Some bloggers draw more comments than others. Some blog posts draw more comments than other posts. I don't understand why. I read a number of blog authors every day. I am jealous of those who get a lot of responses, comments, every day. It's like that popular kid at school. You like him or her, everyone seems to, but you are also a bit envious.
It's not an evil kind of jealous. It's not resentful. It's more a "why can't I be liked as much?" sort of thing. Jealousy, envy, of that sort is turned inward. It should drive you to work a little harder, do a little more, dig a little deeper for that spark , that certain something, which will shine a little brighter, draw a tad more attention to you.
Shakespeare said...
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players"
(read all of the piece at http://www.artofeurope.com/shakespeare/sha9.htm)*
Ah, Shakespeare... the man was a master of wordplay. Imagine the power of his blog if he was alive today. Assuming he would bother with such trifles. Which he probably would. Because genius seems to be prolific by nature. It doesn't allow itself to be hidden or restricted. It seeks every avenue of expression.
Maybe. Or maybe it doesn't. Maybe only genius coupled with ego does that. And there is a competitiveness involved. It drives people to be in the public eye, to seek awards (so they can humbly accept them), to win acclaim.
When I was in junior high, I took a speech and drama class. I quickly found I hated to make speeches. It was not so much having to stand up in front of the class and speak as it was to assemble the speech and then give it that bothered me. If I could recite a speech or poem or short story someone else wrote, I had little trouble. My mouth was not so dry, my hands not so shaky, my words not so faltering as they tumbled from my lips..
That class also allowed me to experience acting. My memory was excellent then so remembering my lines was no problem and I had no fear of forgetting them. The lines were written by someone else so all I had to do was recite them... with the proper feeling... and fit them into the tempo of the lines of the other players...
As I recall, I did that well enough. I don't recall much, if any, stage fright the two evenings we performed the play. Oddly, I don't recall anything about the plot or story beyond the fact that it took place at a summer camp and I was a supporting player, "Jokey Stephen".
But I got a taste of what it is like to get applause, or laughs, from strangers that you cannot see. Whose eyes you cannot look into.
And isn't that what drives actors, writers, singers, all entertainers? Aren't they really there for the applause?
Isn't that what comments are?
[1305/1306/1175]
* The Shakespeare monologue from "As You Like It" really isn't about my subject so much as it is about the seven stages of a man's life.
A Night Unremembered
13 years ago
7 comments:
To be honest, I try to not care about comments, but it's easier said than done for me. I guess I look at them as evidence of the connection with the readers I am trying to achieve. unfortunately (or fortunately) it is not a reliable measure as I think far more people tend to read and not leave a comment, I know I do that, more often than not.
Exactly why I am trying to make a connection may be ego, or a need for attention, I wouldn't be at all surprised. I just know that I feel happy when someone comments. Most of us put a lot of thought and energy behind our posts, for whatever reason(s), and it is gratifying to be recognized for the effort.
IB
Writers write for an audience, to be sure.
I am more interested in the nature of the comment than in how many. When I left Blogger, I lost all of my followers, all 300 of them.
A few found my blog on Wordpress. Although my readership is down and comments are few, I would rather have a few thoughtful comments (like yours).
IB - We all love comments. They are feedback that helps us learn what works (and what doesn't). I was merely musing as to what might lie underneath our love of them.
Cheri - You are so sweet and know just how to make my heart glow. I cannot believe you lost that many. I worried only that it would affect my blogroll listing of your blog. It was needless worry, as it (happily) turned out.
I love your posts Douglas. They are about 95% interesting, funny and or thought provoking! Glad you are posting!
Linda
Comments? Are we supposed to get comments? Are we supposed to count them? How do we count them? Like beans? Money? Kisses? Chocolate kisses?
Ooo. I like chocolate kisses. More, please.
Linda - Just 95%? I am crushed... what must I do? :)
Patty - When I think about it, yes, comments are like kisses on the cheek. I prefer the dark chocolate (aka "semi-sweet') ones, what does that say about me?
I remember the joy a few months ago---of receiving a comment.
The past few days, due to technical problems in blogger and probably some stuff I effed up in my conversion to my domain--my readership and comments disappeared.
How I've taken it for granted.
Yes, they are applause for me. I wish it weren't so, but I have a piece of me that is performer through and through. Might as well embrace it I suppose...
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