The Importance of the Comment Section
I'm gonna go out and say that the comment section is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of Steemit. It doesn't matter what you post, how good your pictures are, or how great of a writer you are if you don't engage with others. This is a social media and if you want to harness all it's potential, you have to be active in the comment sections, both your own and others.
I already knew that but last two weeks proved it even further. I was in Thailand on a holiday and even though I posted every day, I wasn't very active otherwise, and it shows. The amount of upvotes was somewhat the same as always, but my comment section has pretty much died over the last two weeks, and it sucks! I can only blame myself for that.
I actually got a comment from @futuremind, giving me a little feedback on the subject. My first response was to get mad and ignore him, but of course he was right and I knew it.
Of course I couldn't be as active as I would be back at home (where I have no life) because then I would have missed a lot of real life experiences and that is not good either. I'm still new at this as a full time Steemian, and working hard on trying to find a good balance between work and play. I need to live enough on the real life to have things to photograph and talk about, and on the other hand I need to spend time socialising in here.
It is my job to make sure you feel included on my blog and in my travels. It is my job to engage with my audience, not just post a pretty picture, take rewards and disappear. For some people, it might work for a while, but it's not sustainable in the long run. And I intend to be in this for a long long time.
I'm going to spend the better part of the coming week being really active on Steemit, trying to make up for the time I was away. I've missed so much and I want to get back on my routine of posting and commenting.
Along with the comments, I think Steem.chat is the second most important part of Steemit, when wanting to connect with new people and to stay in touch with older friends. It is a great place to hang out when you find a group of likeminded people and you can basically find internet friends from all over the world at any time of the day or night. I do warn you, it is highly addictive! Shout out to my friends at Dzone<3
Plz ignore this comment
I will get triggered if you reply
I tried my hardest but but but....
it's so BIG!!
thats what she said
hahahaha :) :D follow me and upvote please :) help me get started too! i will follow all of you now!
Hehe! What a great reply 😂 You are awesome!
Hey @eveuncovered. I feel honored to have made an impact with your Steemit experience, even if my comment did rub you the wrong way at first. I'm even more honored to get a mention from you!
If people are completely leaving your comment feed because you have a real life besides steemit, and they failed to even give you a chance to get back to them, or explain your lack of involvement during your time in Thailand, then their probably assholes with no life.
It's no easy task to find the balance between work and play. Today for example, I have nothing to do, and I no longer celebrate St. Patrick's day, so I was going to steemit up all day, but a friend invited me to dinner, and now I'm just kind of stressing because I would rather be working on my next blog. (it's about subliminal messages).
I'm still trying to find that balance too. You're not alone! I think you're doing a fantastic job. I have not tried steem.chat perhaps tonight I will try it for the first time. I didn't even know about it!
I'll talk to you later friend. Thanks for all that you do here.
No problem, I felt like I wanted to mention you because we exchanged words about the subject I was already going to write something about. Your critique was very civilised and a good example how one can point out something without being rude.
I think we'll never find the perfect balance that would work all the time, you kind of have to go with the flow. Like when there is a lot of action, you have to be ON, but then again there are more silent times and you can be more chill about this.
Thanks for pushing me, and letting me explain myself :)
Indeed , you're welcome 😊
Nice photos, upvoted and followed.
Thank you for your support, means the world to me.
It's an interesting topic. At the end if the day it's a voluntary site with voluntary input. You're not under any obligation to post or comment, just like nobody is under any obligation to like, resteem or support your posts. People do it anyway because you post good content and honestly from what I've seen you do seem to interact well with people who leave comments. I know we've certainly conversed back and forth a few times and you've supported a few of my posts. I guess it has to be a balance and people should understand that. With the level of following and amount of comments you get on here nobody could expect you to respond to everyone. I say keep doing exactly as you have been. You're doing a great job as far as I can see.
Definitely it isn't something I'd have to do, put I I make my living in here and 1. I enjoy it and 2. I think it shows a certain level of respect towards other people when you interact with them. I haven't felt very motivated in posting when my comment section is only full of spam :(
That's the thing, a lot of comments on here are spam. It's clear a lot of people don't read or take any interest in post they just throw up generic comments in the hope of getting an upvote. I even get that on the small level I'm on so I can only imagine what you get. I've seen you respond plenty to genuine comments so you're already doing a fine job as far as I can see. You know this stuff better than I do, guess all I'm trying to say is don't feel pressured into spending all your time responding to every single comment. Nobody could expect that of you.
