I would love to comment on your blog, especially if you were kind enough to comment on mine, but I just can't. The following are 12 reasons why, in no particular order.
All of your blog entries are listings.
I appreciate what you're trying to do, and that is to make a living helping your Clients buy and sell real estate, but let's see some of you, too! Sprinkle some of who you are into your blog.
If we remember how blogs were founded, they were a personal diary on the web, a web log. Businesses eventually found blogging (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em) and tried to make them their own. To a certain extent, they have succeeded.
I try to use the 80/20 rule: About 80% of my blog entries on a business site are business, and about 20% personal interests. On a social site, about 80% of my blog entries would be personal interest, with about 20% being about my businesses.
You have disabled comments.
I understand why some people would disable comments on specific blog entries, but one person who commented on my blog had about 40 pages of blog entries, every one of which had comments disabled (you probably know who you are).
I wasted a lot of my time this morning rummaging through those 40 pages looking for something to comment on. No such luck. Actually, after the first three pages, I might have just gone through the other 37 to see if the person was persistent and consistent in disabling comments. He was.
You seem to be in a fit of rage.
I realize that politics is emotional, often bringing out the worst in people, which is why you won't see me blogging about politics. As my wise old grandmother said, "Keep sex, religion, and politics to yourself." She told me that 38 years ago. It still holds true if one uses the 80/20 rule again.
I might use a political point to drive home a point about home inspections, or marketing & business, or a great restaurant, or a link to nature, or something about cats and dogs, etc., but you're not going to find me going off on a rant about that with which I disagree, especially on a business networking site.
Recently I had the "opportunity" to visit a blog about a subject near and dear to my heart because of who I am. His blog entry was so hateful that I was crying when I finished reading it, realizing that such hateful people exist even here in the United States of America.
And, yes, I did finish reading it, and I commented using the blog entry of someone else who was kind enough to give me permission. Shortly afterwards, the hateful blog entry was deleted but an even more hateful one put in its place. I just moved one. I don't need hateful people in my life, and there are a lot of other people in the world who don't either. I saw him as an American terrorist.
You either didn't log in or you're not a member.
When either of those two events happen, there's usually no name and no link with the comment. That makes it difficult for me to visit you.
You have 40 pages of blog entries that conflict with everything I believe in. Debate, constructive criticism, and a good variety of differing views are healthy to a republican democracy, but if you have 40 pages of blog entries about what you your personal interests and what believe (often coupled with other problems noted here), I'm smart enough to know that nothing I can say is going to have any kind of an effect on you at all, so I just move on. Hint: Remember the 80/20 rule for a business networking site.
You don't have any blog entries.
For the few times that I have found this, I have sent the member a note of encouragement, offering my help if s/he needs it, and referencing this blog of my alter ego.
You have 40 pages of blog entries that do nothing but use names, some quite despicable, to refer to people who have differing viewpoints from yours.
I remember in debate class when I was making a point and my opponent turned, looked at me, and said, "You're simply an idiot." I won the debate, in my eyes, in the eyes of my wise old grandmother sitting there in the first row, and in the eyes of the judges.
I try to keep my blog entries eligible for being published in a family magazine.
Your blog entry is a wall of words.
If you have a lot to say, don't say it in one long paragraph. The human eye gets tired trying to read a lot of text across a computer screen, so help it along by breaking up your text with pictures, colored text, and paragraphs.
You can even start a paragraph just to help your readers, even though in formal writing no such paragraph would start there.
YOUR BLOG ENTRY USES ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
MARKETING PSYCHOLOGISTS PROVED LONG AGO, AND CONTINUE TO PROVE, THAT THE HUMAN EYE GETS VERY TIRED TRYING TO READ TEXT IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. I LEARNED THAT IN 1968 IN MY JUNIOR HIGH WRITING CLASS.
I was going to make a point by continuing to type in all capital letters, but my own eyes were getting tired.
Turn that CAPS key off!
Your blog entry has too many grammatical errors.
As a home inspector, I depend on my writing to keep me, my Clients, and my Clients' Realtor out of trouble (i.e., out of court).
If a prospective Client found every one of my Active Rain blog entries, and my comments on the blog entries of others, full of misspellings, typographical errors, run-on sentences, bad grammar, etc., what do you think they would logically deduce about my professional work? After all, this is a professional networking site.
