Thing #4

Commenting is something I got in the habit of when starting Facebook. I always read the comments underneath products I plan to buy, or recipes I plan to make, just to see how they have turned out for others. After going through this exercise I have uncovered commenting is so much more than simply voicing your opinion about something. Commenting creates a community where you can relate with others, tell them that their post helped you, offer advice on a problem, etc. With there being so many different types of blogs, the possibilities are endless. 

From the reading I liked the parts about constructively criticizing. There is no need to get onto someones blog and bash what they are saying, or creating, or cooking. I have seen this a few times on food blogs where people find a recipe, make it and then come and comment back with all of the things that they did differently, and how bad it tasted before they added this and that in. Although the person who created the recipe may not mind what they are saying, there are nicer ways to throw these things in..such as, great recipe I added a few touches to make it my own...something along those lines. Another point from the reading is commenting builds relationships. You may not know the person whose blog you are following, weather it be craft blog, or history blog, whatever the case...you are reading with them daily or weekly whatever the occurrence. This creates a bond and a relationship with that person, commenting on their posts lets them know first of all that you are following them and they are talking to someone when they type and two that you care about what it is they have to say, which probably makes them feel even better.

The blogs that I commented on for this exercise were Natasha Long, Stephanie Fortner, Nicole Petrik, Alexa Aguilar, and Whitney Butts from class. The other blogs I commented on were from Makes and Takes, and Salsa Pie. The comments on the classmates blogs were all related to the subject matter in their post...some were early in their stages of blogging only on step 2 or 4, others were on step 10. With each comment I personalized what I got from their particular post and let them know they were doing a great job. Its hard to put something out there and not know what others think when they read it, or even if they are reading it! The other blogs I commented on are two that I have looked at before, both craft, recipe and family blogs. There are some interesting crafts always handy, and easy go to things for spending time with family, and creating things at home. I chose to comment on a post about crafts for teachers, because I love to make things for people and I wanted to thank them for sharing the great idea. The other was for a place card craft that I could make for my children to add a little happiness to their day!

Starting to comment has made the process even more fun than I thought it was going to be! Now I am not "scared" to comment!