GFC and comment annoyances

I love blogging and I love getting comments even more.

But I have to say: I only like comments of people who actually bother to read the post they comment on. And I absolutely hate comments like: 'Hi, I'm a new follower, will you follow me?'
Those comments, I throw straight into the trash. Just so you know!

Did you réád my post?!

If you're a guest on my blog, and you want to tell me something, at least preténd you're interested in me as a blogger, and not just as a would-be-follower. I took the time and effort to write something interesting and witty, so don't just hit me up to follow you, because I won't.

GFC

Which raises another sore subject with me: what's with the craving for followers?! I feel GFC is like the emperor's clothes: everyone is all enthusiastic about it, when in fact it's an empty shell. I've got 478 followers, but it's not like I have 478 visitors everyday! Not by a long shot. I'ld like to call out to my 'followers': where are you guys?! Am I moving too fast for you?

To sum up: I like my comments well thought out, friendly, and crispy on the outside.

How do you like yóúr comments?
And how do you feel about the Followers Myth?

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25 reacties

  1. In the new blogger layouts (dynamic views), it's not yet possible to include GFC, or to even follow a blog (mine, for instance). I don't miss it, people who comment might follow or not, the number of followers doesn't mean a thing, I noticed. You're so right about meaningful comments!

  2. I was feeling exactly like this after last weekend.. I joined a blog hop for the first time (I'm a new blogger) and it was exciting next time I signed in and had a bunch of new followers and comments.. but some of the comments were really just someone asking me to follow them back. I don't mind if it's because they think there blog will interest me, but two of them were blogs for discount coupons in a country I don't even live in! If you read my blog for more than one post it's pretty obvious I'm not American.. it kind of upset me. I realised I'd rather have ten loyal followers who care what I have to say and actually read it, than 1,000 who stop by once, leave a shallow comment and never return..
    That's why I really liked this post of yours, it's nice to see I'm not the only one feeling this way!!

  3. Oh, I love your comments! I can tell you've read the post, and you've made the effort to write meaningful comments. Thank you!

    Also, it's a great feeling, I'm not the only one who feels this way.

  4. So funny you wrote about this! I have a post on my blog called Comment Vomit, where I talk about this very thing. I even created a badge for peple to put on their blogs to discourage it. It's so self-serving, isn't it?

    I'm glad you trash those comments-- I do too! The more people who do, hopefully less people will leave them!

  5. When I follow a blog, I also subscribe to their feed in Google Reader and read all my fave blogs from there. It won't show daily visits unless they go to your blog. Most of the time, unless I am going to comment, I never even click on their blog. That might be why your daily visits don't equal the number of followers. I know that if I commented on every blog post I read, I would never eat or sleep, LOL! Chin up, you probably do have tons of readers, they just aren't talking. BTW, I love your blog name and header, too funny!

  6. I always find it interesting when bloggers get really hung up on how many followers they have! While sometimes it may feel like it, blogging isn't (and shouldn't be!) a popularity contest. It should be about reading stuff that you want to read and find interesting.
    As for the commenting, I think you hit on something so important! Most (if not all!) bloggers are not going to pay attention to that is solely about getting you visit their blog and/or has nothing to do with the subject of the post! You took the time to write the post so, if I am going to comment, it is only the right thing to do to actually read it first! I absolutely adore comments but, as a blogger who likes to connect with her readers and reply to comments, I much prefer when there is actually a real comment posted.
    Sorry for the book! Great post on an important blogger subject!

  7. I am a new blogger and I am feeling this too. And I have to admit, that I am guilty of those type of follow me follow you comments. For the most part I do try to read the blog posts and put an insightful comment on the blog, but I know on occasion if their blog is pretty new with minimal topics I do just write something generic.

    I am struggling with the readers vs followers thing. I would love both a ton of readers and a ton of followers, but if I had to choose it would hands down be readers. Like all things in life it's about striking a balance. I want a dedicated readers but most people only look at your sight if you promise to follow them. So having followers me a higher chance that they will actually come to my blog and read my posts.

    Thanks for the post. It's been something that I have been pondering lately also.

    thecheesethief.blogspot.com

  8. I feel like if you have more followers, people will be more likely to look at your blog and read it. Even if the followers are not daily readers. But I think it is the substance of a blog that brings people back to it. I just started participating in the blog hops, so I'm gonna go ahead and say:
    Following you from the Feed Me Friday blog hop.
    http://attackofthehungrymonster.blogspot.com/
    I hope this doesn't go in the trash 😉

  9. @Renee: don't worry, the first part of your post saved you!
    You make a good point about lots of followers inspiring confidence in a reader that your blog is worthwhile. I hadn't thought of it like that.

    @Uncreativemommy: thank you so much for the compliment on my header and blog title! I love positive feedback!

    @the cheese thief: I would choose dedicated readers over followers too.

    @Shannah: when I see bloggers with more than 2000 followers, I do admit to feeling like the unpopular girl at school!

