If you were to meet me on the street, you might get the impression that I’m a snob. I’m really not; it just takes me a long time to warm up to people, and it takes even longer for me to establish a long-lasting friendship. Even so, I had a sudden urge a few weeks ago to meet new people and make new friends; thus, I invited myself to my friend LFro’s book club at Well Fed Head Books .
In college, I did a really good job of faking what I read by listening to class discussions and responding intelligently, but I actually wanted to do the "assigned reading" for this, so I picked up Barbara Kingsolver ’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan ’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma at my local library one week before the book club meeting. I only had time to read Kingsolver’s book, but even as I sped through it, it opened my eyes to the issues surrounding what we eat.
In the book, Kingsolver documents her family’s pact to eat only local food for an entire year. What they can’t grow on their own plot of land, they buy from neighbors and local farmers, and if they need something that can’t be found locally, they find a fair trade and/or organic version (i.e. coffee) or go with out (i.e. gummy worms). They start in April by growing asparagus and hunting morel mushrooms and end the following March by hatching turkey babies. In between, they grow every vegetable imaginable, can gobs of tomatos, harvest roosters, and store up enough food for the entire winter. In every chapter, Kingsolver’s husband Steven Hopp contributes sidebars with supplemental information and references, and her daughter Camille Kingsolver offers recipes and college student’s perspective. Truly, the book—just like their year of food life—is a family project.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up the book, but Kingsolver’s narrative drew me in, and soon I couldn’t put it down. Almost immediately, I started rethinking how I buy groceries for my family and where our food comes from. Yes, that was a little annoying, but I didn’t feel that Kingsolver was condemning me for eating bananas; she laid out what her family did and made me think it was possible for my family, too. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be growing an orchard in my backyard anytime soon, but I started buying local milk. And I found out that my local hardware stores gets produce from a farm in Arkansas, which is considerably closer and better than buying produce from California.
Some might not like this book because it sounds liberal or utopian or whatever, but I come from a blue-collar, working-class family who has practiced much of what Kingsolver preaches for years. They grow their own food, they raise their own meat, they live off the land, and they’re probably a lot healthier for it. Admittedly, food is a touchy subject for us all, but if you eat, you should consider reading this book and prepare to have your food paradigms shifted.
OK. I’m a total slacker, but I’ve finally gotten around to posting pictures from our traipse up to Clinton to hang out with my family. Sadly, we didn’t take too many pictures of my family; instead, Chris got all creative taking advantage of my brother’s photogenic horses and dog.
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Five Blog Commenters and How To Respond
Ask any blogger, and they’ll tell you one way to promote your blog is by commenting on other like-minded blogs. As BloggersGuide.net grows, I’m increasing my commenting on other blogging blogs, and in the past week or so, I’ve made a few observations about the kinds of comments I’ve been seeing. Commenters can be generalized into five categories, and each type requires a different response approach. That’s right, if you’re going to blog and start new conversations, you need to be a part of those conversations by responding to the comments you receive. If you don’t, Darren Rowse over at Probloggers says you’re at risk for letting comment spam take over your blog (and that has its own set of problems). Let’s look at these commenters together and figure out the best way to respond to them.
Everything-is-Sunshine-and-Daisies Commenters
These commenters are just happy to be alive and are thrilled that your blog exists. Their comments are generically positive to the effect of “Great post,” “Love your blog,” or “Thanks for the information! It was exactly what I was looking for.”
How to Respond
A generic “Thanks” is an appropriate response if you don’t have a lot of comments on that particular post, but if other commenters are dialoging with you and with one another, no response is necessary.
Everything-is-Worms-and-Mud Commenters
These commenters hate the entire world and really hate you and your blog. More than likely, these commenters are sulking 15-year-old teenagers who use phrases like “Your blog sucks” or “This is stupid.”
How to Respond
You’ve probably done nothing to justify their contempt, so don’t take comments from them personally. You can certainly respond to their comments, but doing so is probably a waste of time. You’re better off ignoring them (or deleting their comment all together) and focusing on comments that actually add to the conversation. For more help, check out How to Deal with Negative Commenters On Your Blog.
I-Want-to-Argue-for-the-Sake-of-Arguing Commenters
These commenters have something to say as soon as they read something with which they disagree, so don’t be surprised if their comments don’t make sense in the context of your entire post. They probably didn’t read it. I see these commenters on posts that review a book, movie, web site, etc. For example, they will take issue with the topic of the book rather than the book itself. Whereas you wrote to present your opinion of the book, they comment to present their opinion of the book’s topic.
How to Respond
Responding to these commenters is tricky because more than likely, they will respond to your response. If it’s obvious they didn’t read your entire post, gently point out what they missed by answering their arguments with what your post said. Resist the temptation to argue back; choose your words wisely, and take your time in crafting a response.
I’m-Smarter-Than-the-Blogger-and-I-Will-Write-a-Dissertation-Length-Comment-to-Prove-It Commenters
Easily confused with the I-Want-to-Argue-for-the-Sake-of-Arguing Commenters, these commenters think they are part of the intellectually elite and like to assert their long-winded opinions on other people’s blogs instead of on blogs of their own. Their comments sometimes lack paragraph breaks, and after reading one of their comments, you’ll often come away thinking, “What did I just read?” Typically, these commenters pick apart your entire post in one comment.
How to Respond
Responding to these commenters is challenging because if you respond to every point they make, you too will craft a long-winded comment. Read the entire comment as many times as necessary to identify the thesis of this comment, and respond to that thesis with brevity. Let other commenters respond to peripheral points.
I-Want-to-Make-a-Contribution-to-the-Conversation Commenters
These commenters are the stars of the blogosphere. Because they have read your entire post, their comments continue the conversation you started by adding new ideas, asking questions, and responding to other commenters.Even if their comments are negative, they are a joy to read.
How to Respond
It’s easy to respond to these commenters because you’re naturally continuing the conversation. Follow up with a “Thanks for the idea/question/criticism,” and write a genuine reply. If these commenters come back time and time again to contribute, consider shooting them a personal email of thanks.
Conclusion
Most of the comments you receive on your blog will come from one of these commenters, and how you respond can make a huge difference in the community your blog builds. All commenters want to know that their thoughts were read (and appreciated) by you, and that alone justifies a response to them. A response as simple as “Thanks,” can increase your reader loyalty amd your blogging credibility.
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