I started reading blogs when I created this blog in January, 2010. At first, I was a lurker only (blog lingo for someone who reads but doesn’t comment). I felt shy about the idea of commenting – it seemed forward, and would the blogger really care to read my input? Over time, I’ve become more *daring,* and now really enjoy participating in these online conversations.
My style: I comment daily on a select number of blogs. I read some other blogs, too, but will comment only if the topic or discussion particularly resonates with me. I do not agree with leaving a generic comment just for the sake of promoting my own blog, or just so I can say I left a comment – just not something I am comfortable with.
I had the day off yesterday, so I decided to try an experiment: I would leave over fifty comments on fifty different blogs.
Self-Imposed Ground Rule: My comment had to be thoughtful, genuine, personal and specifically respond to the content in the blog post. Things such as “Nice race!”, “Those cookies look yummy!” or “Hope you have a better day tomorrow!” would not be written.
Hypothesis: Leaving this many comments (way more than usual) would increase the hits to my own blog.
Realizations:
1)This New Experience turned out to be labour-intensive and very time consuming! I spent the equivalent of full time job hours on this project! And this was for only fifty comments! [Originally, I set my target at 100 comments - the goal was to at least leave more comments in 24 hours than I ever have before; I realized about noon that 50 comments would be acceptable...and a number that I could handle!].
2) I honestly do not know how people find the time to blog 1, 2, 3 times a day, respond to comments left on their own blog, read and respond to other blogs…and still have a life outside of the blog world!
3) I did not enjoy spending this much time reading blogs. I will revert to reading my “regular blogs,” commenting on my blends‘ (blog lingo for friends who you only know through blogs) posts, and spending time on blogs in a moderate manner.
4) Leaving this many comments did not impact the traffic on my own blog one little bit. This fact genuinely surprises me. A good check to the ego! 
For accountability sake, below, you will find my Blogroll for the day.
[This is the order in which I visited blogs and made my comments. I've included time of day checkpoints, and the technical problem I created for myself...(thanks, Holly, for helping me out!)]
How many blogs do you read in a day? Do you comment or just read? I think most people lurk, from what I can tell!
Blogroll for New Experience #11
5:30 a.m.
1. SIL Ana’s blog **link not provided on purpose
2. Cousin Joel – Soaked in Sunshine and Cheap Wine
3. Bestie Gina’s blog
4. Jess – 21 Days
5. Melissa – Trying to Heal
6. Tammy – Palm Trees and Manatees
7. Janetha – Meals and Moves
8. Kailey – Snackface
9. Sarah – Peas and Thank You
10. Averie – Love Veggies and Yoga
11. Gena – Choosing Raw
8:30 a.m.
12. Holly – The Runny Egg
13. Angela – Eat, Spin, Run, Repeat
11:00 a.m. [I did need to accomplish other tasks in my day!]
14. Gabriela – Une Vie Saine
15. Angela – Oh She Glows
16. Catlin – Healthy Tipping Point
17. Kath – Kath Eats Real Food
18. Melissa – Melissa Nibbles
19. B – Smart Cookie
20. Dorry – Living With Healthy Hunger
21. Monica – Run, Eat, Repeat
22. Gina – The Fitnessista
23. JL – JL goes Vegan
24. Joyce – Flowing to Fifty
25. Tina – Carrots ‘n’ Cake
Whew! I was ready for a break!
Unfortunately, when I resumed commenting, I discovered that any comment I left on a WordPress-supported blog was not posting. Long story short: the comments went to spam. Thanks to Holly’s suggestions last night, I have now created a NEW Gmail account that I am going to use for blog-related email communications.
Even though my comments may not appear on some of the following blogs, I am counting them as comments because I DID compose and post them! WordPress + Akismet just ate them!
1:15 p.m.
26. Jenna – Eat, Live, Run
27. Cassie – A Very Busy Mind
28. Emily – Daily Garnish
29. Kristina – Life As Kristina
30. Lisa – Thrive Style
31. Morgan – Life After Bagels
32. Amanda – The Artsy Kitchen
33. Jessica – The Process of Healing
34. Zo – Striving Cynic
35. Stephanie – Yarn Harlot
36. Glenna – Knitting to Stay Sane
37. Kristin Armstrong (Lance’s ex) – Mile Markers blog on Runner’s World website
38. Ang – Running Chronicles
39. Mark – Battlefield Running
40. Anne – Run DMZ
[Losing focus and motivation, big time...]
