I miss those days, but I think that mostly the conversations have moved to other places. The ease and immediacy of Facebook & Twitter make blog threads harder to bring an audience to. Back 4-5 years ago, those folks who were blogging were doing so because it was fun, now there are a lot more blogs promoting something or someone. The noise of all of this has complicated the landscape.

It's just a different season now, for better or worse, with a lot more bloggers and a lot more competition for the reader's attention.

I agree with you on facebook - not that it's made us socially retarded so much (although there is truth to that) but that it's made us more self-centered, if that were possible. Today many people are just looking for their fifteen minutes of fame, and they are following themselves around like their own private paparazzi reporting to the world their every move.

"Heading to the gym!"

"I like ice cream!"

"I'm in a relationship with ______!"

In past years, someone who, say, sent everyone they knew five postcards, or even emails, a day reporting the trivias of their lives would be viewed, rightly, as a megolomaniac.

If I'm too busy sending out statuses on me and "liking" other people's statuses (and I admit I spend a little bit of time on FB myself every day) . . . well, who has time to take part in the community of a comments thread?

I also think, to Anne's point, that part of the problem, certainly here on Thinklings, is that many of the more provocative topics have already been talked out pretty well. But I agree with her that really good post-writers are relatively rare (which is why, hint hint, we need YOU to post more, J-Rod!)

In re-reading my last comment, I wanted to add a clarification:

Of the three reasons, I think #1 and #2 are the most important factors. And, though I listed #3, I don't want to change what we talk about on Thinklings. I just want us talking more!

I'll grant you #1 for sure. There's just a lot of interesting content out there. I don't think that's a bad thing. Regarding #2 while that's true to a degree, I think most blogs five years ago tended to be "a soapbox, confessional, or self-promotional platform instead of a living room or conference table". Thinklings was (almost) always an exception. ;-) #3, I'm not so sure. I still read a LOT of blogs, just not everything I read is worth commenting on. Writing something worth a comment is tough.

I think that's true, Jared. Since I moved to an RSS reader, it meant that I could read a lot more efficiently, but commenting was harder. I sometimes feel like I ought to go back to traveling down my blog roll, reading what's new on each blog by actually visiting it. (Of course, then I'd need to bring back my blog roll)

A related thing that hinders long comment threads is many blogs don't have any means of notification of follow up comments, either via email or RSS. With RSS, blog posts come to me and with my smart phone, Facebook & Twitter feeds come to me too. With all this info streaming to me, I forget to go back to check on that comment thread I posted in if I don't get notified of something new.

along the lines of salguod's comments... a comment thread is UNlike a living room/round table discussion because not everyone is there at the same time and there isn't ever really closure to the conversation. i realize that's the whole gist of the platform, but it's an aspect i've never really enjoyed/embraced. even with follow up notifications. guess i'm part of the "A.D.D." generation. though i don't think i struggle with talking to people in person THAT much.

getting involved in multiple threads can be a lot to keep track of and stay involved with, especially as people join late. so while live, in-person interaction has been handicapped by social media, some elements of digi-discussion are losing their value in people's minds because of their inconvenience.

i hope i'm making the distinction between inconvenient and impersonal.

if not, no worries, it's not like this thread will go anywhere ; )

Jeremy, doesn't the omnipresence of internet access - in the form of PDAs mostly -- speak against the idea of interaction in this way being "inconvenient"?

Or are we only talking about inconvenience within the internet economy? Meaning, texting or IM'ing is convenient, while going to a blog post to comment is "too much work."

There was a time when conversations on this blog -- and others -- felt like people sitting around a table talking, arguing, and sharing, even if/when people had to check out for a bit. You know, 'cause of pesky things like work, school, and kids. ;-)

Bill, don't get me started. i'll try not to be offended.

Jared, yeah i was talking more within the internet economy. the over saturation of input/media/stimuli has people moving on from one "conversation" to the next really quickly.

maybe, the fact that someone CAN tweet/post so many smaller facts so frequently has shifted the environment to a "one sitting" interaction. i still see people have "conversations" on comment threads on facebook, but not usually over multiple days as much. just as the older posts get bumped down the page, they get bumped out of sight and out of mind.

in that sense it's "too much work" to go revisit older conversations.

all that AND the shift to self-worship. people, myself included, care more about stating things than discussing things.

What's a blog?

For that matter, who am I and where have I been?

Hangin' with Blo.

If you don't exist, you don't have to comment.

Jeremy,

I'm sorry. I was just being a jerk. I don't think you're ADD. It was one of those throwaway comments that I later regretted.

Again, sorry.

Tony

Everyone is "hypnotized" by their gadgets.

True. Dat.

So the question for you bloggers...do you have an iphone or android application developed specifically for your blog?

You may have a point there, but I've avoided that because smart devices are getting so good at rendering the internet, it seemed like it's better to just wait. But I could be wrong.

Yet the Gatorade post soldiers on ...

So the post about people not commenting much anymore, raises the most comments in quite some time?

I think there is some deeper truth here, but just not sure what it is.

As a Blackberry user, and my data access is severely limited because it's a work phone - I find that I don't visit blogs because it takes too long for the pages to load. Commenting ain't happening via the Blackberry. I have a feeling that would be true even if I had an iPhone or a Droid.

However, Facebook is easy on the Blackberry, so that's where I tend to hang when I carry it around.

My two cents ... it's Facebook/Twitter that's killed/killing blogs. Little things I would've posted on my blog a few years ago are now much more easily posted on FB with less writing on my part.

Also, this is probably self-centered, but I don't care as much anymore about what other people think, especially on topics bloggers like talking about. Most of the time, I've heard most of the opinions already and simply don't need to re-read the same thoughts again and again.

G.,

If it was me that got crossways with you, I'm sorry.

I'm glad you're a commenter

Bill, absolutely not you or any other of the Thinklings, it was a fellow commenter. In fact, I was defended by one of you guys (don't remember who) and that is why I stayed around. I do agree that one of the attractions of facebook is the "like" button. I often read and don't comment but would like a way to show my appreciation for the comment and/or post.

I still read here regularly and wish the posts were more frequent. There are a couple of other blogs I also read on a daily basis - Scot McKnight's is still going pretty strong for example. But it does seem like "the golden age" of blog comments has come and gone. I'd say that from my vantage point the biggest reason is that for the established bloggers, most of the "hot" topics that draw lots of comment and discussion, have been pretty well hashed out multiple times and the bloggers themselves have lost the stomach for a repeat. There may in some instances be younger bloggers ready to (unknowingly) re-hash the same topics but most of those younger folk aren't blogging, but as pointed out above are instead voicing opinions in more sound-bite fashion via Facebook, Twitter, etc. Or if they do blog, people like us who have been around longer and seen the bloggers of "the golden age" are less likely to stop and comment on the blog of a mid 20-something who is a relative blogging newbie.