The Great Google Plus Commenting Experiment

I am tempted to tell you this is what happens when you improperly use a European Water Fountain but I am not sure if it would have the same impact as walking up to you and whispering “I watched Jane die.”

So maybe it is best for me to share some thoughts about the Great Google Comments experiment of 2013. Maybe I should tell you about what I think I have learned and some stuff I speculate about.

Maybe I should tell you that you have four different commenting options here, Google +, Facebook, Livefyre and DISQUS and that the number of comments has undoubtedly dropped but the traffic seems to be growing.

Inquiring minds might be interested in the correlation between the lack of comments I make on other blogs and the corresponding drop here because there is relationship between how many comments you leave elsewhere and how many you receive.

There is also reason to believe that comments have also dropped in part because there are so many different social media platforms to use and that they have cannibalized traffic and comments from each other.

What I Have Seen/Certain Of

In the roughly two months since I installed Google Plus comments I have seen it increase my reach and have noticed new subscribers and G+ commenters that as far as I know had never commented here before.

There is no doubt in my mind about the impact and effect of so many other social platforms upon comments here. There is also no doubt in my mind that comments here have slowed because I haven’t commented as much as I used to elsewhere. Many bloggers believe in reciprocation and if you don’t comment than they don’t either.

That is not my way of doing things but I understand why others do and I don’t fault them for it.

Some bloggers suggest that content has a significant impact on whether people will comment and that it is our job to provide not good, but great content because otherwise people won’t comment.

I roll my eyes at that, comments aren’t currency. I could go rant about it again and the tyranny of social proof but I am jammed for time so we’ll just share these few thoughts.

The Comments Evolved Plugin

I am using the Comments Evolved plugin here. It is what enables me to offer multiple options for commenting. A few people have said they don’t comment because they have too many options but I roll my eyes at that one one too because  I don’t buy it.

One of the things I have noticed is that unless I am tagged in the Google Plus comment I am not notified about it. I need to double check the settings, but that has been a minor issue for me.

Speaking of minor issues during a dad blogger conversation someone suggested that I could get more traffic by spending more time on my headlines because he thought they weren’t interesting enough. He doesn’t know me very well and he really hasn’t been by the blog much or he would know I am still unfiltered.

I might run one or all of these:

• She Caught Me With Her Tooth & I Screamed
• Sex Vlogging While Middle Aged
• I Caught Your Husband Having Sex With Your Sister’s Dog
• What Happens When Your Husband/Wife Stops Putting Out

You Ought To Know

No, I am not about to quote Alannis Morrisette rather I am going to state the obvious here, those headlines will scare some people away and encourage many others to come visit.

My sexual innuendo headlines always lead to more traffic and some very interesting search terms. Do I write them because I want attention?

Sometimes.

But more often than not it is because I use the blog to vent, to blow off steam and because I love to write. Some of you really don’t like blogging, but I do.

There is joy in this journey and that is why I am still on it.