Be Someone's Comment Angel

Blogging has changed a lot in the last couple of years and one of the things that has gone by the wayside is commenting. We all understand the reasons why: we are busy, there are other more immediate ways to connect (Twitter), we read so many blogs we don't have time, etc. I don't mean to make anyone feel guilty about this because I also comment a lot less than I used to.

On the other hand, though, as a blogger it's soooo depressing. It takes time, effort, and a certain amount of vulnerability to write posts and it's so sad when no one comments. It makes it harder to write the next post, etc.

I remember back in the day when Kathy used to comment on everything. Did anyone else have that blessing? It was SO NICE to know that she'd always be there with her comment. I can't even imagine how much time that must have taken her, but it was truly fantastic.

I know this loss of commenting and as an extension, feeling of community has affected a lot of people. We're all trying to figure out how we can get back this thing we've lost in a way. Well this month I've committed to commenting on a couple of friends posts everyday and it got me to thinking...why not make it a movement?

Look it's hard to comment on EVERYONE's posts and when we set that bar for ourselves we end up just being kind of present a bunch of places and not really anywhere. But if we anonymously decided to comment on all of the posts of one person for a month, we might actually do something. I'm already noticing that it's kind of nice to have this goal of reading their posts and commenting. And I hope it's an encouragement to them as well!

So what I'm suggesting is anonymously choosing one of the bloggers you subscribe to and committing to commenting on their posts for a month. Don't tell them! Just commit to yourself to do it and then do it! If you think you can handle more than one, choose two!

I know it might become kind of challenging. You might not always have something to say. But the challenge is part of what makes this great...you'll be forced to read what they're saying and engage with it on a deeper level. And who knows after a month, you might not want to stop!

One last thing...I don't mean this to be a guilt trip and I don't think anyone should decide to do it out of a feeling of obligation. It's just an idea I had of a small concrete manageable way to make the blogosphere active and fun again. If it's not your cup of tea or you think it wouldn't work, no worries!

I hope some of you will think about being someone's comment angel this month, though!