41. Eric – Just a mile to go
42. Bryon – iRunFar
43. Annette – Annette Bednosky’s Blog
44. Kim – Tales of the Trail Goddess
[Not stopping now!...Push to the finish!]
45. Jo Lynn – Single Track Junkie
46. Dragonmamma – Dragonmamma’s Den
47. Laura – Sprint 2 The Table
48. Nicole – Yuppie Yogini
49. Faith – Lovely As Charged
50. Louis – Running Blog
THANK YOU, 50 TOTAL!
Yes, I could have *done more* last eve but to be honest, I was maxed-out.
Conclusion: New Experience #11 was a unique endeavour, and likely will not be repeated!
Now back to regularly scheduled blog reading and commenting!
Comments
What an interesting post! I think about this a lot, and I go back and forth on how many blogs I read/comment on a day, some days I don’t even crack my laptop open once I get home, and some days it seems like blogging/reading/commenting is all I do, I guess it depends on the day and my mood. I always appreciate your comments on my blog! Glad to be included in your list
i like your attitude, amanda! it’s good to go with your mood, available time, etc and not feel you *have* to comment, read, blog. i like that flexibility! your posts are fun to read because of the variety of topics that you share – glad we have connected!
I laughed out loud reading about this new experience…I think your “sincerity” ground rule did you in!
I have to say, you’re much more scientific research and conclusions are very interesting to me as a “new” blogger (and they tally with some of my observations). I am aiming for every other day at this point and am amazed at “daily” bloggers like you. And it’s a good lesson that you didn’t find it enjoyable at a certain point.
Anyway, I promise all your comments are showing up now!
i agree! how many hours would i have saved if i HAD done comments like, “those cookies are making me drool!” and left it at that!
then i could have hit 100?! once a day is fine for me, but more than that would be impossible…blogging is just a hobby! you’re doing great at every other day – that’s a lovely balance in your life, i bet. i didn’t get on a “regular schedule” til likely 6-8 months after i started. and everyone has to find the frequency that works for them!
I agree so much with what you said about not understanding how people can blog 3 times and day and respond to comments, comment themselves, etc. Truthfully. I stopped commenting on blogs where the blogger never interacted with me. It’s just a waste of my time, and I agree that leaving a generic comment just to leave one is not my style (anymore). I’ve unsubscribed from some blogs I used to read and added many that I really love – people who I learn something from and interact with, like you!
oh, thanks for your sweet comment, dorry! i really appreciate hearing your point of view. i agree: it’s so much more rewarding when there is an interaction between blog writer and commenter(s). when you never receive a reply back or any interaction, it’s like being in a tennis game where you keep hitting the ball and it’s not returned – frustrating! thanks again sharing your viewpoint – so interesting to hear what we each think!
yay i was lucky 7! haha. i used to comment on blogs ALL the time. and now i just use my google reader and rarely comment. it is much nicer and more enjoyable to read rather than feel pressured to comment.
thanks, janetha! yes, you are part of my early-morning reading routine!
great way to start they day is to “visit” with you!!! that’s it exactly – i like to comment if i want, but not comment just for the sake of commenting! please note that in your case, you ALWAYS have something interesting that i wish to respond to! cuz i love your chatty, informal style!
Yea I used to think that if I ventured to more sites, my readership would increase, but all I got were insincere comments where I could tell the blogger spent no time looking at the content. Now, I visit my loyal readers, but not every day and I find that my numbers have just started increasing on their own! If you have good content, people will share it! Just keep blogging and being you!! That’s what people like!!
i so agree, erin, with all of your points. personally, i can’t just *skim* a blog – i like to really read! i find it fascinating how you can really get a sense of a person’s personality and style through both their blog writing and their comment writing!
I have over 50 blogs in my reader, but many of them don’t post every day, thankfully!
And yes, sometimes just reading/commenting alone takes so much time!
Hopefully the new email address will work for you — and maybe you’ll get lucky and hear back from workpress/akismet!
no problems posting comments so far today – and TOTALLY i have you to thank! you saved the day! people’s blogging routines are interesting! everything from 3x daily to rarely…and some people you can set your clock by when their next post will go up! it’s a busy busy blog world!