Commenting on anime blogs

Even though I started my own blog and became familiar with the blogshere in late ’06, I’ve only been commenting regularly on blogs, my own and others, within the past couple of years…

As I’ve explained in some past posts, I was shy on the Internet for many of my years as an anime fan and owner of an anime web site/blog. It was only in 2009 when, much inspired by 2DT, I decided to start replying to all the comments I could on my blog, as well as reading and commenting on other blogs regularly. Replying to comments has since become as much a standard part of running my blog as actually writing posts is.

Writing posts lets me “get it all out” as far as the given topic of the post, and then replying to comments lets me see others’ views about the points I brought up. Many comments are simply agreeing with me and reiterating what I already said, in which case I’ll acknowledge the commentator’s similar viewpoint in my reply and may also use the opportunity to bring up other examples/evidence that I either forgot to fit into the post or left out because I didn’t want to make it too long. If the commentator asks a question, naturally I’ll try to answer it to the best of my ability or direct them to a helpful source. For certain posts, the commentator will give their own examples, as is the case if I talk about favorite characters, songs, series etc,. If I’m familiar with any of the anime they mention, I’ll say so and give a brief opinion or blurb about it (usually positive unless I really don’t like the character/anime/song/whatever they’re talking about). Obviously this brings a feeling of comradeship between us if they find out that I also think well of something they mentioned. And of course, there are times when a commentator will disagree with something in my post. If that happens, I’ll try and give further evidence to support my view in my reply while also trying to take into account their opinion and figure out why they would feel that way.

I’m not sure how many people check my replies to their comments, but it’s always satisfying when they reply to my reply. When I comment on other blogs, I always try to remember to check back and see if the blogger left me a reply (unless I left a short, simple comment that wouldn’t warrant a reply). If they don’t reply after a few days I’ll stop checking (close the tab with their post open).

Before I start talking about commenting on other blogs, there’s another important thing I feel needs to be addressed. As you might have known, I’m definitely not one of those bloggers who can write witty, funny, joking, sarcastic, etc., comments (much less posts). Although I sometimes enjoy this style, I’m just terrible at coming up with it myself. Thus, I’ve opted to just be sincere, serious, thorough, and as honest as possible when writing posts and comments. I try to say exactly what I mean and I don’t want to leave anything vague, nor leave out anything on the topic that I would want people to know. This is what makes my posts and reply comments often longer than I’d like them to be. I have no talent for being concise and clever in my writing, but I’m hoping that my “long, thorough, and down to earth” style of writing is appealing to some people.

When it comes to leaving comments on other blogs, I must admit that I don’t read many specific blogs regularly as opposed to just reading random posts I see on Anime Nano that interest me. But I do try and keep my rule of leaving a comment on every post I read unless I really can’t think of anything to say. When I do comment on other blogs it’s either 1) I agree with/fangasm together with the writer, 2) if the writer is talking about their own personal take on a part of the fandom, I’ll happily share my own take, or 3) usually if I disagree with some slight thing they said I’ll let it go, but if it’s something I strongly disagree with, I’ll try and explain why as well as I can.

Recently I’ve found that I’ve gotten lazy with leaving comments on other blogs. A lot of the time, even if I enjoyed the post, I get impatient by the time I’m done reading it and I leave a comment more out of obligation rather than saying something significant. Since I like it when people comment on my posts that they’ve read, I feel like I should give the same courtesy in return. But I feel like my lack of motivation for leaving good comments comes from being a long-time blogger myself – for most topics I read about, chances are I already thoroughly discussed my opinion about it on my own blog so I don’t feel like repeating myself in a comment. Sometimes I’ll take the real lazy way out and leave a comment that basically says “Cool, if you want to know my opinion about this, here’s a link to my post.” Perhaps in this situation I’m better off not commenting at all. I dunno, have any of my other fellow bloggers felt like this? I feel like it’s something I should work on fixing.

Anyway, I think that’s all I’ve got to say about commenting on blogs. Thoughts?

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. Sebz says:

    Sometimes, it’s because of a hectic schedule (e.g. I read blogs in between classes); sometimes, the post is tl;dr, and people stop reading halfway or simply scan without really taking in anything. It might also be because no one else is posting comments, or that the blogger himself/herself is not asking for them in his/her post.

    Problogger has GREAT posts on commenting (and, if I may, everything else about blogging): http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/11/07/11-tips-for-getting-your-comments-noticed-on-a-popular-blog/

    • Yumeka says:

      I’m also guilty of skimming tl;dr posts unless the topic is something I’m very interested in. But I do try and read enough so I can leave a meaningful comment. Actually, when I see that no one else has commented on a post, that gives me more incentive to write one so I can be the first. Of course, I could be deterred to write a time consuming comment if I know the blogger never replies to comments. But I believe that most bloggers at least read all their comments even if they never reply to them.

      And thanks for the link =)

  2. Adam Skinner says:

    I sounds like you would benefit from using this link. You can plug it in here for ease of access (as well as to check on the new posts of anime bloggers you bookmark, as I do with you).