  10. Hey there! I have to say that I read your posts, and you make me laugh. I have this bad habit of reading peoples posts and not always commenting, I should really comment more often when I like a post because my sister and I LOVE comments on our blog. I would have to agree with the above, more GFC followers really does bring others in. I think it is because there aren't a lot of "leaders" out there, they don't want to be one of the only people reading or commenting although your comments is for sure what brings people back. I think you can also have the best content in the blog world but if you don't have many followers people wont take a minute to read it.

    So my goal from now on is to comment on all or most all of the posts that I read that I really like. For instance, awhile back you did a post about you and your husband watching scary movies, my husband gets scared too. HAHA!

    Have a great day!

  11. Oh above I meant to say your content is what brings people back. Just goes to show I didn't proof read my comment. = ) Oh and I would much rather have readers too, otherwise why are we blogging and taking the time to write?

  12. Right on point with the annoyance! I hate when I put all my time into a post and all I get are comments that have nothing to do with what I just wrote. It makes me feel like they didn't even make an effort to read what I wrote. Thanks for putting this out there!

  13. Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels like this but as I'm new to blogging I've fallen for the new order of ' i'm following you do me the courtesy and follow me' I thought hey that a bit demanding but as I'm new i thought perhaps this is how it is. happy for the clarification. I totally agree with all you have said.

  14. LOL ... Well, I am only here today because our corn maze season is finally coming to a close. I've been pretty much GONE -- missing in action -- for two months.

    I love comments too, but I seem to only get them IF I visit and leave comments for others. On the other hand, I do have readers who NEVER comment because they aren't "bloggers." I find out in the strangest ways, "Hey, I read your blog every day" and I didn't even have a clue they knew I had a blog. So you just never know.

    Have a blessed day!
    Beth

  15. Your header is AWESOME!

    I just started a series on my blog with tips to help bloggers improve their blogs - one area that I discussed was leaving quality comments.

    Unless the specific post they are commenting on is for a hop that I am hosting, I'd prefer a thoughtful comment that pertains to the post. I'll never forget reading a post from another blogger about the grief she felt after loosing a child and how many comments were "new follower, follow back" crap. Come on folks! Pay attention!

  16. I think you said everything just perfectly! It's nice when people actually put some thought into their comments! 🙂 Hopefully my comment will pass the "crispy on the outside" test! Thanks for linking up to Sassy Sites FFA party! Have a wonderful Halloween weekend! XOXO!!

    Marni @ Sassy Sites!

  17. Agree 100% I don't care how many "followers" I get, I care if anyone is reading, or caring about what I'm writing. Comments that only want me to follow them back I will ignore from now on. I was feeling guilty not. But no more! I am free from the drive by comment and follow guilt. Thanks for setting me free! 🙂

  18. I must say, when I sign up for blog hops, I am guilty of the whole "Hey, new follower here. I'd love it if you'd check out my site at....", but I feel that if you signed up to be part of a blog hop, then you should expect to see such comments on your blog. I try to make an effort to visit everyone's blog in the hop, and it's just too time consuming to read articles on EVERY blog listed in the hop at that time. But the purpose of the hop is to gain new followers. Just because I don't have the time right then to read an entire article on your site, doesn't mean that when I start receiving e-mails from you, I won't find something that interests me and read it! That's often the case with me. I follow a site from a blog hop, then I start receiving e-mails from them and become very interested in their site and follow it more closely from that point forward. Why does it have to be all or nothing right from the beginning? That's not how real friendships work. You start off slowly, meeting eachother, etc., and then build a relationship from there. By deleting people's comments on your page and not following them back, you are missing out on that. Take your site for instance, I'm really not sure how I became a fan of it, most likely from a hop. But I read this article via e-mail, and it interested me, so I decided to leave you a comment. 🙂

  19. Mindy, you make a valid point. I suppose participating in blog hops dóes mean you get that kind of comment. But that doesn't mean I have to like them!

    However I don't delete them, I just throw the email with that comment straight into the trash, while I'll keep meaningful comments.

    Thanks for your comment! I appreciate you taking the time to share your point of view!

  20. God, I know. I wrote a similar post a few months back (I'm too lazy to get the link for you, but I did write one!) because this irritates me so much as well. In fact, it's the reason why I stopped doing blog hops. And I miss blog hops, because I found so many fabulous blogs through them. But I just couldn't take those comments anymore. I almost felt, like, embarrassed about having them on my blog. Like, here I spent the time to write up a substantive post & I have 10 comments that are "New follower, follow me back!" It's so, so rude. There are so many givers in the blogging world, but at times I feel like they are outnumbered by the takers--the ones who only give so they can get in return and the ones whose idea of "supporting other bloggers" means "support me in what I do."

    And YES, the followers are stupid. It's useful for people who actual keep up with blogs via GFC, but I think most people keep up with blogs in other ways. I just started a second blog and I didn't even bother putting in a GFC widget.

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