I don't what to turn this blog into a blog about blogging but after sleeping on it I want to come back to the post that Robert Scoble made yesterday regarding how bloggers feel when they get a negative reaction to their blog.

A big part of the problem as I see it with blog comments is anonymity. Shrouded in the cloak of secrecy most of us have the capacity to become pranksters, hoaxers and jokers while others become darker and more sinister and carry see it as an opportunity to send trouble in the direction of others is safety. Just look at Scoble's blog - on there he has is picture, email and cell phone number. No one can say that's anonymous, yet most of the nasty comments he receives are from those who use the web to hide. OK, some aren't anonymous but even then the net is a good insulator against a punch in the face or a direct response. Scoble, just by virtue of working for Microsoft, liking Microsoft products and being "out there" in quite a big way makes him a target by many who seem to think that he deserves all he gets. The internet offers them the perfect delivery system.

I really do wonder about the value of comments on most blogs, especially anonymous comments. They seem little more than noise or graffiti even to me. Also, when I see places that allow anonymous comments I think back to that old US public service ad about "not turning a good kid bad" by leaving your keys in the ignition. Is the ability to post comments without a trace back to the author the same thing? Does it encourage bad behaviour, ranging from spam through just general noise all the way to libel? How much value is there is a random comment or a bunch of comments when you can't validate the source?

This brings me on to the dangers of comments.

I don't have comments on here. The reasons are numerous but revolve around time, a lack or desire to deal with spam, a total lack of desire to want to police this place and I run this blog for the benefit of people who buy my books, might buy my book, people who, past, present or future have attended one (or more) or my classes) and just to generally give those in need of help a guiding hand. I don't want to spend my time being a cop turfing people off or a judge trying to work out whether a post says or gets a visit from "Dr Delete Key". That sounds like too much like hard work to me. Some people might think I'm wrong for that but tough.

Robert Scoble, along with Shel Israel are writing a book about blogging for business and I for one hope that comments, along with their positive and negative side -effects, are mentioned (I don't know if they are - I'm behind with my web reading!). Having feedback is great if you have a good product, at a good price and have great connection with customers, but, like Dell found out with their forum, things can go very sour. Same's true anywhere - a car manufacturer's blog could suddenly become filled with comments from angry customers complaining about warranties, cost of repairs or reliability. Imagine if Coke had a blog a few years back when that kid collected something like a billion ring-pulls to get that Harrier jump jet he'd seen advertised on TV? And here I'm assuming no stirring from rivals in the industry or pressure groups - which is also likely.

As I see it comments can force companies and individuals to make decisions that they aren't geared to make. For example, does a comment stay or does it go? Deleting comments brings with it accusations of twisting the truth or only presenting one side of the story, and leaving all comments just makes word go around that all gripes are preserved, thus encouraging more of the same.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005 at 09:25 and is filed under PC Doctor's Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.