Thursday, July 18, 2013

who reads?

I haven't written a blogpost in a while.

It is so much easier to succinctly express one's view on Facebook. Not all subjects, of course, are amenable to being reduced to Facebook status updates but there are enough to keep one happily engaged while supervising a reluctant student ( that's my son!). 

The more important reason is that one writes a blogpost putting heart and soul into it (all right, that's an exaggeration, but it certainly requires more effort than an FB status update) but never gets to know who the readers are, why they read the blogpost, or what they think because readers hardly ever comment. Why, oh why, is it anathema for most people to comment on blogposts? 

I love to write. As a child, I only wrote long answers in school notebooks but as a teenager I began writing a journal, then even got a poem or two and a couple of articles published in the newspaper. 

My love for writing didn't get swamped by the responsibilities at work or my responsibilities as a mother.In office, I wrote long, long hand written file notes that made my bosses tear their hair in frustration or smile in appreciation, depending upon personal proclivity. At home, I drew up lists of every conceivable type and "wrote" a new story every day when it was story telling time for my children. 

A couple of years ago, I discovered blogging, and began writing with great gusto, straight from the heart, sometimes with bits of research ( into legal questions) thrown in, mostly expressing my thoughts ( for what they are worth!) on issues that are significant to me. 

Now, I have half a dozen drafts waiting to be finalised ----on AFSPA, the Saranda Action Plan, the denial of bail, the search for friends etc etc etc. I write a couple of sentences, save the draft, and forget about it for the next two weeks or so. 

The answer to the question "why don't readers comment?" remains elusive and so does the determination to complete the half finished blog posts. Perhaps there's a "gadget" somewhere that will allow me to ask readers this question, with a drop down menu that lists the options any one of which they can tick, including "the posts are too deadly boring to merit a comment".  Is there? I"ll probably not get an answer to this question either.

6 comments:

  1. If I comment, it is all right?
    I am already writing in FB and Act of Kindness. Will it not be too much ? Of course I shall not write
    long notes.
    My notes sometimes become paternalistic. I shall try to avoid that.

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  2. You can get Feedjit installed in your blog to know each post's visitors and their country of origin on a real time basis :)

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  3. u cater to a larger audience thru' your blog, not everynone has access to yr fb page :(

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  4. As per my understanding, now a days more and more people access the net on mobile phones while on the move. Thus indulge in reading but can hardly type. Also non availability of a proper keyboard make it difficult to construct a meaningful comment on a touch screen device.

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  5. As per my understanding, now a days more and more people access the net on mobile phones while on the move. Thus indulge in reading but can hardly type. Also non availability of a proper keyboard make it difficult to construct a meaningful comment on a touch screen device.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Madam, I am an avid reader of your blog and also share it with my friends. Your expressions are like silent invocations. Most of the time they leave me thinking, as i agree to most part. Commenting in a way represents disagreement. I wish that you keep writing always as there are people following you.

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