Blogging for the Blind

Are your blog posts falling on blind eyes?  It can certainly seem that way sometimes.  The reason we blog is because we want to be heard, or seen as the case may be.  One of the ways we gauge our success is based on comments left by readers.  As a technical blogger, there is nothing more discouraging than spending a ton of time banging out an awesome post just to find that days later no one has even commented on it.  There are other ways to gauge your success with free tools like Google Analytics and Google FeedBurner, but they only give us raw numbers and no emotion.  I want to know that my content has helped others solve problems, provided new ideas, or added a new perspective.  As a SQL and technical community, what can we do?

The answer is obvious, leave comments for others!  When was the last time you commented on someone else’s blog?  The best way for us to encourage and support each other is to make a more vigilante effort to leave comments.  I bet that many of us would not hesitate leaving a comment to correct something we see wrong in a post, but I guarantee it takes less time to comment a simple “Thank You”.  The effort is small and it only takes a few seconds to tell someone that their post helped you out, made you want to research a new topic, encouraged you, or was bookmarked for information on a future project.  Comments are not only good for the publisher, but also for the other readers.  This could be anything from adding additional information or ideas to leaving a link to another related blog post.

The other thing we can do is make sure we attribute others for their work.  I’m talking about referencing our resources.  If you remember those dreaded research papers from school, that’s what I am talking about.  Of course I don’t mean to the detail that was required then, but just a simple link and mention of any resources you may have used.  Doing this results in ping backs through most major blogging software and is another great means for us to see those who appreciate a post.  Since we are talking about referencing others and attributing their work along with the dreaded word “plagiarism”, here is how I would attribute a post that has great additional information.

Brent Ozar (Blog|Twitter) wrote a fantastic post entitled “Plagiarism Week: Finding the Slimey Slimeballs“.

We all want validation and human nature is to compare ourselves to others to gauge that.  This is why comments are so important for both the author and other readers.  Don’t worry; you’re not blogging for the blind.  We just need to let each other know we’re reading and appreciate the content.