I would think that the same thing would apply to Realtors and mortgage lenders.
If your blog entry has so many grammatical errors that I can't make heads or tails out of what you're trying to say, I won't.
There are great spell checkers and grammar checkers available on the Internet. Use them!
The first or last page of your blog entries doesn't have anything that I can make a relevant comment about.
This usually happens because of one of the other 11 problems. I'm very busy, so if I can't find something to comment on in your first page or last page, I'm moving on.
I do like to visit your last page because that will have your very first blog entries on it, which can be quite interesting to read.
Your blog entries are unprofessional
Quite often this happens because of one of the other problems noted here.
I realize that we don't have to be professional all the time, but I think the 80/20 rule is relevant here:
Be professional at least 80% of the time. For the other 20% of the time, make your blog entries "Members Only."
I've spent much of my life helping other people through my active participation in
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, Xi Delta chapter, Texas A&M University
Brazos Valley Chorale, Bryan, Texas
Breast Cancer Research
American Cancer Society
Democratic Party
Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego
HIV/AIDS Research
Houston Symphony
Key Club, H.M. King High, Kingsville, Texas
Muscular Dystrophy Association
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Red Cross (10-gallon blood donor here!)
Republican Party
San Diego Symphony
San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
Special Olympics
I hope I've helped some members of Active Rain, too.
WARNING
I reserve the right to alter the title of this blog entry, and add more problems if I find them.
I post all sorts of different things...funny...listings..serious...RE related...business related...AR related...I've even disabled a few...if people don't want to read then what can I do:)
Russell, I agree with your blog. I generally will pass by any blog that appears to be a rant or is not remotely related to real estate. Yes, it is great to know that you have a cute child or remarkable pet or that you enjoyed your nature walk, but, the writer might want to find a correlation to real estate, which of course is what AR is all about.
Who needs your stupid ole comments any way ... nyah ...
...
KIDDING: of course!
I was somewhat surprised when I stumbled into the hardcore political side of Active Rain. I follow politics closely and have strong opinions, but I can't see the benefit of sharing those opinions in this format. Whenever possible I try to stay out of that discussion.
This article begs for the follow-up Reasons Why I Won't Reblog.
Thanks for sharing and if you know any condo specialists I'm building a directory of condo experts across the country. There is no charge for this service. Just contact me and I'll add a link to you.
LOL...I had a wise old grandmother too, she used to worry about everything, God love her. To all those sour grapes posts she would have said "Who pissed in their Post Toasties?"~~~~~~ thanks for reminding me of my Nan this morning~~~~~~~~~~Blessings on your day~~~~~
Ahhh, so THAT's why? I agree with most of your points. I have some regular commenters for whom I have tried to reciprocate but, they have nothing but listings. Makes it tough.
Very good points! It's hard to reply with a comment on one of your commenters' blogs when all they have is listings on there! I am kind of chuckling that you have helped both the Democrat and Republican parties.......most people would pick one or the other! Good for you!
Just for argument's sake, let's say that membership in the Democratic party and the Republican party is evenly split, 50/50.
If I were to only help the Democratic Party, I would be missing out on what 50% of the people have to say, and vice versa. I've even helped the Green Party and some other somewhat esoteric parties. Heck, I've even had some esoteric parties! LOL
Russel, this is a great post, not only from an instructional POV, but also a practical one. There are many things that can boost our post participation and readership and the list above is a great primer for that.
Russell, You have made some very good points. I would say that numbers 3, 8, & 9 are some of my main reasons for not replying to a blog. I may not agree with 100% of what you have said, but then again, I rarely agree 100% with anyone, we are all different after all.
I love your idea of posting links to your various blogs at the end. The titles offer people a chance to see if you have written other blogs that might interest them. Great idea....I hope you don't mind if I adopt this idea for my blogs, after all, they say that copying someone is really a form of flattery (the good kind)!
I love your reasoning for working with both political parties...it is better to hear both sides of a story. This is probably even more true once you have decided your party preference. You never know what the future holds, and it is best to be informed on all issues. What a great way to achieve political balance in our lives. This is a great idea for those who are all the way to the left or to the right, they could use a bit more balance...unless of course their personality is mostly argumentative. They can stay at home and complain to their TV.
