Today, after keeping an ongoing spreadsheet of who commented on which of my articles, I'm going to stop. I'm choosing to view it as a useful exercise, but I think I have enough information. Perhaps I'll start it again from scratch at some point, using what I learned from the mistakes I made in the first go-round.
Over an 18 month period, more that 760 different persons made roughly 3,500 comments on my posts, 3,000 of which I recorded in my spreadsheet in three columns: one for the name of the article, one for the commentor, one containing a single tag word so I could sort commentors by area of interest.
Among other things, I've learned the following:
1) As much as I comment on other people's work, I owe a lot of people reciprocal comments.
2) People change their names on Gather, making it quite difficult to keep up such a spreadsheet for any length of time.
3) It's easier to let an article sit until there are no more comments and then enter all those comments into the spreadsheet. Before I was opening the notification emails and jumping back and forth between article lines in the spreadsheet (which was absurd).
4) When posting an article, it's good to also post a related image, with a link to the article. The image serves as "barker", calling attention to the article, and the image gets comments of its own.
5) Six people made over 50 comments (or roughly 10% of the comment count).
6) About 100 people made 2 comments (roughly 6.5% of the comment count).
7) 360 people made only a single comment, and did not revisit my posts.
8) If someone has made several comments on your posts, get over there and read what they're writing, ask them to be in your network, ask them to join your groups.
9) It would make sense to ask everyone who comments on your posts to join your network and groups, but I know some think that is disingenuous. I don't have any problem with it, but I have not networked in that kind of depth myself.
10) It would be wonderful if Gather provided members with the ability to do this sort of analysis without their having to reverse engineer the data into a sortable format.
11) Persons who have commented on your work are much more likely to join your groups, so it helps to keep track of who they are and which groups you have invited them to join.
12) This is a lot of work and I don't recommend it for normal persons. I am not normal and I've learned to view those unique traits as assets, rather than curses.
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Okay, I need to go now and get to my day job, where - you guessed it - I produce and manage absurdly large spreadsheets I subsequently crunch for insights on how to do my work better.
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Comments: 35
Rick, I don't know who rates my articles, so I can't do analysis on that. What I am going to do is take feedback here and think of more observations to pass on. Then I'll re-post this.
Jamie, reading other people's writing and commenting on it is key. It take a lot of time, but that's the nature of the beast.
Scott, I too bemoan the rise of games and chats. The most discussed article I looked at recently had some 200 comments, and it was the same 5 people blabbing away. Sorry to be critical of that, but that's not what I came to Gather for.
Michelle, it is a lot of work, and that's why I factored in an exit strategy. I have enough information from that project.
Some of us don't get enough comments here to make any of the conclusions drawn from such analysis worthwhile, for ourselves, but you have a big enough following (network?) to make it informative. Thanks for your observations!
Yes, Wilhelmine. It can get very time-consuming. I'm sure this is a barrier to there being more people on Gather as involved as we are.
Dannielle, I have about 330 connections, and run some fairly popular groups, so yes I get traffic. I figured keeping my findings to myself would be a waste. Better to share it with people who care about my opinions, as a sort of reward : )
Jennifer, I have spreadsheets for everything, and yes it is fun. Not only does it help me organize and think, but it's a sort of meditation.
Mona, I don't know how I accomplished anything before spreadsheets - what(?), file cards? Please. Spreadsheets rule.
Beryl, thank you. I organize things for a living (at work). I'm not sure they realize this, because organization is like housework - it all just "magically happens" until someone stops doing it. I keep bell pepper scraps for vegie broth, but if I'm looking for a spicy aspect, I add that in the final dish.
Joanne, it's not for everyone. It's what I like to do.
Cindy, it's great that more people aren't interested in doing this sort of thing. It makes those who do it harder to come by, and thus more valuable.
Rob, it seems like you're on a roll to build a big network. I've been mostly just accepting connection requests, with the occasional request coming from me if I like the person's viewpoint, or if they comment a lot on my posts.
Nana, I suppose people naturally group by interest, but yes, sometimes it seems like there is a relatively small 200 or so group of hardcores, and from there time-spent-Gathering (TSG) drops off precipitously.
I would elaborate on one thing. For those who change their names and icons frequently, there is such a thing as "brand". Your brand is an image or reputation you have within the community. That image can also be tied closely to your icon, which is like a trademark. If you want people to remember who you are, pick a name and icon and stick with it.
Of course if you've been a jerk, you might want to change your name and icon, or maybe even commit Gather suicide and start again from scratch. This post and the advice in it is not for people who derive pleasure from being a pig.
I, personally, read from my connections list. If they have something up that is new and looks like it will appeal to me, I read it. If not, I go on to the next person.
So, this means you owe me a read.
Ina, I have no doubt I owe you a read. Maybe now that I don't have to keep the spreadsheet current I can get more reading done. More likely, I'll be taking time to go on walks with Janie, but I'm sure I'll get some reading done.
Ron, I'm glad you mentioned you were going to your day job...I was wondering if Gather was part of your day job.
Tell me more about this mapping system...
I do take a break at lunch and at the end of my workday to check my posts, but no, Gather is not part of my day job. I've learned things during my involvement with Gather that inform my work, but I have other things that keep me busy 9-5.
I tend to comment on people in my network first. I don't comment on everything, but I do try to be there for these people because many of them I asked to be connected to. I started Spring Cleaning some of my groups. There are groups I NEVER post to, so why am I still in that group. And my articles that get the most comments? The games I did in the beginning (not my thing) and any kind of controversial subject that I ask for feedback on.
Conversely, it's interesting to note how many invitations to connect or join groups one gets without any corresponding comments on one's articles. I always wonder: which of my articles or comments prompted this invitation? There is often no clue.
But it never hurts to ask. ;-)
Water in Southern California is definitely bought at a price. Did you not see Chinatown?
But then there seem to be so many "comments by connections" listed on the page, and nothing of pressing interest. I'm not convinced about connections, but I'll reserve judgment a while longer.
Pamela, many who connect don't limit the exposure they get from your activity. Many get email alerts every time you post. Even others get a notification every time you comment. Any one connection could make you a media event in someone's life. Don't lose that chance. That's what I say.
> I am not normal and I've learned to view those unique traits as assets, rather than curses.
But they are, nevertheless, a curse.