    Now you won’t need to maintain tabs for x number of days, and you’ll know when someone comments on old posts as well.

    • Yumeka says:

      Ah yes, Google Reader again. I will try and check it out one of these days XD

      My blog dashboard works fine for me as far as seeing all the comments on every post. But using something besides lots of tabs would be helpful.

  3. Valence says:

    I personally respond to every comment, because it encourages people to comment. Surely, knowing that the author reads your feedback and responds correspondingly should give the reader some reason to comment.

    I can understand the ‘too lazy’ thing. Sometimes I read great posts, but I don’t have anything worth saying, so I just keep my virtual mouth shut.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yes, when I comment on other blogs, I love it when the blogger leaves a reply comment and I found that it makes me want to keep commenting on that blog. Once I saw how successful 2DT’s blog became because he’s so diligent with replying to comments, I decided to start doing that on my blog too. I still don’t reply to every comment, especially on older posts or posts that already have a lot of comments and I don’t have anything else to say. But I try to do the best I can =)

  4. Joe says:

    I’ve never been a person of extremely strong opinions, or felt the need to comment on everything I come across, so I don’t leave comments as often as I probably should. I know that bloggers love to receive them (I certainly do) and that it probably plays as much of a role in building a regular readership of your own as keeping up with regular blog updates does. Blogging was never meant to be a one-way discussion, after all. I know that approach has worked for a handful of bloggers, but for almost everyone else, interacting with other readers and bloggers is essential to getting anyone to actually read your own, I think.

    With that in mind, I have to ask myself if I leave comments on other blogs because I really want to, or just because I hope that they’ll click on my name and visit my own blog? Is there a wrong reason for leaving comments? I’m probably overthinking this.

    I had blogs in the past where, in the rare event that someone would leave a comment, I would neglect to respond to it. This cool, aloof approach never really got me anywhere. Why ignore people if they’ve taken the time to read your entry and actually respond to it? Since coming to that realization, I’ve tried to respond to every commentator who’s somehow wondered over to my blog, and ever since then it’s made the whole experience a lot more fun.

    • Yumeka says:

      I’d say that half the time I leave comments is because I really want to share my opinion about the topic, and the other half is because I know the blogger likes getting comments. If I took the time to read their post, I might as well let them know that I did and what I think. Thus, I’m less inclined to leave comments on posts that already have a ton of comments. I figure with so many comments, someone probably already said what I had to say or the blogger probably doesn’t care to have anymore comments on that post.

      I also sometimes feel that I leave comments in the hopes that the blogger will click the link to my blog, especially if it’s a blog I don’t visit very often. I honestly feel that leaving comments along with that link back to your own blog has helped bring in many of my frequent visitors and it’s certainly a great way to advertise yourself without being obnoxious. It’s nothing to be guilty about ;)

      You’re right that blogging is just as much about interacting with your readers as it is about getting your thoughts out there. I know for many blogs it takes a lot of dedication to even get readers who will leave comments. So when someone does take the time to comment, I should take the time to interact with them.

  5. chikorita157 says:

    I usually reply to every comment made on my blog unless there is something that I can’t give feedback. Sadly, I have been a bit busy and forget to reply and eventually reply later. Doing this would motivate people to comment in my blog a bit often.

    I also comment on other anime blogs if I have something to say or catches my attention.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, replying to comments as quickly as possible would be best, but I usually don’t have the time for that. After I write a new post, I’ll usually wait a day or so and then reply to every comment thus far on that post (and sometimes comments on older posts). Replying to comments can be just as brain straining as writing a post, so I want to take a break rather than get to the comments immediately after posting. I’ll only reply to a comment as quickly as possible if it points out an error I made or there’s some grave misunderstanding and I need to clear it up.

  6. >’Sometimes I’ll take the real lazy way out and leave a comment that basically says “Cool, if you want to know my opinion about this, here’s a link to my post.”’
    Unfortunately, then it looks like you’re just commenting for self-promotion. Even if that’s not what you’re doing (and I’m sure it’s not in your case), it just looks bush league, so I almost never follow the link when someone does this.

    As for me, though I read several blogs regularly I only comment when I really feel I have something to add and someone else hasn’t already made the same point, which isn’t very often. When I really like a post I’m more likely to share the link with friends than express appreciation directly.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, I try not to shamelessly advertise myself like that…in most cases I’ll try to just give a brief summary of what I’ve already said on my own blog. And if I can’t do that, I’ll try not to be imposing with the link – I’ll say something like “if you’re interested, you can read my opinion about it here” as opposed to “check out what I said on this topic!”

  7. Ruby says:

    I’m kinda like you~ I can’t seem to make witty or meaningful comments no matter how hard I try :/ its sad ;_; especially if the post I was reading was one of those really long and intelligent ones, my comment wouldn’t be good enough xD and I try to avoid commenting TOO much on blogs because it makes me seem like a annoying person~

    I love bloggers who give their commenters a lot of love and replies back ^_^ its nice to see that they actually care :3

    • Yumeka says:

      I can’t think of witty comments either so I just say whatever I have to say, whether it’s something long or short =) I don’t think bloggers find too many comments annoying if the content of the comments themselves aren’t annoying.

