25 Feb Why It’s Time to Ditch Blog Comments
A zillion technology years ago, aka, only a few calendar years ago, blog comments were da bomb. Every blogger, every brand, every small business owner chased them as if they were the pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow. And in a way, they were – but not anymore.
But let’s talk about the way things were first, because it just makes sense to start at the beginning.
Back in the good old days, lots of blog comments and lively discussions meant people were paying attention to you, reading your stuff, becoming so moved by it that they HAD to comment. Blog comments built instant credibility, quickly turning the casual reader into a subscriber, a fan, a client.
Hell, I used to write blog posts about how to get more blog comments!
Not anymore. Today, a lot of those same bloggers, brands, and small business owners have shut off the ability to comment. The reasons are pretty straightforward – and they explain why it’s time to ditch blog comments:
Blog comments can lead to mountains of spam
Comment (and for that matter email) spam is the digital equivalent of a cloud of mosquitoes. They’re useless, they’re annoying, and they’re hard to get rid off. Once your blog attracts spammers, it’s like a fire hose of garbage gets turned on at full blast, and it’s aimed squarely at your poor blog.
When this happens, you can install a spam-catcher plug-in for your WordPress site – but the spam will still get through. Trust me.
People comment on social media – but not on mobile devices
Blog content is no longer being consumed on your website by a reader sitting in front of a desktop. Blogs are being shared on social media and read on smartphones and tablets. Personally, I hate typing any sort of long-form content on my iPhone, and I’m pretty sure I’m in good company.
Plus, social media lets you quickly and easily show you approve of a blog post – share, like, retweet, and maybe comment quickly. Your credibility now lies in how many people engage with it.
People don’t read blogs from start to finish
And of course there’s content saturation to deal with. Basically, there’s just soooooo much content out there that people don’t read things from top to bottom anymore. They skim, only read certain parts of what you write, or glance at your blog to see what you write about/if you know what you’re talking about/if you are indeed an expert in your field.
People publish elsewhere now
Once LinkedIn started allowing long form content and Medium sprung up to provide a new place to share ideas, there has been a slight shift away from publishing exclusively on blogs.
Personally, I publish on LinkedIn often, and the benefits have been amazing. I can reach more people faster, build my credibility faster, and gain visibility faster. I have gotten clients because of my activity on LinkedIn, and isn’t that why we publish stuff to begin with?
So there you have it. The importance of blog comments have been greatly diminished by spam, social media, mobile devices, content saturation, and other publishing platforms. Do you agree or disagree that blog comments are in their death throes?
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