According to Robert Scoble; blog comments are dead, this conclusion is based on a post he wrote about him buying a Tesla motor. The post received two comments on his Wordpress blog but it generated a lot more interest on FriendFeed. So how much can we read into Robert's comments, are we really seeing the end of blog comments? Admittedly FriendFeed has positioned itself as a destination for conversation and debate over stories that we import through the site but does this signal the end for the blog comments?
I honestly don't think that the blog comment is dead, I am not the only one either it's just that what we are seeing is a shift in the way that people contribute. Commenting on blogs is going through the process of evolution, as uses of the web 2.0 we want to have a presence in everything that we do and that includes comments as they are part of our interaction and activity. This is where sites like Sezwho, IntenseDebate, and Disqus (which I use on my blog) have emerged, in commenting on blogs they are added to our profile. Now I can only comment on Disqus as I haven't tested the water with the other sites but this works well. My blog comment contribution isn't just put out there in the wild and left to fend for itself it becomes a part of my increasing web presence. I am interested to read views on the other sites so would be good to get some views!
On to FriendFeed now and if you read my blog you will know that this is a popular site that I frequent. Comments here are frequent and thrown into the equation is the option to Like an item/feed. Now rather than being part of the problem, FriendFeed plays a role in enhancing the visibility of blogs. I suppose then the question is raised that if I am interested by a story presented to me, where do I post the comment? Directly to the blog or do I respond to FriendFeed and this is where I expect Robert's debate has emerged. Now of course with Wordpress you can incorporate the FriendFeed conversation into the post and this is slowly being introduced to other sites by way of intelligent people working to build this functionality. I would like to thank Pat Hawks who has made this possible for me to have the FriendFeed widget available in my blog.
So where does this leave the blog comment; and most importantly are we really witnessing it's timely end?I don't think so and checking Robert's blog post now the comments have increased considerably so in making his statement he got his interest. FriendFeed played a role in this, as did other sources which pointed in the direction of his story which leads me on to his most recent post - Is getting “more traffic” your real goal? - Most definitely is the answer and it looks like his statement yesterday on the comments proved to be influential in getting interest to his Tesla post! Looking forward hopefully there will be a way to merge the conversation on blogs and FriendFeed as certainly this is something that will be embraced by the majority!
