You probably visit blogs on a daily basis that you’re aware of and maybe you also visit a few new ones here and there or every day you get online.
When you read them do you read the article and then just leave a useful comment based on what the article was about and add your own two cents? If so, here’s something a little different that you might consider doing that just might put a spin on things in the future.
Next time you’re about to read an article that has a title that just grabs you and won’t let go, scroll down and read all the comments first.
1st.
Scroll down and see how many comments there currently are. Maybe it was just posted today and hasn’t received many yet. Maybe it was posted today and has 10, 20, 50, or 100. If it has more than 15 I wouldn’t recommend reading every single comment… Just enough to get a feel for what the article was about.
2nd.
Why do this? Because it’s fun and you’ll get to read the entire article without actually reading any of it. You’ll also get to concentrate on what other people have to say and how accurate they truly are after reading the article yourself. AND, you’ll be introduced to NEW bloggers with different writing styles before reading the current stuff you’re used to. Kind of like getting out of your comfort zone just a bit, kinda.
3rd.
Why not? As stated above it’s fun. However, after reading all the comments first you should actually read the article and leave your own comments. Maybe even comment on someone elses’s as well. And maybe, just maybe you could even mention (if you did do this) that you got the idea from this article (giving me some love 
) and mention why you did it (you can come up with your own reasons) and what you actually got out of it.
One last thing to note is why this is actually a useful technique that just might help you greatly in the future: By reading comments (if there are any by the time you visit the page) of other bloggers you will get an idea of how much they really are contributing to the article and conversation. If they have some good points to make, they might be worth checking out. If not, well, it’s really up to you. This is just a small idea that might help you BIG time in the long run for who to actually form a relationship with and who to visit next!
Have fun!
Read blogs any way you feel like reading them but remember there’s always something new happening in the world and especially on the Internet and by tomorrow things will have changed just slightly.
How do YOU read blogs? I’d love to hear what you think about this idea… I truly would so please share your comments below.
Thanks!
COMMENTS
32 Comments
Ray
February 1st, 2010 10:01 AM
I always enjoy reading the comments on an interesting article. There is another benefit that you missed though, Eric. I find that frequently a comment will trigger a thought that leads me to a blog topic for my blog. I don’t mean that after reading this post for instance, that upon reading a comment I would go and write a post based upon reading comments here. Sometimes a comment may mention something unrelated and it just triggers perhaps a different way of looking at an issue.
Ray´s last blog ..Is One Blog Enough?
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Ray, you’re right. I’ve read comments before and got inspired to write a post about something mentioned in the comment that wasn’t particularly related to the topic at hand. This is a good point actually.
Thanks for the comment!
[Reply]
Justin Matthews
February 1st, 2010 11:47 AM
This is quite the interesting idea. I have been skimming the articles about half of the time and reading the comments but I think I will try this way. Of course, wouldn’t help much by the time I read this post, there were no comments yet! I do like to see who has commented and see some familiar faces from the blogosphere on different sites. There are some people who comment EVERYWHERE!
Thanks for giving some different ideas, we wouldn’t want to be stale bloggers now would we?
Justin
Justin Matthews´s last blog ..Books: Audio vs. Print, Showdown in the Library!
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Justin,
Thanks for stopping by. Yeah it was an interesting article to write, that’s for sure. I think this is just something fun we could do that might make some articles easier to read for some, maybe not for everyone though. Who knows what someone could do with this idea.
Stop by any time!
[Reply]
Ralph
February 1st, 2010 03:53 PM
Interesting idea. Unfortunately, I had to read the post so lost the opportunity to apply it here I will try it somewhere else or on another or your posts and come back.
Ralph´s last blog ..The Top Ten Reasons for NOT Posting Daily
[Reply]
Keith
February 1st, 2010 03:55 PM
I read so many blogs everyday, I have to admit I am a skimmer, unless something really pops out at me. I do browse a few comments, mainly because there just might be one I want to reply to (it helps to have threaded comments Eric, you can turn this on in the settings/discussion section of your admin).
Keith´s last blog ..Passion Without Knowledge Won’t Make You Money
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Thanks for the comment, Keith.
Just turned on threaded comments… We’ll see how that helps.
I usually try and read everything but am very quickly finding out that can’t always be the case. Skimming isn’t bad as long as you actually know what was said and can add value to what is there.
Stop by any time!
[Reply]
Ralph
February 1st, 2010 04:06 PM
Just back from another post (Why blogging is important). I used this technique. The contrast between comments who personalize and the post which is analytical is interesting. What struck me when I finished is that you didn’t answer your own question. Maybe you need a new title or a new post.
Ralph´s last blog ..The Top Ten Reasons for NOT Posting Daily
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Ralph,
In the comment I left on ‘Blogging Is Important… Here’s Why’ I hope I answered your question briefly in my reply to what you said. I’ll be looking into writing something in the future about this as things are always changing.
Interesting to read blogs by the comments first, isn’t it?
[Reply]
Hulbert
February 1st, 2010 05:35 PM
Hi Eric, this is an interesting way to read blogs. I use this method when sometimes I have no idea what the blogger is writing about, and instead of reviewing it again, I just go down to the comments of other people and usually they will give me the answer.
But I’m going to try this out though. Thanks for the tip!
Hulbert´s last blog ..Improving on Time, Character, Mentality, Emotions, and Health
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:00 am
Hey Hulbert,
Yeah this can definitely come in handy when the author of the blog isn’t exactly getting the point across. That’s why comments are so important and you’ll see everywhere people say: Don’t just say great post, or something like that. Actually adding value to the conversation can do wonders in ways we might even overlook, such as this!
