Communicating, the introvert way

[Blaugust Day 12]

I’m glad that so many people found yesterday’s post useful and really seemed to like it (especially the folks that retweeted it within minutes of me posting it, thank you!). But it took me several hours to put together so I’m feeling a little bit of a burnout on writing. So today I’m going to write something much shorter in response to a writing prompt on the Blaugust forums.

Many bloggers communicate with our readers more through social media than through the comments on our actual blog these days. What is your favorite way to communicate with your readers? Void

Before I answer that, I have to make something clear: I am a massive introvert and relatively shy to boot. To give you some perspective, I have gone weeks without talking to another human being and I’ve been pretty okay with it. When I have just a normal supper with my family, I come home feeling tired and worn out, and I don’t even do that much talking. I like my alone time and I like being home, because it’s pretty much the only place I feel comfortable.

So this blog…this is my virtual home. It’s a place where I can be me (more or less), splaying out across the entire couch in my pajamas while I watch Netflix. This is my little corner of the web and feeling comfortable here means that I’m more candid and forthright than I would be elsewhere. Besides, writing is just the way I do things best. So this is how I communicate with all of you.

I’m not very good at commenting on other blogs because it feels like being in a stranger’s house. No matter how many times they could tell me “make yourself at home”, I’m not going to start lounging around like I own the place. If I have nothing better to comment than “great post!”, I’ll be contributing nothing to the conversation. And even if I do see a post I have a comment for, it’s often days or even weeks after it was posted due to my slowness at keeping up with my blogroll. What’s the etiquette on that anyways, is it still okay to comment or would it be like necroing a forum thread? I feel like I missed any and all memos on blogging etiquette in general. This is why I prefer like buttons, I can just show my appreciation without the risk of making a fool of myself.

As for social networks like Twitter and Anook…you might as well be tossing me into a moshpit. There was one time when I culled the people I follow on Twitter to 60 or so, but even then I just could not keep up. So I don’t even try anymore, it’s impossible for me to follow 100+ different conversations. I’m like that one person at a party who will sit in the corner and  read a book or browse on their phone unless someone calls me by name. Not the best approach for “increasing visibility” but I’d just stress myself out if I tried anything different.

All of you are fantastic people and I make sure to read each post by the people on my blogroll (sooner or later). But if I never appear in your comments or if I’m silent on Twitter, it’s not because I don’t like you, it’s because I’m doing my best not to wear myself thin.

August 12, 2015 No comments /

0 comments

  1. Just speaking for myself, random people have unlurked and commented on a blog post I wrote years ago, and I still enjoy reading and approving their thoughts on the subject. It’s not likely that anybody else will see that comment, but I do, and never mind it if it’s a genuine (meaning doesn’t sound like a bot) comment.

    Totally hear you on the Twitter thing, I couldn’t keep up either.

    1. I pretty much feel the same way about comments, I like all of the ones that aren’t spam. But I wasn’t sure how others felt. It’s good to know I’m not the only one.

      1. I’ll second Jeromai. I personally love comments on really old posts. I almost commented on one of my own when preparing today’s post, in fact. But then I realized likely no one else would ever see it. I have posts that I can’t figure out why they’re popular months and years later. If real people are reading them, I’d like to know.

        On a related note, this is pretty much my first time here and I love your “house.”

  2. Like you, I try to avoid leaving generic “great post” comments. I do leave likes, however, when I’m pressed for time or when my phone is being uncooperative. At the very least, it’s a contribution to that blog’s stats.

    As a corollary, I prefer engaging with people on my blog. I understand that Twitter is still preferred by many though; that’s why I made sure to create a presence there.

    As a lifelong introvert myself, I approve of this post.

    1. Us introverts should stick together. Or at least we should nod to each other from our respective corners before going back to playing with our phones.

      I do try to respond to almost every comment I get here, it’s other people’s blogs that I have problems with. Sometimes I’ll be going to make a comment, see that someone already said what I was thinking, and figure repeating the same thing would seem a little spammy.

  3. I prefer to act like I hope to be treated. As with being a guest in someone’s home, I would hope others would feel comfortable and invited into my own. Similarly, I love comments of all sorts, so I try and leave those around too. It isn’t optimal, but that’s how I learned to listen less to the lingering doubts inside my head.

    1. I know that the issue is mostly in my head and I’m probably not going to do the digital equivalent of breaking their priceless Ming vase just by leaving a comment. But the jerk part of my brain can be really loud and insistent so I usually just lurk instead.

  4. I’m right there with you. I’m terrible at the whole social media thing, and I’m historically bad about not commenting on blogs. I’ve been actively trying this month to reach out more and interact with people but it’s definitely outside my comfort zone.

  5. I will tend to comment on blog when I feel that I have something useful to add, but I also see it as a way to show the blogger than their words are being read.

    I used to be able to follow the conversations on Twitter but in the last 2 years I’ve started treating it as it was intended, a micro-blogging site. I use private lists to group friend and their conversations but also to group people I don’t follow that I like to check in on at times without the overhead of having them show on my timeline continually. For me it’s a win win solution.

    I tend to have my wordpress lock posts for comments after a set amount of time 90 days (I believe), this may have been a left over from when I was getting a lot of spam posts on older content.

    1. All of my friends are on Facebook and the people I follow on Twitter are all to do with blogging/gaming, so I don’t know how making separate lists would work for me. Come to think of it, I have less than 20 friends on Facebook and I can’t even keep up with their updates. I’m just bad to social media in general really.

      I keep my comments open no matter how old the post is because I don’t mind people commenting on old stuff. Akismet catches almost all of the spam comments so it’s manageable. But I can definitely understand locking comments if you’re getting hundreds or thousands of spam a day.

  6. Sorry if I’m necroing this, wish I hadn’t missed this post. It was like reading myself. I love having long periods of time and not speaking a word. There were days I’ve went to work, haven’t said a word until I finally got home, and that’s only because my dad was there. I agree with this post 100% and glad of the invention of the like button, because nothing needs to be said. 🙂

    1. I have absolutely no problem with folks commenting on older posts. I pretty much love all comments I get, even if I’m never sure if others feel the same. And aren’t the best work days where you don’t have to speak to anyone? I love it when my phone doesn’t ring all day.

Leave a Reply to welshtrollCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.