You have gracefully said what many think. Personally, I'm picky about whose blogs I comment on. My rule of thumb is that if your article captures my attention, it's only fair that I comment. Most everyone loves a little feedback. I love the Grandmother comment that if someone calls you a name, you win. I think I won a non-verbal debate in traffic this week from someone I do not know.
Russel, I never thought about that in words, why I do not read some people. But I would say that almost everything you have written there is taken into account when I pick which ones to read.
I couldn't agree more about the points why I don't comment for some. I am one to reciprocate and I really appreciate when others do it too. (hmm, wonder which one I fall in now since you haven't visited my posts for awhile :( ... ~Rita
Thanks for your comment about my grammatical error.
The nice thing about the English language is that it is fully capable of changing. Whether or not it has done that in this case, I don't know.
However, grammatical is an adjective, whose main purpose is to modify a noun or pronoun to provide more information about that noun or pronoun. Since errors is a noun, there's no reason why grammatical cannot modify errors. See dictionary.com. Note specifically all those "grammatical errors" at the left on the linked page.
If I were writing formally for, say, the Texas A&M University Press, I might have used "errors in grammar." It would have depended entirely on my audience. For the audience here, "grammatical errors" is certainly acceptable, if not preferred.
Hi Russel - I am working with an elderly gentleman who loves to send me emails and they are always in all caps.....it drives me crazy but I think someone other than myself is going to have to teach him email etiquette.
I think you could say a grammar error but not a grammatical error.
Like you would say a lapse in judgment not a judgmental lapse.
Another would be I was an English Major. English describes the Major. Like American General. Or French Police. My major was English. That was an example I was not an English Major I was an American Sargent.
Russel,
I agree that I won't post comments on blogs dealing with sex, religion and politics. I get enough things on those topics from the emails I get from my 87 year old father. I am here for the real estate stuff. Now I will admit that I post listings (gotta sell 'em) and stuff geared toward Localism as well.
Russel, do you know where I can find the reference for the capital letters issue? I'd love to pass that on to my broker. We can't enter our own listings here (we have assistants that do that for us for liability reasons) and the listings are always all caps! I hate that! I'd rather see all lower case than caps. But of course, I think that a variety of caps and lower case make the best option. I wish I would have thought of that when creating my email. TopProperty4You@aol.com. Everyone always asks me if there are 2 P's between top and property. If I had done all lower case, I would have realized that might be an issue. Anyhoo, thanks for the blog!!
These are all great. I comment on others posts when I have something to say that contributes to the post or conversation. I don't type to hear the keys *click*
I have no problem with "judgmental lapses" with this audience. Again, if I were writing for the Texas A&M University Press and a specific formal audience there, such as the Journal of the American Psychological Association, I'd probably use "lapse in judgement." Do a search on "judgmental lapse" and see what you come up with.
I used to be an English purist but then music became extremely popular, and we all know that poets and singer-songwriters take significant liberties with their "writing." Just look at the interesting "words" that get added to the dictionary each year. Heck, I'm "gay." What do you think that means now? LOL
English has always been an avocation with me, although I did make a pretty nice vocation out of it when I was working as an editor/writer/copyediter/proofreader for the Texas A&M University Press, College of Science's SPECTRUM newsletter, and the Department of Chemistry's TAMU NMR Newsletter. I thank my high school senior English teacher, Mrs. Edith Head (not the famous author) for developing in me an interest in poetry, literature, and English.
My Partner is LOS, so IGG. Can't wait to see how many years it takes to get those in the standard lexicon, similar to RADAR.
As your second comment states, grammar is the study of what is to be preferred. Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, so I still don't have a problem with grammatical mistakes. I might have a problem, though, with grammatical roses. LOL
I loved this post Russell. You have hit on a lot of great points and hopefully some of the AR bloggers will get the hints you have left for them. And in my first official act as a new moderator of the Blogs Happen Group I hereby award you a STAR (please don't mind the caps)
Russel, you lied because you commented on one of my very first blogs that had errors because I did not spell check it.....You are not as mean as you want us to believe...:)
Good post again...go figure. That's what you do! :) I don't understand why someone would disable comments. It sure does make it hard for us to reciprocate.
Well that was really great! I can see why it's been reblogged, and considered doing it myself, except it's a little too much of your own branding there. Thanks for the laugh! Now I'm going to check out your grandmother's site.
Russell, this is an interesting post. I am fairly new so I guess I am lucky that I have not yet come across really hateful posts yet. Although some of the political posts lately . . .???
