Special K

Im Not Your Friend If You Don't Comment on My Blog

When we were little, we were forced to learn that when someone does something nice to us, we should do something nice back to them. Failure to receprocate properly meant that the kind acts would become less and less and, since we were kids, eventually lead to the end of a friendship. Growing older, the same idea applies and now even more so with blogs. Blogs have created yet another social rule for us to follow with the consequences reminding me of when I was a kid- "If you don't comment on my blog, I'm sooooo not your friend anymore!"

There are so many overused cliches I could make here for this theory; I'll refrain, but the basic idea is that blogging, like friendship, is a give and take relationship. In order to keep getting comments, you have to comment on other people's blogs as well. It's like sending a Thank You card after you receive a gift- it's the polite thing to do and, if you want Aunt Milly to keep buying you nice jewelry, the right thing to do according to our social standards.

But can not commenting on a blog really kill a friendship? Yes, I think it can. Those who fail to comment back in an appropriate fashion (remember, one comment does not equal the six that someone else wrote) are first subject to a lack of comments. If someone can't be bothered to take four minutes to respond to something on my blog, why should I bother to look at their's? There are plenty of other bloggers out there who would appreciate my loving comments. Next, the dislike outside of the blogosphere. The snide looks, under the breath comments ("Yeah, well, you never comment on my blog so...why should I care what you think?"), the general dislike of someone on class just because of a failure to comment. By not conforming to the new social standard of commenting, you could become "The Boy/Girl Who Doesn't Comment" and become generally ostracized from the group. Trust me, I've seen it happen. It's a sad time.

I don't mean for the entry to reflect my current blogmates (actually, I just needed a Xenoblog for my portfolio. Hi Dr. Jerz!) and their ability to comment. I just thought it was a unique idea- that blogging can influence people so strongly as to create actual tension over something so simple as commenting. I guess it's true- "Do unto others as you wish they to do unto you" (sorry, I just had to use one of the cliches in this entry. I'm done, I promise).