Why Aren't People Commenting Already?

This is a bit presumptuous as I’m just starting out and all, but why aren’t people commenting on my blog already? I mean, it’s not like I’m sitting there refreshing the empty comments page over and over again in the hopes of some slight sliver of reassurance to validate my work, myself, all the freaking time and effort I put into this thing each and every day for you ungrateful people! Ahem, well, at least not more than once or twice.

Everybody needs a little appreciation sometimes. Humans are herd creatures, after all, and we like to look at the rest of the herd and figure out our place in it from time to time. And I’m no different. Except, perhaps, a bit on the needy side of that particular spectrum.

But thanks to having stumbled across the projection bias fallacy I see my own experiences as wholy unique and exceptional. No one else has them, no way. No one else needs appreciation. No one else’s blog needs my time and attention.

And, well, my little baby here needs some TLC. Not that I’m going to go crazy about it or anything but I know a bit about how these things go. You see, this is my first blog but it’s not my first lap around the labyrinth of hamster powered plumbing running this whole show. You see, I’ve had websites, I’ve been in chatrooms, I’ve been on BBCs and usenet, and IRC, and in video games and a lot of other places for a lot longer than I’d care to admit. I’ve grown up and alongside this technology – old enough to remember the fossilized days of yore when I actually owned a typewriter, for example – and I’m comfortable with it. What I’m not comfortable with is going it alone. I’ve always prefered to collaborate. To glom onto this forum or this gaming clan or whatever else. And, you know what, I’ve even started a few of my own. I’ve been a forum mod, I’ve been a site admin, I’ve designed websites and so forth. It’s always been a hobby because I’m far from technologically minded. Things are ephemeral around here and what looks solid can be quicksand. And what looks like a great big leap is just a small step. But the one thing I’ve always done is to try to grow things, to leave them a little better when I left than when I found them. Because, yeah, I leave, and not always on the best of terms so, if you’re here because my name looked a little familiar, well… Sorry.

But if you know me then you know that I’m just a bundle of energy. When motivated, anyways. With a little encouragement. And I’m not trying to be pushy but that’s what I’m looking for here, a little encouragement as I find my voice again. Because I’ve been in the chorus and I’ve been in the crowd and it’s time for me to switch seats again, I think. When nothing else is working and every option looks the same and just go with it. You can always admit you made a mistake. That’s evolution but I said I wasn’t trying to be pushy. So, right, encouragement works both ways, though. Involved in whatever endeavor my first instinct is “We need more people around here. Because we’ve got something. And we need to share because it’s too big for little old me.” and among my first suggestions are contests, games, sweepstakes, giveaways, and whatever else might grab attention spans and increase participation. After all, I’ve been inside and I’ve been outside and I know most people are generally comfortable where they are. If you create a system where people have to opt in, where they have to, say, register and click on a few links and follow a few rules. Well, then, the majority of people stay outside, as it’s just not worth the bother. But, the opposite is true, isn’t it. Can’t think of an example offhand but if you create a system where people have to opt out then most people stay joined up. My solution is a contest or a competition – which I love, by the way, as long as I’m not afraid of losing – which people have to make a conscious decision about. They can either go along and have some fun or they can sit on the sidelines, from my point of view.

How’s that quote go? The fault, dear Horatio, lies (or is it lays, I always get that confused…) not in ourselves but in the stars? Heh, slick Willy, real slick. That’s what we, in the trying to sound impressive by quoting from Shakespear biz, call irony (Like rain on your wedding day, right? You see, he also says we’re made of starstuff. So up is down, black is white, cats are marrying dogs and we both are and aren’t to blame. Because we are stars and we aren’t. We are ourselves and what makes up our beings. And we are what makes us which is something completely different from ourselves. When you blame yourself you blame the stars. And when you blame the stars you blame yourself. No matter where you place the blame you are to blame. My mind has now officially been blown.) because he’s really not saying that you should blame the stars he’s saying the opposite.

After all, I can only control my own actions and I can expect no one else to try (Well, there’s the whole social contract thing, but don’t get me started in on that or we’re going to be getting all agalmic or whatever people call it these days up ins and abolish the myth of the tragedy of the commons. And the libertarians are going to FREAK, I hope.). The fault isn’t in the stars but in myself. If you’re not commenting, it’s not your fault for not bothering to take the time out of your busy and hectic life. It’s my fault for not finding the right incentive.