I think that some people type in all caps because they don't want to shift.
I always wondered how people choose which blogs to comments on. You made me think and I am going to go to my last blog and for those who commented I will read some of their blogs and make some comments. Thanks.
Boy! You have been reading my mind! If I were asked to come up with 12 reasons, I can't think of any of yours that I wouldn't include. I do a lot of commenting, but there are some blogs that I won't comment on, and others that I'll never read again because they are a waste of my time and emotions.
I just don't understand why people would rant on politics in a professional blog. If nothing else, it seems that they are narrowing their potential client and referral base by making readers angry. I have strong opinions, but I have other avenues of expression for those.
And who doesn't prefer to read posts with something other than unbroken text? I always enjoy yours.
Couldn't have said it better ourselves. You really hit the nail err blog post button on the head with that one. Great top 12 list. #13 could be: Because past news stories copied from msnbc aren't relevant anymore or worth commenting on.
Well spaken, spoken, spooken. Anyway, what I meant to say, is I agree with you. I especially hate comment sites that REQUIRE the commenter to register, only so the site owner can bombard the commernter with spam forever. Good way to keep comments at a minimum and lose business and integrity and respect all at the same time.
Here in Arkansas, I am proud of your efforts on behalf of the ACLU and Red Cross. This area tolerates neither, much less your other activities. so pray for enlightenment in the rest of the country.
I'm hoping that now that the election is over perhaps there will be less radical political blogging and more helpful marketing/real estate focus! I have learned so much here on active rain, but also seen blogs of many people I wouldn't want to do business with!
I stay totally clear of anything political. I remember when I first checked out the 'AR Comedy Group' and there was nothing funny in it! Go figure, just politics. How about a joke thrown in here in there to get the comedy started! Very disappointing but I added a few jokes and made comments to the political activist that he wasn't funny. DIDN'T EVEN USE CAPS.
I just did a post about someone's irresponsible use of a title and tag line about Realtors being unethical. Totally sent me over the edge. Google just loved it and THAT IS A SHAME.
Well hello again. It doesn't matter to me whether or not you comment, but, it may mean something to a precious little girl. Please if you have the time, go to my blog post " A Precious Little Girl and Her Dog" and if you feel inspired leave a comment of encouragement for her. Thanks
On another note, I was recently diagnosed with MS and it seems to be making me write in a dyslexic fashion although I try to go back and make corrections. Sometimes I miss them. I used to be a perfectionist with my writing, but, now I feel a sense of aaccomplishment if I get the general thought out on the page.
We've noticed a little loophole. In regards to checking out someone's last page or at least the illusion of that.
Next time you go to someone's last page (and If you own a macintosh) , go up to the browser and inrease the page number by 1 and then you'll have their last page. Dont ask us why this happens but we've seen it on a number of blogs including our own.
We have checked on about 10 pc's and it only appears to be an issue for the macintosh platform for some reason. We've found other strange bugs like this and will make a post about it soon.
Hope that helps russel! :) love your blog man, keep up the good work.
I will tell my wife (a lovely member of the grammar police) that there are others! The 'net is not a mere wasteland of slang and drivel.
<off topic> Russel, did you sing with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus? I used to live in Seattle and the Seattle Men's Chorus was wonderful. We don't have a major vocal group here in Boise. A small thing I miss about the bigger city.
No, I sang in high school but was never really good enough to pursue it at a higher level. I'm just a fan of talent and expertise in any area and I really like good music and entertainment. Seattle Mens Chorus provided a bunch of both
Russel, I respect you for your stand on this. I just went to an agent who hadn't had a post since August and I had commented on it at that time and don't feel the need to comment on it again. This is why you don't comment on my post, but Jim does...
I love it when Granny is brought into the picture for perspective and advice. Besides the Post Toasties comment (which will come in handy next time I need a thick skin), I think Granny would offer the following blog advice: be nice, contribute something of value, give and get, participate, engage ... or don't blog. Granny may have a tendency to USE ALL CAPS but we forgive her.
I enjoyed reading this post! Now I'm especially flattered that you have commented on my posts :D
I nodded my head often while I was reading this. Number 5 I particularly relate to. And, what you won't see in this comment, are the several more paragraphs I started on because so many of your points touched on major issues for me too!
If I don't just stop here, I'll go on all night, possibly with one of those dreaded two-page single paragraph monsters!
