Bolo Dil Khol Ke!
"That was a nice article!"
"I will never recommend your blog to a friend - your posts suck!"
"That was horrible, but somewhat funny!"
How long do you think it takes to type in a one-liner such as the ones above? Hardly a minute, unless of course you can't type very well, or don't know English very well, or are an elephant trying to type on a keyboard!!! Because otherwise, it would just take a spare minute to type a line such as these. And that is what a comment is! Well, a one-liner comment to be precise, but is a comment nonetheless.
So if that is all it takes to drop a line and let the author know what you thought of the post, then I am dumbfounded as to why people don't do it!
Is it the phobia of commenting (naah, me thinks not!), or the fear of sounding stupid, or what others might think of the comment...? Seriously, I don't know. Comments/feedback can be good or bad, and they are explicitly meant to reflect what you, the reader, thought of what you just read (or saw, or watched - anything). So if you felt something - an opinion, perhaps - then please, I implore you, go ahead and type a line or an entire paragraph and let the author know what you felt! It's the readers who make an author - and trust me (although I ain't no professional), it definitely helps to know what and how your thoughts were interpreted by others. And feel free to laud the author with praises or be critical of his posts, but please let him know what you felt!
Unless of course, all you felt was numb silence as you finished reading the post - well, then it makes no sense to comment! But if 30 people read a post and there's not one comment, then it may mean that all the 30 readers felt, coincidentally, was "numb silence". Now that's kind of hard to digest, isn't it?
Feedback can be both good and bad (of course, you know that!). Now there are some people who don't shy away from giving feedback (and I have met some people in my life) - but they only criticize on my negatives. They believe (and believe very strongly) that feedback can only be bad. That is not true! If you feel free to "positively" criticize a person, then please feel free to applaud a person too. If positive criticism helps improve a person's negatives, then telling a person that he/she did a good job can boost one's confidence to new heights. So be a critic - not a nag! :-)
Now for those of us who receive feedback - well, goes without saying that one should learn to accept negatives and positives as a way of life. One should know that nobody and nothing is perfect. Take in feedback on things to improve, and work on it. If someone suggests your shortcomings, thank the person and try to rectify it. And if you are applauded for your work, remember to thank the person but be open to criticism from others. Because a work can be bad for some and good for others - we're human after all!
Well, enough said. All I wanted to say was if you happen to drop in at my blog, then please let me know what you felt. All it takes is a minute - if you can spare!
(The title of the post is in Hindi, the rough English translation of which is "Speak your heart out!")
"I will never recommend your blog to a friend - your posts suck!"
"That was horrible, but somewhat funny!"
How long do you think it takes to type in a one-liner such as the ones above? Hardly a minute, unless of course you can't type very well, or don't know English very well, or are an elephant trying to type on a keyboard!!! Because otherwise, it would just take a spare minute to type a line such as these. And that is what a comment is! Well, a one-liner comment to be precise, but is a comment nonetheless.
So if that is all it takes to drop a line and let the author know what you thought of the post, then I am dumbfounded as to why people don't do it!
Is it the phobia of commenting (naah, me thinks not!), or the fear of sounding stupid, or what others might think of the comment...? Seriously, I don't know. Comments/feedback can be good or bad, and they are explicitly meant to reflect what you, the reader, thought of what you just read (or saw, or watched - anything). So if you felt something - an opinion, perhaps - then please, I implore you, go ahead and type a line or an entire paragraph and let the author know what you felt! It's the readers who make an author - and trust me (although I ain't no professional), it definitely helps to know what and how your thoughts were interpreted by others. And feel free to laud the author with praises or be critical of his posts, but please let him know what you felt!
Unless of course, all you felt was numb silence as you finished reading the post - well, then it makes no sense to comment! But if 30 people read a post and there's not one comment, then it may mean that all the 30 readers felt, coincidentally, was "numb silence". Now that's kind of hard to digest, isn't it?
Feedback can be both good and bad (of course, you know that!). Now there are some people who don't shy away from giving feedback (and I have met some people in my life) - but they only criticize on my negatives. They believe (and believe very strongly) that feedback can only be bad. That is not true! If you feel free to "positively" criticize a person, then please feel free to applaud a person too. If positive criticism helps improve a person's negatives, then telling a person that he/she did a good job can boost one's confidence to new heights. So be a critic - not a nag! :-)
Now for those of us who receive feedback - well, goes without saying that one should learn to accept negatives and positives as a way of life. One should know that nobody and nothing is perfect. Take in feedback on things to improve, and work on it. If someone suggests your shortcomings, thank the person and try to rectify it. And if you are applauded for your work, remember to thank the person but be open to criticism from others. Because a work can be bad for some and good for others - we're human after all!
Well, enough said. All I wanted to say was if you happen to drop in at my blog, then please let me know what you felt. All it takes is a minute - if you can spare!
(The title of the post is in Hindi, the rough English translation of which is "Speak your heart out!")
I agree totally.. I am going through the same! No one is commenting on my posts[includes you as well :)] even though I post daily... And by the way, I am not getting your posts on my e-mail. Can you check if am subscribed already?
ReplyDeleteSash, whenever I have felt (and most of times I do), I have left a comment at your posts. Yes, I do agree that of late I have been a bit preoccupied with my own blog, and hence the trickle of comments to your blog. Apologies about that, will read all your latest posts soon and will let you know what I feel la?
ReplyDeleteAnd Sash, your email subscription is fine as per my FeedBurner:
ReplyDeletemailforsachin@gmail.com 03/25/09 Active
I think you will get a consolidated email every 24 hours (that is how I get email alerts about your blog BTW).
Agree with you! Feels good to get a response from readers, atleast shows that your article is being read!
ReplyDeleteIt's more than read, Anant. To me it's about knowing what kind of impact a certain pattern of writing, or topic has on my readers.
ReplyDeleteBut alas! The comments are few and hard to come by!
Yes, that's the e-mail but I don't get an update. I do a manual follow up. I have added sachin@gorkhas.com to the list, as a back-up.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that for some topics, we do not know what to comment...
Nevertheless, will drop a line hai.... like....
"Macha...keep going!!"
:)
haha.. right! :)
ReplyDelete:) comment is too taado nobody visits my blog boo hoo.. :(... And Nati's blogs i always comment...atleast most of the times...Anant's I dont understand...except a few .. :p..
ReplyDeletehaha Boju you need to publicize your blog. Btw I've now added a 5-star rating utility on my blog posts - so if you're lazy to comment then you can simply select a star you like!
ReplyDelete