Mitch Keeler, apparently, is not impressed.
After a little sleuthing (or maybe "straightforward observation" would be a more appropriate description) Keeler, operator of the Mitchelaneous Web hosting blog and podcast discovered that we WHIR bloggers are posting comments on each other's blog entries.
However, he seems to have the mistaken impression that some kind of unsavory business is going on. In a blog post tagged with the words "funny," and "self promotion" he says:
Now this is just funny. I was skimming through some of the comments over at the Web Host Industry Review's new blog section, and something struck me as odd. All the comments i saw were from the same people. So I figured, well they have a few fans - good for them. The closer I looked though, all the comments I saw came from the other "blog writers". They are sitting around and commenting on each others different posts so they look more busy it seems.
I'm not sure "funny" is the right word.
Mitch seems to think he's unraveling some sort of conspiracy. But this is hardly a revelation. It ought to be patently obvious to anyone reading the WHIR blogs that we're posting comments on each other's entries. We're certainly not doing it in secret. In the example he posted, for instance, the hyperlink on Isabel's name leads right to her WHIR blog. Hardly a stealth maneuver.
We see the cross-posting as one of the benefits of the WHIR blogs setup. We're not trying to trick you into thinking we have "fans." And we're definitely not trying to "look more busy." We're trying to take advantage of having six blogs working together. We're creating a dynamically evolving channel for ideas. And each of those comments posted adds to the value of the original post. I may have an opinion about something to which David Snead, a lawyer, might be able to add a whole new point of view.
Ultimately, I'd rather have a well thought out, insightful comment or criticism from one of the other WHIR bloggers than a "that post rocked!" from an anonymous poster.
That's not to say reader comments aren't welcome - they're definitely something we're after, and we've had a few great ones. Feel free to add some yourself. That goes for Mitch Keeler, too.
Tags: funny, self promotion, criticism
Did I miss something here? I thought this was normal behavior amongst people with similar professional interests...
Strange, as I'm not one of The WHIR bloggers, yet I've posted comments, and I read all the entries made by all the WHIR bloggers.
To quote you, Mitch... need an example? http://www.thewhir.com/blogs/paul-hirsch/index.cfm...
Personally, I find it absolutely <sarcasm>hilarious</sarcasm> that people within the same industry comment on each others blog. The shock and horror! <Rolls eyes>
My concern was more that if he had misinterpreted our collaborative commenting as something more sinister, then maybe somebody else had as well. I wanted to make sure our intent was clear to everyone.
I also really like that this post in particular is drawing out a few user comments.
Hey there silverfreak :-)
Personally, I've read a great detail of interesting information on the blogs so far (Isabel needs to learn to manage her entry count though. :-D).
I think it's only natural that the fellow bloggers post comments, as they are bound to have an interest in what their fellow bloggers are saying, probably more so than the general readers.
Maybe Mitch was just stating this fact and had no negative meaning in his blog entry. Mitch, if you're reading, I have to believe the other WHIR bloggers commenting was bound to happen. Personally, I'd much rather see plenty of comments from them and nobody else, than nobody at all.
Now that's over with, maybe you'll come and join in with your own comments.
To sum things up though, I didn't mean anything negative by what I said - just giving some feedback on the product and showing you how maybe somebody from the outside looking in might see things. Hopefully nobody else who gives you feedback will get the same warm reaction I got. :)
Anyways though Liam, no negativity was there - if you saw it that way or if anybody else saw it that way, then I apologize.
I think the cross-commenting is good, and encourages additional comments.
I guess it is a bit odd and funny that such a large and well respected publication like The WHIR would get so little response to its blogs. My best guess is because the whole WHIR blogs concept is new and it hasn't been publicized much (at even at all?). Or maybe we sum everything up so nicely there isn't anything left to say. Or maybe we suck and this whole thing is a monumental bust.
But your hypothesis that we're just trying to "look more busy" is wrong. Our efforts are genuine.
Thanks!