So
Luke has been trying lately to get 100 comments on a single blog
post. Then on the last day of 2008, he accomplished that goal (Congrats, by the way) and even passed it, going all the way to 117. I have to say, though, it brought up some interesting questions for me. Probably the biggest one I have is, "Is it really a significant accomplishment if your readers know what you're doing?" I've started paying attention to the number of comments I get and trying to push the conversations on further and further. My problem though, is that most of my friends don't actually read my blog. Reading a blog post takes time. However, something that can be read quickly (or not at all) seems to be the perfect thing to coax comments on. In fact, over the course of a couple days, I got 64 comments on my facebook status that simply read "Caleb is trying to be optimistic about this year.....but I'm not entirely sure what that means." The only person that I told about the extreme numbers was Luke, and he added 3 of those comments. Even if you take out those and my replies to those comments, it was well over 50. I also have pushed the comments on a picture of the college choir to 80 comments. The difference there is that I mentioned shooting for 100 and some of the posts are obviously left only for the sake of the numbers. SO my conclusion to all of this is -- The number 100 is not a goal to strive for. The goal should be to communicate. Then if you want numbers, count them based on how many unsolicited comments you get. If you post a goal and the comments stop shortly after that goal, the comments were probably only added because of the goal.
Let's face it; we like to meet our goals. I know I do, anyway. But if every goal we set can be met, then we're most likely not achieving our potential. I think we should set goals sometimes that we don't necessarily expect to be able to meet. Then if we succeed, that's great! And if we don't, it's okay. You never find out how much you can accomplish until you push yourself to your limits and beyond.
Or that's the way I see it anyway. What do you think?
So are you saying I should have gone for 500?
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is that neither Brad nor I were originally going for 100 until the comment stream was getting long and someone else decided to push for it.
In Brad's case, Robert Hruzek started the push and I joined in. Then with mine it just looked like it was going to 100 without me so I mentioned it in a different post and Brad decided to push me on toward one hundred. I also learned a lot about communication in the process.
The numbers really don't mean anything on their own but sometimes they push us to do things we would not do otherwise. And doing the steps to reach the numbers lead us to accomplish things that do have value.
For me a challenge to post daily has forced me to learn to communicate more better. :) I have communicated with CEO's, politicians, and people living around the world that I would never have met except through blogging. This number goal has pushed me toward something great that I would not have done if the goal had not been concrete.
I agree. I really didn't mean that you shouldn't shoot for a specific number. I just think that it becomes kinda pointless when the only reason there are comments is to reach a number.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I kept coming back to your page for the sake of the conversation (and because I'm home on Christmas break with nothing better to do). But I noticed that some of the comments were there solely for the sake of the number. The ones that say stuff like "just dropping by to help you reach 100"
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm all for numbers if communication is actually happening. Otherwise it's like having 100 lawn mowers. It's cool that you have them, but you really only need one.
Does that make any sense at all?
I guess if the same person stopped by and just said hi each time, that might get a little pointless but in this case, that quick visit meant a lot because of who it was.
ReplyDeleteWe do the same thing in in-person meetings sometimes. We might just say hi while passing them in the hall, or even go out of our way just to say hi. It is a way of saying, "hey, I am still here, and I am still interested in talking to you whenever we have time.
It used used to seem strange to me that people would ask, "how are you doing" without pausing to here the answer. I have since learned to reply, "Hello, Yes, it is a beautiful day."