Since announcing mad church disease, I’ve gotten a little more email than i normally would with people sharing their stories more indepthly, or sharing their thoughts on the book. It has been great to meet a lot of new people and if you have emailed me in the last couple of weeks and have not received a reply – I’m working on it – i promise!
Gmail actually locked me out from sending email earlier this week since i had emailed my entire address book of 566 people. evidently that makes me a spammer so they put your account on hold! anyway i have 12 emails remaining to respond to…and i thank you for waiting as i will write back.
however, after responding to some earlier emails, I’ve received a couple of replies like this back:
Wow…I have to say I did not expect a response.
i must say i am a little shocked to get a message from you.
Now, this goes back to my soapbox on “three reasons i’ll ditch your feed” and “three reasons i’ll fancy your feed” – INTERACTION.
while i may not respond to EVERY comment on this blog, I do try and respond to people who are new, or have a question, or been generous in their time and shared something with me. Please don’t misread this as my attempt to claim some nonexistent blogging bragging right, but a little something I’d like to call COMMON SENSE.
When I spoke further with one of the people who said one of the comments above, he said:
…I personally can?t stand it when people do not respond to me…
Dude, I feel the same way. That is why I try (keyword: try) to do something different.
I really think it’s a priority thing, and that’s okay. Some people have way more to worry about than blogging or responding. Maybe I’m lucky that I just have a full time job, a family, friends, and some side projects and nothing too crazy going on. But in all honesty, the people who read, comment and respond to things on my blog – you guys rock my world and I try (unsuccessfully at times) to not be just another virtual person…
As ridiculously cheesy as it sounds, I love our relationships and our interaction. It really is very important to me. I know I feel valued when someone replies back to a comment I’ve made or an email I’ve sent.
Comments
24 responses to “interaction soapbox”
i don’t think i ever expect a response if i comment on a post. i figure that i’m the one responding to them for taking the time to post and put down their thoughts and ideas. so no, i don’t expect it in the least.
but i would say that it is always quite nice to receive a response to my response, i suppose. but then i always wonder “do i respond to their response from my response of their post?”
and then, logically, i take some advil.
I try to respond unless a 2 yr old or 5 yr old need my attention (which is almost always) or I decided I need to take a nap instead of blogging (the other amount of time left).=)
I think different people have different communication styles. Some friends love to respond to my blog posts, but it’s seasonal. Others love to send messages on Facebook, and with others I have ongoing email conversations. Now, it’s a nice surprise when someone does something out of the ordinary, but for me, it all stems from their personality, which sets up the kind of expectations I have of individuals.
I do value my virtual relationships just as much as my flesh-n-blood ones, and it does take some effort to maintain them.
I guess it varies…sometimes I’m shocked that they don’t respond. Sometimes it doesn’t matter.
This comment is really about continuing a line of thought so I wouldn’t expect an email…but would maybe expect you to comment as we continue the thought.
I do like your advice about how someone commenting for the first time you try to send them an email. I guess that would be easy at a certain level but as you grow it would demand a lot of time.
So for me…if someone doesn’t email me or respond it doesn’t matter that much…but if I continue a line of thinking and there is no response after I ask a question or something then it may bother me a little cause I’m digging for more.
i feel obligated to respond in this thread.
:)
I try to respond, although I don’t really expect one when I make a comment. Kind of like longbrake said. I’m responding to their blog. But, I also do think of this whole blog world as a community, so conversation is necessary. The most surprised response I ever got was from Max Hsu. I didn’t really think he would respond, but even though I’m one of Ragamuffin Soul’s best friends, I rarely get feedback! What’s up with that Los!
I don’t expect a response but its very fun to get one. I do get shocked. Kind of like a rock star acknowledging me from stage. “OMG, they saw me! they saw me!” And you Anne, are a rock star.
I guess if I ask a specific question, I’m expecting a response. if I leave a general comment, I don’t expect a response.
As a blogger, I love to get comments. It’s really the only way I know if anyone is getting anything our of my blog, or they just haven’t taken the time to remove from their reader. About the time I think of not doing it any more, someone will ask a question or make a comment and it keeps me going.
I took a Discover Your Design course offered at my church and it was then that I realized I’m a “response” driven person.
