Intimidation in Blogging

Jack Sutter 24 Comments

“Do larger blogs intimidate you to the point where they drive you away? Does it make you not want to comment when you see lots of responses and followers?”
~Opinionated Man, The Daily Opinion – Blogging

It’s not something that really bothers me.

I’ve been surprised before, that someone would take the time to respond back to me, because honestly I’m not always looking for a response or acknowledgement when I comment on (or even just reference) someone elses blog.

As far as commenting, specifically, I don’t do that very much anyways.

When I do consider leaving a comment it’s mainly because I have something I might want to share, say, or offer that I think the person I’m commenting to might be interested in. The size of the blog doesn’t usually (if ever) enter into it.

24 thoughts on “Intimidation in Blogging”

  4. Jason you make your large blog cozy through lots of personal attention. Also I haven’t seen one mean blogger yet. That is amazing. I’ve been on the net since 1995, mostly on Buddhist boards. People are so mean when they have anonymity to hide behind. Even though I hear you complain about mean bloggers. I’ve met some of the nicest people on your big OM blog!

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    • Yeah, that can be a bit of a drag sometimes. Especially if you read comments on the way down and they happen to be interesting. It’s even worse if you feel compelled to check out some of their blogs (which I often do)… That can make it a longer process just by itself.

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  10. I’ve thought a lot about this over the years and it always comes down to established community. For some types of people it’s hard to invite yourself into an established group, with established history, dynamics, and relationships. Fear of rejection (not being welcomed) or saying the wrong thing is a huge barrier, because that person is on display to a large crowd.

    Along the lines of why some people have a difficult time commenting on older posts – the concept/idea/whatever has already been explored and through time has, in a way, expired. Which is contrary to why blog archives exist rather than like… FB wall, which has a limited shelf-life for public view of things.

    One of the weaknesses of the linear nature of blogging this way, methinks.

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    • Eh, no attention is bad attention the way I look at it. If I want to say something people can go ahead and shut me out if I’m stepping into their little club. Won’t stop me though. It could very well be the only reason that hasn’t been a problem for me is because I don’t comment much anyways, but even so… on those occasions when I do say something, I rarely factor in the community. Just the post and its content.

      I get what you’re saying though 😉 , and appreciate the comment.

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  11. Hi Jack,

    I visit and sometimes don’t comment at all. Usually, I’ll hit the like button most times. I don’t comment on some of the big blogs (there’s only one I check almost daily) b/c I think that blogger will never read it anyway. I mean honestly, this site sometimes gets hundreds, and I figure someone’s already said what I wanted to say anyway.

    Thanks for stopping by and reading my dribble, as well. Much appreciated! 🙂

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    • While that is true for many “big blogs,” that isn’t true for them all. I attempt to respond and read every comment on my blog. I miss some, I am human, but I do care to make the attempt. Even a regurgitated answer is appreciated on my website. -OM

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    • That’s usually what I do, I read, I hit the like button, and then I move on 🙂 .

      “Thanks for stopping by and reading my dribble, as well. Much appreciated!”

      lol You’re welcome 😀 . To be honest, I’d love to see more on your blog, even if it’s just writing about writing. You might humbly call it dribble, but I enjoy reading through it. The more the merrier, I say.

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      • That’s a very nice thing to say! Thank You.

        *arches eyebrow* Soooo, did you see the “debate” on writing about writing? Ho boy. I mean, not really a debate, and still, it made me question what I was doing – or not doing. I love blogging about writing, and didn’t set out to garner “readers” per se. I just thought, you know, at some point I need to have this “presence” online and if I have to pick my poison, blogging is it. And Twitter too – but I usually just re-tweet stuff b/c I’m too mouthy for 140 characters. (as you can see)

        The only reason I’m not doing more re: writing is b/c …well. Publishing. The hubbub with what’s happening with that waxes and wanes. I’m in the waning stage at the moment, (can’t you hear the Jeopardy music playing in the background?) It will pick up again and BAM! I’ll be writng good news or bad. Let’s hope good. Must repeat that to myself often.

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  12. No. The only thing that drives me off a blog is gratuitous unpleasantness–meanness, misogyny, uninformed opinion, juvenile stuff–basically anything that reminds me of holiday arguments with my teabagger brother-in-law. Of course, I’m told that I have strong opinions myself, though to me they seem not only tempered and refined, but highly knowledgeable and not a little wise. Ha.

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