Blog Commandments: To Build Traction, Thou Shalt Comment and Link

In this excerpt from his new book “The New Influencers—A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media” (Quill Driver Books; www.newinfluencers.com) author Paul Gillin shares some thoughts on blogging etiquette.

Commenting is core part of blogging protocol. In my survey of bloggers, 71% said they comment on four or more blogs at least monthly, and almost 30% comment on more than 10. Comments on their own blogs were also the second most important indicator of the blogs’ performance, trailing only links from other blogs, respondents said.

A study by Gilad Mishne of the University of Amsterdam and Natalie Glance of Nielsen BuzzMetrics estimated that comments account for about 30% of total blogosphere content and that there is a direct correlation between commenting and a blog’s overall popularity. “Comments are regarded by most bloggers as vital to the interactive nature of weblogs,” the researchers said.

In blog culture, commenting is considered an essential part of the conversation. Posting a comment on another person’s blog is a way of inviting a direct interaction with that person. In contrast, commenting on and linking to another blogger’s remarks in one’s own blog is a way of recognizing the other person’s opinion but adding, “no reply needed.”

Experienced bloggers make commenting—and responding to comments—a part of their regimen, believing that regular engagement with others keeps them fresh and engaged. In my own survey, over 93% of bloggers said they respond to comments.

Comments can create new relationships that spark more blogging. Mike Kaltschnee, author of the influential HackingNetflix blog, tells of how one commenter on his site submitted so many observations that he encouraged her to start her own blog. The result, called NetflixFan, is now a fixture in the movie-lover community. In many cases, camaraderie and mutual support trumps competition.

The decision not to accept comments, even if for a good reason such as preventing comment spam, can be controversial. In early 2006, the Washington Post shut down comments on one of its blogs because they contained a large number of personal attacks on the paper’s ombudsman, who had criticized Democratic legislators for taking campaign money from a convicted felon. Jim Brady, the Post’s executive editor, explained in a blog entry:

“There are things that we said we would not allow, including personal attacks, the use of profanity and hate speech. Because a significant number of folks who have posted in this blog have refused to follow any of those relatively simple rules, we’ve decided not to allow comments for the time being…[I]t’s a disappointment to us that we have not been able to maintain a civil conversation, especially about issues that people feel strongly (and differently) about.”

Brady added that the task of screening out negative comments was occupying two Post staff members full-time.

The action provoked a storm of blogger protest. Writers accused the Post of arrogance and hypocrisy. “My beef is less with washingtonpost.com’s decision to shut down comments as it is with their unctuous tone, which appears to ooze contempt for the unwashed and serves to reinforce blogospheric mistrust of the establishment press,” wrote veteran political speechwriter Bart Acocella on the Gadflyer blog.

Corporate marketers who are considering entering the blogosphere need to carefully consider the comments issue. Commenting is a great way of getting useful and free feedback from customers and prospects. But comments can be brutally honest and, in some cases, offensive. Businesses need to consider their willingness to absorb these blows and respond rationally and constructively.

“The blogger has to interact with the readers, welcoming comments and responding to them,” wrote Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com and owner of one of the top CEO blogs on the Internet, in an e-mail interview. “You have to have thick skin, and you have to like to write and communicate with a diverse group of people.”

“Even if you have Bill Gates’ favorite product people will say bad things about it,” wrote Robert Scoble in his “weblog manifesto.” Don’t try to write a corporate weblog unless you can answer all questions—good and bad—professionally, quickly, and nicely.” In practice, few prominent bloggers answer all questions posed by commenters, but they make an effort to address the most common ones.

Thou Shalt Link

Links are a manifestation of the culture of attribution that pervades blogging. It’s an unwritten rule that you never steal content. You can quote, elaborate upon, annotate and comment upon someone else’s writings all you want, but you must always attribute and link to the source.

This unwritten rule provides much of the glue that holds social media together. Few bloggers post copyright notices but this understanding pervades the community: It’s okay to copy and re-post my words on your blog—it’s even a compliment—but you must attribute the source and link back to me so that I can enjoy some benefit of the traffic from your visitors.

Links have a secondary advantage. Many lesser-known bloggers live for the beneficence of a link from an A-list player. Top bloggers know that the more links they bestow upon their fans, the more benefits accrue to the smaller players beneath them and the more gratitude they accumulate.