Good or bad… I need feedback (in most cases) and I wonder now how many others out there need it too, and feel neglected when they don’t have it. ~
elisha –
i bet you and i are similar. I am a HUGE feedback person, with work, with my husband, with everything.
and joni – i am soooo not a rock star. i am the biggest dork you will ever, ever meet.
seriously!
I’m a new blogger and haven’t received many comments. When i do, I will be shocked and very happy to reply! I’m a replier for sure. Anne, again, I’m very excited for your book! Also, I went on your dad’s site – thank you! He seems to be doing well – that’s good to know!
I know from a consumer side (a person that reads a ton of blogs for the info and entertainment) that I do not always feel I should respond. Maybe the writer was thinking this was for fun, not expecting any comment. BUT, from a bloggers side, I can get bummed if all the effort and time I am taking to put into a piece of art or info is not responded to. It’s not a vain thing, I want to know if I actually spoke to anyone. It shouldn’t matter, but sometimes it does. OK…I guess there is a little vanity in it. I want to know I did good! Expectations Suck!
Thanks for your work Anne!
Elisha and Anne –
I’m the same way! I like to get a response, good or bad. (preferably good of course) I try to give responses to others when I can even if it’s not a lengthy one..just to let them know that I’m there and got their message/post/email/whatever.
I know sometimes there’s just no need or no prompt for a response b/c people are just putting their thoughts out there. But I think that’s what blogging is all about right? To throw things out there and start discussions..to communicate. At least that’s what I think. :)
From someone who doesn’t have a large blog following, I love getting comments, and I try to respond to them. I know I definitely like responses, but I’m not always expecting them. Glad I got one from you, though! :)
I love to hear responses back. But you don’t always, so I have to shrug it I guess.
Feedback is very IMPORTANT, I believe and I think that’s where the world stops. Everyone wants to give or have an opinion.
But it’s healthy, when it’s productive, encouraging, and insightful.
and sometimes we are just human and say..
“why blog or journal if no one’s listening”
Right?
So Responses are always welcomed!!!
This very morning I got a comment on my blog from a blogger I absolutely love. She is a journalist whose work I really enjoy, and I linked to her blog. Well, she showed up and read a post I’d written on patriotism and my profession and actually thanked me for it! I didn’t even know what to think. I just felt honored.
I love feedback. It makes me feel as though maybe something I said resonated with someone else, piddly as the effort might have been. That said, I don’t write for the purpose of receiving I-heart-your-blog comments. I guess that’s a good thing since I have a relatively small readership!
I like your blog. I live in Dallas, too!
I like knowing that I’ve been “heard.” At times, it seems like I go through life completely unseen and unheard, and it’s a sad comment on how busy people are or how wrapped up in our own lives we are. So I’m really grateful for the time that people take to leave comments on my blog and am still honored that you left one on my blog during its first week. You must be an amazingly efficient person to be able to write on your blog, respond to comments, read others’ blogs, leave comments on others’ blogs, and still work! I can’t seem to juggle all that in one day.
i don’t expect replies to my comments, but love them when they’re given. :)
I’ve been on vacation all week and am not close to catching up on anything – but wanted to send a quick shoutout to encourage your fight against the mad church disease. I know many who’ve been infected and afflicted – much work is needed, and many vaccinations dispensed. Thanks for taking it on.
I sent David Crowder an email awhile back… totally NOT expecting a reply. He wrote back; I was shocked. Very cool of him to take the time.
I try to comment back to my small number of readers as much as I can. (Which is most of the time)
But when I leave a comment I do not expect a comment back unless I have asked a question maybe. And then it’s still not expected. Commenting with each other is fun. I love when I get comments and I love to give them.
I used to write a post, smile, and sit back and wait for the comments to flood in. When they didn’t, I was confused.
Some of the best blogging advice I’ve received was this simple concept: interact with your audience.
Thanks, Anne :) You’re the best
(upholding disclaimer)
it’s always nice to hear back from someone, but i don’t really expect it because i don’t want to assume what another person’s life is like. like you said, some people don’t have the time or inclination to respond to comments.
i try to treat people in blog-o-land the same way as i do in the real world… with respect for who they are, even if i don’t know who they are. and to not let the lack of information change how i interact with them.
saying all that, it does feel good when you hear back from people or hearing from that first timer (which i am here).
Right on Ann. I was a little surprised that you added me in facebook but it did give me a warm fuzzy feeling so thanx.