Oh don't worry, I won't use much of my time for the spam, only my flags are used for those 😇
I'll drink to that.
You just wanted an excuse to drink! 😈😈
Haha come on, an Irish guy, on March 17th. It was always going to happen 😄
Ah, that's right!
Every other year I give up alcohol for Lent. This is the hardest day to abstain : (
It all depends on what kind of person you want to be seen as, or be. There are many users who don't interact at all, just post as an excuse to circular or self-vote. There are people who allow rampant self-voting for relatively big money of junk comments in their threads, because they're established people who upvote themselves and no one else and no one in the thread is really trying to talk to anyone, but rather just find a convenient place to hide the self-voting. Then there are people who interact with others like normal humans, and there are a select few authors who are very generous with voting users who reply in an intelligent fashion.
I really want to be one of those people you described as "normal humans" and giver of generous upvotes in the comments, the generous part I need to work on by acquiring more Steem Power :D But I do love upvoting good and funny comments on my posts :)
Do you use the web version for steemit chat?
Is there any way to use an app or the mobile version?
Chats is far easier on mobile than web.
As for comments! Aaarrghh.. On social media, generally, there is a lot of gems and awesome bombs that is sliced into the comment section.
I have gotten clients through comments, I have gotten volunteers to my organization through comments. I have gotten invitations to speak at a conference through comments.
It is powerful. The better we learn to use that space in strategic ways, the better.
Thank for sharing this @eveuncovered
I prefer the web version, it sucks on mobile or on the app, it's almost impossible to use with the lag.
I think it's much easier to "make it" if you truly engage with people on the comments, and not just try to make really nice posts.
Thank you for your comment :)
Oh, thanks for your prompt response.
In your steemit experience so far, do you feel it is better to stay consistent engaging other people's content, than creating your own content?
Hmm, that is a hard one. The content I make takes a lot of time, so I I have to prioritise that, but it might be different for someone else. It's a constant balancing act.
This is my first read post.
And i want say that: This is my best!
It only goes worse from here 😈
I was considering this subject earlier today Love. As a new user I not only understand the need and benefit of interacting with my audience - but I also really enjoy it. And then I actually thought about you @eveuncovered - how will I be able to keep up if I am ever "noticed" and become as successful on here as you are? I will have to set a work schedule to dedicate "X" amount of time everyday just interacting with my beloved followers. I understand that it could become overwhelming, but as a newbie "minnow" what a wonderful problem it would be 😘 I am sure you know of @ginabot - but if you don't I would highly recommended using her free services to be notified of interactions you want to keep on top of. One idea of a way to utilize @ginabot is that you can develop a list of VIP followers and get notifications when they comment - that way your most faithful will never feel forgotten - just a thought. Keep it up love and best of wishes to you and yours 😘
Awww, how sweet of you to think of me! :) It does take some work to comment back to most people, but I enjoy it, very much. I don't need to use any additional services, I'm online almost all the time and it's not like I get hundreds of comments every day :'D
Oh honey - I hope it didn't come across like I was trying to promote something.... It is just a bot on here that has helped me a lot. I can have my computer on and be in a different room, a notification comes through and I hear it - so I can stay very engaged without the need of having my eyes glued to the screen. I still have dishes and stuff to do 😂 - thank you for keeping us all entertained with your beautiful posts 😘
The people can wait while I do the dishes, it's a rare event anyways 😂
Hehe 😂 Thanks for the laugh love 😘
Commenting is definitely vital to steemit.
This is a social media platform, and what society can exist without communication?.
Yeah, and posting is a pretty one-sided conversation.
Yes it is.
One can't make friends by musing alone to himself.
Starting the right conversation on steemit, can lead to a friendship that will take you to greater heights on this platform.
People crave interaction on the premise they get something out of it. Steemit rewards catchy, polite and souless comments unfortunately.
But i am still new here, so we'll see.
You are clearly not familiar with my comment section yet ;) we have quite a lot fun in here sometimes! :)