Backstage at the Blog: K is for Karma

20 thoughts on “Backstage at the Blog: K is for Karma”

1. I absolutely visit everyone who visits my blog and leave a comment. I go out of my way in fact. Example …people who use google+ and some don’t realize their blogs are set to only receive comments from other google+ people. I try to contact them by email if possible to let them know. Hate not to be able to return the favor of a visit and comment. Just hit one that was Discus only, not going to join something in order to leave a comment and wanted to reach them, but they also had no means of contact; that was frustrating after reading a long post, typing up a long response in the comment section to realize I couldn’t leave a comment. Some have it so you have to sign in with facebook in order to leave a comment….I don’t do that either, like my blog world to be separate; but I truly try to reach everyone………..some though make it next to impossible to do so. I always wonder if they think it’s rude they don’t hear back from people, and wonder if they realize they’ve put road blocks in the way. Happy A-Z to you.

   1. Hi Sandy,
      Yeah, I hit a Discus blog as well, and wasn’t really sure what to think about that. I do appreciate an email or comment to let me know when something has gone haywire with my blog since I want it be easy for bloggers to interact with me and others here.
      I’m always impressed by how helpful the blogging community is, and am happy to pay that good vibe forward. 🙂

2. I think you nailed it. I do my best to visit everyone who visits me, although this month I know I’ve missed a few, And I don’t post every award. (I have most of them anyway.) Again, sometimes it just doesn’t fit one’s schedule.

   1. I’m glad you agree with me, Alex. 🙂
      I know I’m not perfect about getting to everyone that I want to visit, but I do my absolute best to keep up–even if it means I don’t post just so I have time to check out more of my favorite blogs.
      Of course, with A to Z, not posting is not an option!

3. I’m still learning about blog etiquette and karma, so this post was very interesting to me. I do always check out the blogs of people who follow or comment on mine, and I often wind up also following them. There’s so much interesting stuff and talent out there! I’ve also learned to respond right away to comments, because if I don’t, I’ll forget all about it. That’s happened a couple of times in the past and I am determined to make sure it doesn’t happen again. (I don’t know anything at all about awards.)

   1. You don’t know about awards? Well, I’ll have to see if I can’t do something about that! 😉
      I’m naturally curious to meet people who comment on my stuff, so it made sense to visit their blogs anyway. Later I learned that it’s considered good manners to check them out.
      Most blog stuff is pretty obvious if you think about it, but I sometimes wonder what some people are thinking!

4. I agree that it is good to reply to comments and link to those that inspire you to post on a similar topic. Sometimes it’s so hard to find a blog to comment back due to the commenter’s profile set-up or that they have a weird commenting system installed. Even Google+ profiles can be a pain in the butt to find a way to get to the person’s actual blog. I do what I can to find them, but if it takes more than 5 clicks I’m done.

   1. I know what you mean about the Google + profile. If they don’t list their blog on the profile, it’s very hard to find them–and I end up googling the name of the blog just to find it! Not a good plan if you want to get comments.
      But then, I just discovered today that my blogger workaround has room for improvement as well! I just keep learning new stuff all the time. 🙂

5. You hit the highlights for me.

   I agree with other commenters – the bloggers without a “like” button, or a choice of only Google+ or email as following options, make me think twice about the time it takes to be an active follower. I don’t use Google+ and I have found I don’t engage when posts come in via email. Too unwieldy.

   As for the awards – I’m sure new bloggers like me appreciate the exposure they potentially bring. If I’m busy when nominated, I accept and commit to do my “work” by a specific date. It that’s not compatible with the award rules, I’m sure someone will tell me!

   1. I’ve never considered how much potential commenters can be put off by unwieldy interfaces. It is something for me to keep in mind.
      I look at blog awards as something that should be fun to do, and a chance to pay forward the exposure other blogs have given me. But I’ve had some where there are like twenty questions and eleven other bloggers and on and on. Frankly, it starts to feel like work! I try to balance posting my own content with an occasional blog award to keep everybody happy. 🙂

6. What you call karma I call good manners. As to awards, I rarely respond to all the questions they entail. I’m not that public. I do respond in a comment to the person giving the award. And you’re right – very time consuming and often questions I don’t enjoy answering
   As to the gogle + thing someone I really wanted to comment on for the challenge had google so I did email him

   1. I had one blog award where the questions were just too personal for me as well– so I answered them as my main character. 😉
      I’m still struggling with exactly the best way to exchange comments with Blogger folks, because I notice that even experienced Blogger commenters don’t have an image up here.

      I’m learning a lot on the A to Z challenge, that’s for sure. 🙂

7. I can’t think of anything else. You and the comm enters have covered it all, in my opinion. I share youor frustration about sites that demand you join to be able to leave a comment. And Google+ is getting way too big for their britches! I wonder if there will come a time when you won’t be able to use the Blogger platform (Google owned) without filtering everything through G+. I hope not. ~sigh~ Best wishes finishing the A to Z. 🙂

   1. Thanks, Teresa!
      I admit the whole Google thing confuses me a bit, and I wonder if, like you say, they aren’t getting in their own way as they try to move more of us to the Google/Blogger platform.
      It’s interesting to watch from over here on WordPress though. 🙂

8. Completely agree on all points. I’d admire you and everyone doing the A-Z Challenge – great topic for K!

   1. Thank you, Arlene!
      This challenge is something I never thought I’d be able to do, but here I am on K! Still a little worried about Z, but at least I’ve got Q covered already. 🙂

9. I agree. I think there’s definitely a blog etiquette. I could do a BIG post on all the things peeps do that tick me off, but I wouldn’t change them. All I’d do is make myself look like a b***h. So I just do the best I can and try not to take the blog-verse too seriously. 🙂

   1. Hi Lexacain,
      Oh, yeah, I rant about some stuff in private as well, but I have to admit that the positives about sharing my words and thoughts with the world in this way still outweigh the negatives.
      Still, it’s good to know that I’m not the only one that feels this way sometimes!

10. I make an effort to respond to all comments, visit the blogs of commenters and followers, and comment on their blogs if I can add something meaningful. That hasn’t been too difficult thus far, since I think I’ve never had more than four unique individuals comment on a single post! I did recently crack 200 followers, though.

    1. I don’t usually have this many comments either! I really didn’t expect to see this much traffic for the challenge, but I’m thrilled to have it. 🙂
       I admit, it gets harder to keep up the karma when there’s this many comments though.

Comments are closed.