Okay - just one more thing: I LOVE that you said "republican democracy".
Sounds like you had a wonderful grandmother, who taught you the important things in life at an early age. My dad is like that with my son, it's a great thing.
Russel, Great entry...one comment that you may not be aware of, however. If a blogger is using a mac 10.3 or before, there are compatability issues... there is now way to create paragraphs in posts...a real problem. Sometimes, I only have my Mac with me and I am stuck in the single paragraph mode. I try to edit my posts when I get in front of my PC. I wonder how many bloggers are using Macs of that vintage.
Hey Russel... #3 sounds familiar. I wonder why?!?! LOL! Regarding your 12 reasons list above, it's great! I noticed somebody has re-blogged it once, and I may do the same. But I'll be sure to spell your name correctly. :) Thanks again for the comments on boredom on my post.
Hi Russel ~ I can' tell you how delighted - and relieved! - I was when you commented on my posts. Made my day since I had read this post and had started to worry. Phew! I really love your posts - and this is one that rings many bells - most of the things you've listed have also stopped me in my tracks when I was thinking about leaving a comment.
I return comment for comment, and I used to be able to do it in less than 7 days, until last November 8, I believe it was, when ActiveRain crashed. For the next month, Playing in the Rain felt so much like working in the Rain, and I got way behind in commenting. I'm doing about 20 comments a day right now trying to catch up.
I'll be back to visit you soon, though. Until then, happy blogging!
Wow! How special of you to try and comment on your commenters blogs. So far I haven't written any (that's just to save you the time looking). I've only just stopped lurking and started commenting. Am working up the courage to actually start blogging. Writing is not my forte and in addition there is just so much new stuff to absorb. I'm enjoying reading yours. Thanks for the input.
Great post Russell. You are a wity one! Being fairly new at this, I hope that I will develop as keen a writing skill as you have (or at least a percentage of it!) Your social conscience is to be commended! I hope I haven't misspelled anything here so you'll keep me as an associate!
Russell, Well put. It's nice to find bloggers that believe their blog does make an impression on those that read it, be it good or bad. There are times that I do not comment on something because I do not want my name associated with the content within the blog.
I've skipped a few blogs in my ActiveRain career. For example, I stay away from the political and religious blogs because I don't want prospective Clients crossing me off their list if they happen to believe differently.
Hi Russel, I think the fact that Rainers who missed this when it was first published are still finding it and are moved by it six months later, is a testament to its timelessness, no matter how much Active Rain changes in between. What a wonderful synopsis of how and why some blogs do not receive comments, and not just from you. I don't comment when I have nothing to say that is substantive, or nothing to add to the discussion.
I enjoy reading your blog and sometimes I enjoy (when I see them) the comments you do make on others' blogs.
Thank you so much for sharing a little of your world with us.
One of the things I should do is read all the comments before commenting. That way I can just say something like "See comment #14 because I ditto that."
I'm one of the Rainers who missed this originally but found it later due to awesome links in your blog, which I will probably begin incorporating. Also am also suscribing to your blog... you are very motivational!
Glad to be of help. I'll be over to visit you in the next couple of weeks, and when I visit, I like to stay a while and comment a lot, so be prepared -- LOL.
Now I know why you haven't been commenting over on my blog! ;-P I didn't see this post before, but I wonder why in the world it wasn't featured. It surely should have been!
I visited you as a home inspector on 1/26/09 and as a marketing & business consultant on 3/29/09. You never came to visit me until now :( .
However, now that you have, I'll be returning the visit in about 18 days, unless I get even further caught up. I try to visit within 7-10 days, but I got way behind because the points glitch earlier this month, which looks like they've fixed. Every time I would log on, I would lose hundreds of points, so I quit logging on.
There was a hillarious article some time ago (at least one year) that had photos of things home inspections encountered while doing inspections. One of the photos was an auto radiator being used for home air conditioning. Do you know where I can find this article? Thanks.
Hey, Chris - I don't remember seeing that picture. I tried searching on some terms but nothing specific came up, so I don't know how to find it. Sorry.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
These are all great. I comment on others posts when I have something to say that contributes to the post or conversation. I don't type to hear the keys *click*
;)
;)
Russell I seem to have become some one who follows your blogs so thanks for your posts I enjoy reading them Keep it up. Thanks again