got me to your blog.
happy blogging from Belgium!
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I’m here because YOU commented on MY blog, so you can see how that can help you make connections! In my experience if you practice what you preach and take the time to read and share on other blogs, more people will be inclined to do the same for you. I look forward to reading more of what you write! P.S. I really like this theme/presentation
Kate Olson
http://googtweetblog.edublogs.org
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Commenting is hit and miss. Often I check my blog stats and find there have been many readers and no comments. Have no fear – people are reading. Perhaps that should be, be afraid – people are reading. My biggest surprise was that my readership tended to be far-flung and not close to home. I had hoped to generate some conversation at a local level and although I have heard via the grapevine from colleagues that I have some regular readers from the local scene but have never had a local comment. The closest it comes to local is 200 km away but still within my province.
Tried and true way to get comments – make comments. Just as you did on my blog and brought me here. Best wishes with the blogging. I’m a year and a half old now as a blogger. This season has been slow on my own blog as I moved from an educational leave to the classroom again. I’m finding it more difficult to blog my classroom than it was to blog the theory. I’m working on the public/private line and what makes a good post.
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I did a school library blog as my first experience with blogging, and over the summer a “newbie” nailed me for pouring so much of myself into something that was used very little by anyone else. She said it was obvious I did not win any students over or have a public following. It really hurt my feelings. I just contacted her and thanked her for such a motivating commentary (and it was on a ning too) but also i mentioned all the things working against me, like a filter at school and that students are ingrained to believe the web 2.0 tools are bad since they cannot be accessed at school. But I also pointed to my little successes in that blog (like I had three different authors respond to it, one sending me a whole packet of materials for use at school to promote her books–Pam Munoz Ryan). I also pointed her to my professional blog, TechnoTuesday, and suggested that she should research blogs before she blasts them. I did not have a following to begin with either. I really felt for a LONG time I was writing a personal diary instead of a blog. But I persisted. I at first would not even put a clustrmap on my blog b/c I was embarrassed by my lack of readership. But I did persist, and now I’m proud of the blog itself. One person told me a couple of ways to develop readers, and this may also help with comments. And that is to treat every post as a conversation. If someone comments on your post, you comment back, and from your own blog. Most people that subscribe to blogs also subscribe to the comments feed. Its makes it easier to check from new posts and follow threaded conversations. I would even suggest you subscribe to your own blog. (Are your comments moderated?) From the reader you can see the conversation, without having to log in and look at your blog. Another tip (and this one is probably more helpful) is to link to their blogs in your posts. The only reason I knew about this post today is because i got a “ping back” on my edublogs dashboard that led me here. Thanks for mentioning my blog. A lot of bloggers will visit to see why you linked to them and what you have to say, and a few (like me today) will even comment, or join in the conversation. So pinging others will help. Last, comment on other blogs that you like. Once a blogger gets familiar with you as a commenter, they begin seeing what you are all about. They may even give your blog a ping. So it helps to read a lot of different blogs and comment. Someone earlier recommended you have an about page. I think that is a great idea too. I initially remained very icognito (hence the name technotuesday as my username.) But now in hindsight, i see that if someone can visit my blog and read about me as a person, it also helps them see that I am just like them. (I am a public school teacher-librarian, btw.) Twitter helps too, BUT ONLY if you have an established network of friends in twitter. If you use twitter, and have the very important friend relationship, you can “twit” when you have posted new. Last, it appears your blog is very new. Don’t expect to have a huge following in the beginning. That will come as you earn respect in the blogosphere. It won’t happen over night. And even the established bloggers post things that do not get any comments. I have many posts that no one replied to. Just look at my most recent post. I found out that one of my professors from over a decade ago rads my blog–but she has NEVER commented. Okay, these are the things that I think help.
signing off with my REAL NAME:
Cathy Nelson
Myrtle Beach, SC
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NOPE your comments are not moderated. If they are moderated, you “approve” whatever gets posted. You will get an email, telling you there is a comment that needs to be approved. This would eliminate the need to check for comments and then get disappointed when there are none. Also, even though Edublogs does not have a huge problem with spam (which is one of the reasons I like Edublogs)they do have spammers slip through. Moderation will keep them from accidentally getting posted. Unmoderated blogs post everything no questions asked. This could come back to bite in the long run.
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G’day Sue – Wow!! That is an oft used name in the blogging world. I am loving blogging and I can certainly see how it will become addictive.
G’day Mike – Have a go at blogging. Don’t procrastinate – I didn’t think anyone was reading mine but I’ve had over 40 visitors in the first few days – I just hope they will also come back again and take part in the conversation.
G’day Inge – I’ve just had an email from Sue Waters saying she had mentioned my blog on her twitter. So thanks for coming and checking it out. Once I get back to school, the blog should probably become more relevant to what I am teaching and what both the students and I are learning about Web 2.0
G’day Kate – Thanks for that. I have found out that many people will make a comment back if you comment to their blog. The problem is there are so many great blogs out there on so many different topics. I can see I am going to have to add to my blogroll rather than have links in my favourites folder as I have at present.
G’day Susan – Thanks for coming to my blog. I know one person locally has commented on my blog. The same person who has taught me so much about using a smartboard (thanks Ros) Also just to get my comments started, I asked my brother to have a look – he is a bit more techno savvy than what I am.
G’day Cathy – Thanks for the comment. I thought I would get the blogging going first before looking at other options like twitter. Because I want to use this blog with the students at school, I decided I would moderate the comments and presently be the only person to do posts. Maybe once I get back to school, I will create a blog for the class and maybe a wiki as well but as I am not sure what filters apply at the moment, I am keeping it simply mine.
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There you go, another dot in your ClustrMap, this time from Spain!
I have not worried too much about comments yet because I am first finding what I want my blog to be about. At the moment I am mostly concerned about reaching my students in a different (more interesting?) way, but I am beginning to enjoy the conversations that take place in this eduworld we live in!
I think we still have to teach our students to READ blogs, to engage in these conversations and eventually form a part of them… but as someone mentioned earlier, it is good that we are still prepare to learn even more than teach. Enjoy the blogging!
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[...] You can share Sue’s journey from ‘her first day at blogging‘ through wondering ‘why has no-one commented?’ to seeking advice from others about ‘Creating a classroom blog‘. Sue has now [...]
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