COMMENTS
Great article, love the recipe approach!
These are pretty good ideas. One question I have, is where do you get the time to respond to 400 comments?
I'd love to have 400 comments to my posts, but if one the ways to do that is to respond to them all, I won't have the time to do it.
Catch 22?
Obviously, you need to have a extensive reach to have 400 comments on a blog post. This is most easily done with a large mailing/subscription list. And to get that, you need to provide consistente extraordinary content day in and day out. It all comes back to content.
Was he stirring up the event participants in order to get recognition, or was it a genuine feeling of lacking something at it, though?
I often have the same question as Justin when I read a "controversial" post. Is it contrived to get reactions or is it a genuine opinion? When controversy becomes the "method" it can come across as disingenuous, and sometimes just plain mean. Personality also plays a role. I don't think I could pull it off; controversial just isn't my style. Marcus seems to handle it extremely well.
@Justin & Linda: It's not supposed to be controversial for the sake of being controversial. First and foremost, it should be genuine! If it happens to be a different viewpoint from what others think or questioning existing realities...then it is naturally controversial!
Agree with Terry about the time consumption of responding to so many comments but it is a great way to keep the conversation going and let commenters feel more invested in the post and more a part of the community. It's all about building community.
Controversy simply for the sake of stirring controversy isn't a good method; however, controversy stirred up by sharing your opinion and view on a subject can be an excellent way to spark a discussion.
Even playing devil's advocate and looking at a topic from a vantage point you don't adhere to can be a very interesting post.
Great little hint of an article, time to stir the pot locally... now who to piss off?
I have to agree with another commenter that writing controversial articles just to stir users up is a bad idea. I like the idea of piggybacking on hot news stories though.
This is a great blog post. It is especially helpful to me a blogging newbie. I've been wondering how do bloggers encourage responses to their posts. This was inisightful indeed.
@Terry: Great question..and it is a catch 22. Having a massive community that likes to discuss does take major nurturing, but I'm willing to pay the price, as they are my foot soldiers, supporters, and fans...and the blog wouldn't be anything without them. Plus, by only posting 2 times a week, I have the ability to answer just about all the comments. If I posted every day, I simply wouldn't have the time.
@Andre: I see what you're saying, but it's not all about an extensive mailing list in my opinion. More than half of the people that commented on this post had not been on my blog before this article. Because it spread like wildfire, and because everyone had an opinion, they came over and jumped in.
@Justin: I think if you read the article, you'll get your answer.
@Cody: I agree, I'm not the type to stir the pot. In fact, I'm a very 'positive' person. It's just that I was moved by this event, and it upset me, so I felt the need to speak up. I knew it would get a lot of attention, but that's not why I wrote it.