When bloggers are quoting other bloggers and you want to comment on the issue, where do you leave your comment?
There are three different options:
- Comment on the the original post
- Comment on the post that quoted the original post
- Start a new post and use trackback/pingback to notify the other two posts
Which one do you choose?
This question was prompted by the following situation: Lorelle VanFossen recently quoted from a blog post from Liz Strauss who quoted from an e-mail conversation with Eric Eggertson. This is the original quote
When there’s a lot of discussion in the comments of a post, or if there’s some critical info added in the comments, create a short post quoting the most relevant info and pointing people to the contents of the prior post. This isn’t cheating. It actually really helps people who subscribe via e-mail or RSS, as they may not be aware of what’s being said in the comments.
This quote is now moving from one blog to the other, so where do I comment? While all the blogs quote the same paragraph, they all add their own opinion. While the quote does not change, the context of the quote does change.
Lorelle added to the conversation by making the great observation that
The post helped me understand that while comments are contents, feed readers are missing out on the conversation.
No matter if I comment on the original blog post or on the blog post that quotes, feed readers will most likely not be aware of this comment. Comments are indeed part of the content but most blog software separates comments from the blog post by supplying a separate comment feed.
While it depends on the context where it is most suitable to comment, writing a new blog post never hurts. Not only do you add to the conversation, you also point your feed readers to the ongoing conversation.
What is your preferred place and method to leave comments? Leave a comment, or link us with a new post.
