Categories: Articles

Seth Godin Comments On No Comments

It was just another Lazy Sunday, until the Blog world got its panties in a knot because of a post on the Blog of Seth Godin titled, Why I Don’t Have Comments.
I read Godin’s post prior to seeing the hailstorm of comments from other Bloggers and thought it was a more-than-interesting take on how he feels about the comment component of Blogging.
To be honest, I did not take exception to it – I actually thought, “it’s his Blog and he can do what he thinks is best.” Most everyone else thinks this is about Godin trying to protect or control his brand. I don’t think it runs that deep.
My guess is that Godin is a busy guy. He loves to write and would rather spend his energy on his bigger projects, while using his Blog to frequently please his fan base with small and pithy Godin droppings (which, for the record, is just fine with me).
I know people like Joseph Jaffe disagree (see his post, Godin The Flip-Flopper) – I also agree with Jaffe’s side that this is all about conversations and opening up.
Just two weeks ago, I spoke to the IT team at Twist Image about turning back on my comments and trackback features.
Why were they not on? Was I not part of the conversation?
Not at all.
I was constantly being hit with Splog (Blog spam) and this was coming through in comments and trackbacks. It became unbearable to deal with – especially because my Blackberry was getting all of these email confirmations. I’m going to try it again and see if it’s now resolved (they should be enabled in the coming days).
The other reason I did not have my comments turned on? I felt that if people have a comment, they can email it over (if it was strong enough, I would be more than happy to post it).
You can read my thoughts on this over here: Comments On Comments – which was written last October.
In the end, it’s not about whether Seth Godin or Joseph Jaffe is right, because they both are. I think you need to have a plan for your Blog, know where it’s going and what will get you to that destination. For some, having the ability for people to comment on your postings is that destination. For others, the main goal is to share what’s in your brain.
Either way, the conversation is still taking place.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.