Hi folks. Lately I've read several posts about comments. How to comment, how to respond to comments and what to do when you get negative comments. Some of the posts I thought made valid points and some I thought were just foolishness. But hey everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm not one to dish out rules and regulations as I believe we should be ourselves and write and comment how we choose. If you don't like the way I do things then please tell me about it or feel free to move on. I'm certainly not forcing anyone to read and comment on my posts.
OK, this is actually not what this post is about but it does kind of lead into the topic of this post. The topic of this post is comments. Not how to make them or when to respond to them but how much value they can add to a post if you give them time to germinate. When I write a post one of my goals is to create a discussion. I do this by asking questions, by writing about a topic but leaving out information or by writing about something controversial. The reason I do this is because I want to learn something. And the discussions that take place in the comments help me to do this. They give me a different way of looking at things or maybe some additional information that I didn't know or hadn't thought of.
Sometimes, my entire way of looking at a topic may change or I may have just been dead wrong in my thinking and some one was able to correct me by commenting. Either way it stimulates my thought process. And that is my main objective for writing.
So folks, what I want to do today is share some links to a few of my older posts. The posts that I have chosen are posts that generated tremendous discussion or had folks commenting that were very aggressive that I was able to turn around. And a few where we just had to agree to disagree and move forward. My point in sharing these past posts is to show you how a comment thread can evolve from being very negative or aggressive to ending in a very positive manner.
If you receive a comment you don't like or you feel is an attack don't be so quick to delete it. Think about it. Then try to change that person's way of thinking. Debate the topic. Try your best to turn them around. Who knows you may be the one that's wrong or maybe you'll learn something. If you have a strong opinion on something you should be able to defend it. If all you want is for people to agree with you then you are missing out on a great opportunity to grow. Remember opinions are NEVER right or wrong. They are just opinions.
So, if you want to see how commenting can expand your knowledge, then take some time and read through these posts. It won't be easy. Some of these have many, many comments and each comment could be a post of it's own. Also, the comments are much better than the posts. The posts were just a starting point. You'll see heated battles, total disagreements, anonymous posters, consumers weighing in and several other surprises. Who knows maybe you'll learn something. OK so here goes. I hope you enjoy the read. Might take a week to get through it all but it will be worth it I promise. Then come back and let me know what you think.
- "The Proof is in the Puddin" Range Pricing part 1,279! The comments in this one get very good about 3/4 of the way down. It is basically me defending my technique against naysayers.
- Let the Games Begin! This was a very strong debate between several members with me basically moderating the battle.
- So, what do you do to justify your high commission? Folks, if you don't read any of the others, you need to read this one. This post is an AR classic on how to debate a topic. To get the full affect of how this came about you have to visit the first link in the post that will take you over to the bloodhound blog. I was very, very proud of the members of ActiveRain this day. To me this comment thread epitomizes what blogging is all about.
- Buyer rebates. Good business or potential fraud? We had it ALL going on in this comment thread. In fact it was so much information I carried it over to another post.
- Buyer rebates on the HUD? It's clear as mud now! Well, after two posts and over 200 comments we still never got to the bottom of the buyer rebate debate. Oh well, maybe next time.
- Compensation or Performance? Which one will it be? Another great comment thread. REALTORS®, the consumer and an Attorney debate this topic. You have to get about half way down to when Mark Nadel, the person who wrote a 75 page white paper study on this topic, chimed in.
- Sherman and Broker Bryant mount up for battle!! This post will show you how to stand up for what you believe in. If you have a strong opinion then back it up.
OK that's it. I hope that in some small way this post will help you. As always, I appreciate each and every one of you that take the time to read what I write. Don't ever feel you have to agree with me. I'm a big boy and I can take it. I want to know your opinions and thoughts. So let me have them!
Graphic compliments of Jay Merton. I call it "Me and my big head" Others may call it "Broker Bryant is full of hot air". But hey, that's their opinion and they are entitled to it.
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