First Comment Horror Story

I wanted to tell you the tale of tvorse and his first blog comment. When I first joined Twitter I wasn’t sure who to follow so I looked to people that I heard about, listened to or read. People like @leolaporte @kevinrose @chrisbrogan @zeldman @guykawasaki people who had some punch behind their name. I admired them in some way. Whether it was listening to podcasts, using Digg or following their blogs. Especially Chris Brogan and Jeffery Zeldman who I found their blogs interesting and real. Then it happened, I was reading Chris Brogan’s blog and I had something to say about his post. Now those who know me also know that I frequently have something to say. If you know me that well then you also know that once in a while my words out pace my brain or my fingers. So I posted a comment, quickly from the top of my head. This was not a good idea. My first paragraph was disjointed and probably sounded like I was smoking something. After that first paragraph though I actually put a couple of thoughts down that I felt were relevant. For some reason speed to post entered my mind then came all the words. Too many words. Finished I hit post. There it was my first real blog comment posted. Not an IRC chat or random post to a thoughtless news engine but a real comment. Then came back a response. RESPONSE? WHO? Chris Brogan himself responded to my comment. He mentioned that the first paragraph didn’t make much sense to him but went on to compliment me on my take for the rest of the comment. First thing that went through my head was shame. I am not a writer by any means and currently attending graduate school part-time reminds me of the caution that I need to use when writing. When it was all said and done I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed because I didn’t slow down and take the time think through my post but also because it was on someone like Chris Brogan’s blog. I let it scare me away from commenting and writing my own blog. So what changed that now I am trying it all again. Actually let me say that I have always kept a web presence I just never promoted it that is now changing.

Couple of things changed for me. The first was my comfort level. I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of people through Twitter, work and professional circles that has built up some confidence in my opinions. Also if you read what I said above, Chris actually made a positive response to my comment. I may have verbally tripped but still managed to deliver a reasonable perspective. Took me a bit to remember that.

The next thing that has changed was 4 more semesters of school. While I still am not a writer I am remembering where my difficulties lie. I try to slow my thoughts and writing down in an attempt to catch more errors and poorly worded phrases. They will still get by me but I continue to try to improve myself. I can still do calculus and calculate angular momentum from 11 yrs ago but still have bad memories of my tech writing class.

So my advice on the subject is this:
• Think through your comment and try to keep it short and to the point. Long comments are fine when you have something to say but when you think them out you also typically thin them out as well.
• Don’t be afraid to comment. If you are yourself and speak your mind people can get past the minor details.
• Post on people’s blogs you’ve met before to get use to your process of commenting.
• Lastly just try it. You may not be perfect but who is? Your online experience will be enriched by the extra interaction. We’re here to communicate not play english teacher.

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