      I agree that it’s great when bloggers give their readers replies. That’s why I do it XD

  8. Tara says:

    I generally don’t leave a comment on the blog posts that I read, mostly because I usually feel like I have nothing to add. I often want to comment simply to let the blogger know that I enjoyed the post but I feel silly leaving a reply simply saying ‘awesome post’ or something like that so I rather skip it. I’m especially much like that with blogs like yours where I agree with most of the things you say and then can’t think of anything to add to it in the comments. As you mentioned there are a lot of comments that often just repeat and agree and I feel rather lame when that is all I can think of doing.
    Those times where I do comment though I always check back to see if there is a reply to the comment, seeing my comments replied to always makes me feel really happy and like I got noticed, which I don’t feel much in real life so I relish the feeling online.

    As a side note I want to say that I really love your blog. I’ve been reading it for over a year now and I really enjoy all of your posts, there’s hardly any that I skip reading. This blog is the only one I’ve followed this steadily and I want to thank you for writing it, it makes my fandom a lot more enjoyable =)

    • Yumeka says:

      Thank you so much for the compliments and I’m very happy you enjoy my blog so much. That really makes my day ^_^

      I know there are a lot of people like you who are dedicated readers but don’t like to leave comments. I don’t expect everyone to comment on every single post. But if you leave a comment every now and then, I’ll at least know who my long-lasting readers are =) If you don’t comment, I won’t know you’re there. Of course, if you don’t like to comment, you can always drop me an e-mail or Twitter tweet. I love getting feedback in any form =)

      • Tara says:

        I’m thinking that I’ll probably try to comment more on things I like since I’m trying to become less shy and the internet really is a perfect place to start, no face to face experience makes it slightly easier ^^

  9. kluxorious says:

    I never give it a thought really. I reply to comment because I have something to say and I leave comment on others’ posts because of the same reason.

  10. f0calizer says:

    I find that I only comment on posts that 1) have added some insight into something I’m interested in, 2) make me think of something that really connects with whatever the blogger is talking about. I don’t ever reply to posts that I don’t like or disagree with, since I really don’t have the time and energy to start a debate about such things. And, of course, I only read posts that have something I’m interested in to begin with.

    I’m glad you have a sincere and honest tone in your posts and comments. I’ve come across a few bloggers who are trying to be funny — perhaps trying too hard — and sometimes it backfires. We want to be anime fans, not stand-up comics!

    • Yumeka says:

      I sometimes comment on posts I disagree with – it just depends on whether I think the blogger will care about my opinion or if it’s something I really feel strongly about and want to defend as best I can. I also don’t read posts about anime/topics I’m not familiar with or have no interest in. I may glance at them if they’re from a blog I especially like but I most likely won’t read them fully.

      I’m glad you enjoy the honest tone in my posts ^_^ I know I can’t be funny, so I don’t even try.

  11. Chrissie says:

    I like this post, not only because I find it interesting, but because I’ve been pondering this question of blog commenting for some time now.

    I’ve also been pretty shy/lazy about leaving comments on blogs I read over the last year or two since I really got into blog-reading, but I find that most bloggers are happy to get comments even if they’re only telling them that they enjoyed the post. And I’d think that confirmed readership is also a lovely thing for a blogger. :)

    So I’m trying to do better at leaving comments on blog entries I react to; whether it’s thought-provoking, squee-inducing, funny, etc. I’ve decided to do my best to regularly comment on my favorite blogs so that the bloggers have one more assurance that their hard work is being appreciated.

    And it sounds to me like that might be a bit like what you may be hoping to do, so if that is indeed the case, then let’s do our best to let our favorites know we’re reading and enjoying their blogs, okay? (^o^)v

    • Yumeka says:

      I can’t speak for other bloggers, but I love getting comments even if they are, as you say, just a quick confirmation that the reader enjoyed the post. It’s very gratifying knowing that you have readers who care about what you say and you’re not just talking to yourself. For someone like me who has trouble expressing herself verbally, knowing that people are listening to what I have to say online makes up for it =)

  12. Kal says:

    I usually leave comments on what I read because it acknowledged that I read what was written. People appreciate being acknowledged for their work, and I think it’s just common courtesy. It’s part of any interaction I guess. If someone says “thank you”, you should acknowledge with “you are welcome”, etc.

    I actually like your writing style. Down-to-earth style, “here are my thoughts” type of posts are probably the best for blogs. It gives a little more insight as well into the writer.

  13. Justin says:

    I think it’s always good to comment on other people’s sites, and to reply to those who comment. I’ve just started my blog with another writer, and I think it would be good to go out there and start spouting off our wisdom! Which we lack btw lol :D

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