Comments in RSS
May 30, 2008

This is a WordPress plugin I added to my blog a while ago. I really like what it does, and I’ve been spreading the word about it as much as I can. Thanks to Pelf for sharing the plugin with me, and to Jeriko for developing it.

What it does is basically it embeds the comments into your blog’s feed. There is quite a bit of a lag time (maybe one of you smart folks could help improve that?), but it’s still better than nothing, in my opinion. And it makes it easier for your readers to keep track of the conversation.

Here’s what my feed looks like in Google Reader, with the plugin:

I personally think it’s really useful, so I wanted to share it. I’ve uploaded it since Jeriko’s original page doesn’t seem to work (at least not for me). You can download it here. All you need to do is to upload it to your plugins folder and activate it.

Thanks for Commenting
Mar 20, 2008

Chris Brogan twittered yesterday about how the comments on his blog turned out better than his post again.

I think that’s awesome. I’ve experienced a bit of that as well, though not to his extent (I don’t have nearly as many commenters and readers as he does).

There’s been quite a few times when the comments get me to think about something else, and elaborate my post. Or clarify certain things. Or bring up ideas that I hadn’t thought of.

So, I just wanted to use this time to thank you guys who have commented and been a part of the conversations here. I’ve added a “Top Commenters” section to the sidebar, as a way of thanking you and recognizing your contributions.

And I hope you keep commenting and responding to the thoughts I put out here. Because I really love hearing from all of you.

Blogs vs Static Websites
Mar 8, 2008

Problogger recently asked the question of whether blogs have killed conventional websites. Shana Albert (among many others, I’m sure) added her thoughts to the question.

In the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch Joel asks Seth Godin about the controversy over Seth’s blog (the issue with not having comments and all). Seth’s response? Listen to the podcast and see. It’s definitely a worthwhile listen.

All this is to point out the comparison between blogs and conventional/static websites. What separates a blog from a website? What makes a blog a blog? Comments? RSS?

And more importantly, does it really matter?

Because personally, I don’t think it does. I think it’s just a matter of style. What do you think?