Thanks!
[Reply]
Ching Ya
February 1st, 2010 08:58 PM
That’s one to try for, exactly why serious commenting is important and should not be overlooked. To me, comment is just like microblogging. It’s a chance to be visible while making connections with new bloggers. It’s a win-win situation, really. ^^
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
Ching Ya´s last blog ..6 Points To Ponder Before Using Automatic Status Updates
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:02 am
You’ve got it Ching Ya!
Commenting can be a great benefit when done right and there are many benefits of adding comments to blogs… This is just one of them.
Thanks for stopping by!
[Reply]
Adrienne
February 1st, 2010 09:57 PM
I’m definitely going to try it! I usually enjoy reading comments more anyway (besides this post of course)!
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:03 am
Adrienne,
It’s something worth checking out more. I really work on reading blogs, and comments sometimes but sometimes comments might express the store more and in a different way that’s more understandable for some people.
Thanks!
[Reply]
Jeffrey
February 2nd, 2010 02:20 AM
Hi Eric,
What gets me in reading the comments is the fact that sometimes, you can read comments on a blog that were logged-in yesterday, yet the piece they are commenting on is 3 or 4 years old.
Jeffrey´s last blog ..Build It And They Won’t Come
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 4:08 am
Jeffrey,
That’s something that comes in handy is making articles timeless to the point that you can add value and therefore comment years down the road and in a way, recreate something.
Thanks for stopping by!
[Reply]
Gordie
February 2nd, 2010 03:18 AM
Hi Eric,
I think that is a cool thing to do from time to time. I actually always try to read most, if not all of the comments. The comments on some blogs add so much more to the article. I find on my blog from time to time that some comments could be a whole blog post in itself. I really appreciate the people such as yourself who take time to write great comments.
Gordie´s last blog ..Short-Term Gains Are Shorter Term Than You Think.
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 4:09 am
Gordie,
Yeah I know what you mean. I’ve seen some incredibly long comments that really go out there and add extremely high value to an article to the point that they themselves could literally be a whole new blog post!
It’s crazy and fun and adds value all over again at the same time.
Thanks for coming by!
[Reply]
Anthony Feint
February 2nd, 2010 03:41 AM
Its definitely an interesting idea but I prefer to read the article first. I also only comment when I have something to say
Anthony Feint´s last blog ..The Simple Art of Being Persuasive Online
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 4:11 am
Anthony,
I agree. Commenting is about adding value to the conversation and the article. If there’s nothing you can really add but you find it a great piece of work that’s where retweeting the article is awesome to do.
I do this actually. If I comment I retweet. If I don’t comment but find the article good enough I retweet and if someone comes and comments I always try and comment on their blog or at least retweet.
Stop by any time!
[Reply]
TheInfoPreneur
February 2nd, 2010 05:10 AM
Funny this, I read half the article then flick to the comments then read the rest. I think I do this because if I read too much of the same thing the letters start walking about on the screen so I have to mix it up.
Great tips as always brother
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..The Day My Wife Almost Died
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 5:40 am
James,
Nice to see you here! Yeah that sounds like it could work well as reading too much of one thing at once might hurt your eyes too. I thought it was interesting enough and useful enough for a blog post… Looks like I was right!
Thanks for the comment, brother!
[Reply]
Karen
February 2nd, 2010 07:58 AM
Reading the comments is sometimes more interesting and useful than reading the actual article!
I guess it has to do with the collective wisdom. Some people don’t have the time to blog themselves so leave little gems of ideas when they comment.
Interesting persepective about reading blogs
Karen
Karen´s last blog ..My Top 5 Secret Success Factors
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:14 am
Karen,
Yeah with a comment you never know what you’re going to get and sometimes it can surprise you to the point of a blog post in itself.
Comments are definitely nice and add a perspective on the article.
Thanks for stopping by!
[Reply]
Ruth - Web Career Girl
February 2nd, 2010 08:06 AM
I really enjoy reading the comments – some blogs are better for meaningful comments than others, I have found. I love seeing what they have to say, but I also love clicking through and checking out their own blogs often too.
Ruth – Web Career Girl´s last blog ..Forgotten Systems for Making Money Online: My Plan of Action for February
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:15 am
Ruth,
I love checking out new blogs when the person behind them leaves a comment that just pops out at you. It’s a great way to find new and interesting people to connect with!
Stop by any time!
[Reply]
Dexs
February 2nd, 2010 10:47 AM
The funny thing is Eric, I have always done this. When I see an article that looks like something I’d like to dive into I always pop down to the comments and find a couple of non-spammers to inform me on their opinions. Sometimes they comments will say good things and the article turns to be something I’m not really intersted and other times its the complete opposite. It’s amazing how something work so well this way.
Dexs´s last blog ..All Hail… The IPad?
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
Dex, hey!
Thanks for the comment. Yeah sometimes the article isn’t interesting but the comments actually are. It’s sometimes a win-win and sometimes not. Just depends on the situation.
Stop by any time!
[Reply]
Rose
February 4th, 2010 01:06 AM
I read the post first then I look at the comments. I’ve also been going through blogger’s archives & commenting on old posts.
Rose´s last blog ..Human Kindness and Giving
[Reply]
BluePop13 Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 1:20 am
Rose, it’s fun to see the early posts bloggers did and see where they first started. Anything adding value helps – be it comments, posts, tweets, anything.
Thanks for the comment!
[Reply]
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