Friday, January 15, 2010

Would you rather...

Yesterday, I wrote a very short post and got more visitors than usual, but only one comment.
But, there are days when hardly anyone stops by and I get a pile of comments. 
What is that?  Seriously.

So, here's my question to you:

Would you rather...

... have very few visitors who leave lots of comments on your blog?

Or

... have TONS of visitors who leave very few comments?

Discuss.

23 comments:

LeeAnn said...

Most days when I get "tons" of visitors, it's middle school students from Manila looking for wolf stats for a paper.
Most days when I get a lot of comments, it's some random whackadoodle venting at me over and over and over for improper political views and/or bad spelling.
I've decided to confine my wishing to that big ol' legendary tree my mom used to yell that money didn't grow on. Because I know it did, I know. Oh yes.

Andy said...

Roses, blog visits are a lot harder to read now that many people use a Google Reader (like I do).

I read every post that you write, but often don't actually visit the site. I do if I want to comment.

And, it is funny how that works. My blog averages about 100-150 visitors on a normal day. And, I'll get a half dozen or so comments from the faithful. But, a while back, I was linked to by Instapundit. 6,851 visitors came in one day...and another thousand or so over the next few days from that link. Two comments.

A few days ago, I was linked to in a forum on The Golf Channel. Traffic tripled. No comments.

I think I'd rather have the comments than the traffic.

Andy said...

btw: I linked to your blog in a post yesterday, just because I liked the post about hide and seek.

I stole it as a quote, and linked. You're a good writer. And, I think you're funny, too.

Roses said...

Andy: Usually when you link me, I can see that in the stats. In fact, you're my first suspect in such cases.
I didn't see any of that yesterday. But I'll thank you for it, anyway. ;-)

Andy said...

Hmmm...I must be losing my touch. Sigh.

Unknown said...

Maybe I'm too spread out but I'd rather people interact with me on Twitter. I love comments, but most the time my blog is just ranting (which doesn't really invite intelligent discussion).

P.S. I <3 your blog even when I don't comment.

Buck said...

Andy linked ya again today and I'm here coz of that. Like most bloggers, I live for comments. In the blog world, anyhoo. The comments I get in real life I can mostly do without. ;-)

Paul Mitchell said...

I guess that I am just like all the rest, if I got ten hits a day with ten comments, that would be better than one thousand hits and zero comments.

I blog for the discussion.

Thumper said...

Either/or...I know with the advent of Google Reader I read a lot more blogs, but I don't comment as much on any of them as I used to. And I suspect my reader doesn't get counted as a visit unless I click through... Which really kind of sucks, thinking about it.

I love getting comments, though...I should click through more often.

Shoshanah Marohn said...

I read your blog a lot without commenting!

I don't keep track of visitors at all, so I guess I'm all the way over on the side of "comment"!

Do you find that you can never predict what will generate a lot of comments? At the moment, there's a picture of me as a kid and my uncle for yesterday, and all the comments are about a plastic santa claus in the background that I didn't even notice when I posted the picture!

Usually, when I read your blog, I'm laughing and I don't know what to comment, so I don't comment.

CosmicConservative said...

Hmmm.... I guess I have descended so far into the narcissistic self-referential aspect of blogging that I really don't pay that much attention to either comments or traffic anymore, except on days I'm particularly crabby about something like having to do yet another Wordpress update and want some justification for the effort of keeping a blog online...

Enough about me though. I'm gonna link this from my blog just for kicks. My stat page shows me how many people click on links on my site so I will be able to tell how many people followed it.

I've got four or five daily visitors on my blog so you might get a comment. Maybe.

Cullen said...

I'd prefer more comments.

MUD said...

As a daily blogger, I assure you that I don't write for anyone but me. Visitors are OK and commenters are OK but I write for me. I hope you find what you feel comfortable with. MUD

Harvey said...

When I first started with Blogger in 2003, the software didn't have a comment feature. I didn't start blogging until after I found a 3rd party commenting system.

If comments weren't desperately important to me, I'd still be writing my thoughts in a spiral notebook instead of on the internet.

Skunkfeathers said...

First visit, first comment. It's Andy's fault (he made you a lab rat; see his site for 'splanation).

I don't know how many visitors I get; my comments aren't reflective, since I didn't use reflective material in the blog.

What I'd rather have is government out of my wallet, but I digress ;)

Lemon Stand said...

What a GREAT post! Gotta give you some linky love so I will leave my comments for you on my blog. (PS, I don't read just for your posts... I read for the comments too. You have such an interesting following!) :)

Lemon Stand said...

Helps if I leave a link, huh? <a href="http://lemonademadedaily.blogspot.com/2010/01/comments-linky-love-and-posts.html>Comments, Linky Love and Posts...</a>

vw bug said...

read ya through a reader... don't comment often. Don't keep track of my stats. Don't care. Sad but true. Use to see how many people came by... went and looked just for you... get about 20 hits a day. Bet I could guess everyone. ;-)

DogsDontPurr said...

Well, I'd probably get more visitors *and* more comments if I would just get around to posting something once in a while!

But my favorite thing is getting a comment from a big time blogger...one of those kind that get tons of traffic and comments. When they take the time to shower some love on little ole me, I swoon. (Like say, if YOU were to comment on my blog!)(No, I'm really not begging for a comment. I still have the freakin Xmas tree post up. Not much to comment on.)

As far as visitors go, I get the strangest one. I'm still super hot in the search engines for "zit fetish" and "cruise ship sex." (Heck, just by typing that in your comments, your traffic will probably go way up!)

(No ((parentheses)) were harmed in the making of this comment.)

The Gray Monk said...

Like vwbug, I used to keep track of my stats, but it got depressing, after a while. So now I don't really bother. I get a few faithful visitors who comment when they feel stirred to do so - and that's fine by me.

Richmond said...

HAhahahaha - I hear you! And I am amazed that anyone goes to my place at all ever these days (thx Lemon Stand btw). :) I am happy to get either - traffic or comments...

You up for lunch next week? I could ust the fodder... :)

Lemon Stand said...

Roses, I just wanted you to know this post was the catalyst in my discovery of self awareness. I now look at my stats and wonder if anyone is really interested in my schtick. I had signed up for twitter a long time ago but only just decided to see what all the hooplah is about but adding social networking buttons to my site.

Oh, the humiliation of it all.

Then I decided that my blog is just a mirror of me anyway. I talk to myself all the time (after all I DO have 5 kids... they all have selective deafness the poor dears) and I write to myself. So I guess it's all good. With Twitter I can just talk to myself more.

Wonder when the men with that cute, white, I love me jacket is going to show up...

Lemon Stand said...

Oh, and Richmond? I also like coming to your blog because I feel a fellow spirit. (ie. I suspect you also deal with the selective deafness on occasion) :)