Blog readers, unlike book readers, have the capability and the opportunity to comment and interact with the blog writer and its other readers instantaneously from all over the world. A positive aspect of the commenting capability is that a reader might feel more comfortable expressing him- or herself in a blog via commenting rather than in person. This could make for more interesting interaction on the blog, and hopefully, if well received, the commenter might gain some confidence in his or her opinion and be able to see that change can be effected this way. On the other hand, it is very likely that someone could use the commenting capability to do very unhelpful things. I would guess that this is why many bloggers would reserve the right to regulate the comments before they are published. Some might take issue with this, too, because it might show a bit of "oppression" in their opinion.
I have enjoyed reading the comments on my blog and on others of classmates here. I find the interaction encouraging and thought-provoking.
Loved your views on commenting. In a simplistic way, it is sort of like IMing with more content! You also made a good point about "filtering" or approving the comments. If we really want to dialogue about a topic, we have to be willing to discuss many viewpoints or opinions. I look forward to doing this with you over the course of this course!!
ReplyDeleteI agreed with the comments that weakgeek made on your blog. Especially about "filtering" or approving the comments. If you're really wanting people to comment about something you wrote on your blog, then you need to keep in mind to not "shoot the messenger." Since this class is done at home, we have very limited opportunities to meet the writers of the blogs. Not being able to put a face with a name has a disadvantage. Again, we need to agree to disagree when it comes to comments.
ReplyDelete