I regularly read several different blogs that interest me. Working on my own blog, I know how much work it is to organize and (hopefully) proof what appears on each post. One of the rewards for that hard work comes from occasionally hearing from readers. As a reader myself, I am sometimes inspired, moved, and even angered, enough to want to comment on a post. Lately I am finding this more and more difficult to accomplish.
Why? Because of that little 'g+' button that appears on many blogs. When a blog becomes assimilated into the Google+ collective, it is required of those wishing to comment on a post to also set up an account. I refuse. Despite popular opinion resistance is NOT futile! I am not going to sign up just so I can comment. Instead I will just move on.
No one has yet given me a real world reason to join the Google+ realm. The best reason I found researching the matter was, "Google wants us to." There is a lot about that reason that leaves me feeling uneasy. Just plain old Google already knows too much about each of us for my comfort. Type your address into Google someday and see if the ability to zoom in on a satellite image of your house doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. I did this with a friend's address and was horrified to find a street view of his front door available to the world.
Beyond the Big Brother aspect, I do have one very good reason for avoiding Google+ like the plague. I refuse to exclude readers without a Google+ account the freedom to comment on the posts they read on The Everyday Tea Blog. Why would I want to trade the world wide web for a tiny circle?
Maybe I am missing something. Can anyone offer a worthwhile reason to change my mind?
I'm not on G+ either. Well, I am but I don't use it.
ReplyDeleteSteph,
DeleteIf you have a G+ account, why don't you use it?
I do have my blog connected to G+ and there are several reasons why I have done so. Google+ is not about controlling your life, it is a social network. Just like Twitter, Instagram and any other social network, it's about connecting with others who share your interests. Any public shares or comments on my posts in G+ are automatically added to that post. Direct commenters have the option of sharing their comment to G+ for their circles to see. I've gained several new readers this way. It has also definitely helped to stimulate conversation, much more than I have had in the past. A positive side affect has been that spam comments have been reduced from many times a day to almost zero. Integrating with G+ isn't for everyone but there are two sides to everything :)
ReplyDeleteNicole, your blog is one that I look forward to reading each day. I appreciate Google+ is working for you. I also understand about the spam aspect. Also, thanks for trying to explain this to me. I still have questions and problems...
DeletePlease correct me if I am in error. I see Blogger comments like Walmart - everyone has access. Google+ comments are more like Sam's Club - I have to be a member to have access. So public shares with G+ are not really public. They are limited to G+ authorship only, that may then be read by everyone.
Let me give you an example of the problem I see with this. I am honestly not meaning to be argumentative. Recently you had a really neat post about Physical Graffiti. I enjoyed it and would love to see the place for myself but the band associated with it was Led Zeppelin not the Rolling Stones. I couldn't tell you that on your blog because I don't have a Sam's Club card.
I understand the social aspect. I love my Steepster family. I guess I see blogging as more of an outreach. My readership is small enough I want the person buying their first box of Constant Comment to be able to interact with me. If I put a guard at the front door that may not happen. Do you see this as a non-issue? I am not as closed minded as I might sound. I am still trying to understand.
I definitely understand how you feel and you bring up a very valid point. I weighed my options for some time before connecting my blog to G+. Being unhappy with the built in comment system, I did test runs with Disqus and a few other comment management systems. I connected G+ to my blog as a trial run and immediately saw an increase in interactions. It also made it easier to identify people who were sharing my blog posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know about my Physical Graffiti error! I must have had a brain fart since I was reading a Rolling Stone magazine article about the building. I of course don't want to exclude any readers but I have come to the conclusion that nearly everyone has a Google account of some sort.
Public posts on G+ are visible whether you are logged into an account or not. They are also visible to search engines. Private posts can be shared with as many or as few people as the commenter wants. They can even choose to only share their comment with me directly. I have a separate personal account but for those who don't, they could choose to share the comment only with those who might be interested in it (like a circle of friends interested in tea).
Especially with friend connect/reader going away shortly, I think it's important to find new ways to connect with readers. For me, G+ has been a big part of that. The hangout on air feature has also allowed me to very easily begin publishing a video podcast :)
Thanks Nicole for the reply. I am still open and studying this issue. I just abandoned web pages less than two years ago. Yes, I still have a VCR, why do you ask? lol Wanting to increase readership and trying to remain accessible to everyone is tough to balance. I am hopeful G+ will soon allow open posting on blogs or at least allow bloggers to allow more than one comment format option at a time, giving readers the choice. I think that freedom would actually increase G+ membership.
DeleteI don't want to have to join another web "group". There have been times when I would like to leave a comment on a blog, but because I don't have a blog or google or whatever, I have not been able to. So stand firm on your principles!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I enjoy your blog.
Thanks loralie for the encouragement. I might join IF G+ would allow readers to post directly to the blog or G+ at their choice.
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