Commenter or Lurker?

Here’s a confession: I’m terrible at commenting on blogs. TERRIBLE. I share like nobody’s business, I link up like a pro, I shout-out like I’m dancing around the house to a Katy Perry song (another confession: I’m usually chair dancing as I tend to my blog business!) But when it comes to the actual, physically going to your blog and commenting- yep, it just does not happen that much.

Why? Oh why? Oh gee golly, the times I have asked myself this. If I had a nickel for every time I asked- I could retire from my day job and live the bloggiest life ever- giveaways every day and nothing but reading while drinking the finest champagne. After much discussion and thought process- here are some of my reasons:

1. Blogger blogs are harder for me to comment on- especially because many are still using Captcha and geez- I mess up Captcha more times that I get it right. One day me and Captcha are going to wood shed and only 1 of us is coming back- get my drift!  Now I know some of you are saying “Oh, but T, Blogger has Open ID and you being a WordPress girl- it’s no problem to comment when a blog has that.” Yes- I know that.. which leads me to point 2..

2. Sometimes I’m too lazy too log into my account to actually do the Open ID or to comment on my buddies WordPress blogs. Seriously, this fact probably should not be revealed- but it’s true.

3. And many times I forget. I tell myself to comment- and then I close the page and I’ve forgotten what blog I was looking at (when you read as many as I do- this happens more than you would think).

4. Lastly, if I share, like, tweet, G+ and any other social media- should I comment? Is there a fine line between being enthusiastic about your friends posts and creeping to a stalker-ish side?

But, seriously, know reasons 1,2 & 3 are my main reasons for not commenting as much as I want.

Why I Like to Lurk

When I just discover a blog- I may lurk for weeks before I even mention to anyone about this blog I like. Why? I like to get a feel for the blog- for the writing, the opinions- the thought process. Sometimes, I’m sad to report, I find a blog post and really like it. REALLY think it’s great. And then… that’s all. The magic is over. Maybe the blogger is not blogging anymore. Maybe they are having personal issues. Lurking gives me time to see the blog, see the other commenters and see if this is place that I’d like to hang out. Do you do this? Or do you dive in and comment?

Why I Should Comment More

EVERYONE likes comments. I love comments (unless they are the creepy sp*m- rhymes with ham- comments). Those I hate almost as equally as Captcha.

I should comment more because commenting is good. It shows friends that I care about their writing. Commenting leads to deeper discussions- than say “Liking” on Facebook or something like that (although you can have a great chat back and forth on Facebook/Twitter/G+.

If you are not a commenter- join me in my quest to be a better commenter!

PS: And If you think I hate Captcha, read The Book Wheel and The Relentless Reader take on it. Captcha has met it’s match with those 2.