I don’t know about everyone else, but I read a lot of blogs. I also enjoy discussing things, so I leave comments fairly frequently. One thing I have always wondered, though, is why no RSS reader has integrated a feature that tracks specified blog comments and notifies me when someone else has responded?
I wonder even more when I see that there is a service already out there that does it… sort of. The problem with the service is it’s not integrated into anything so it’s a standalone comment tracker (another tally on the list of sites I need to visit, not going to get used). Ironically, the friction of its design (which is rather low) and the simplicity of it would be reduced even further if it were integrated into something like Google Reader or Bloglines. Instead of having to enter the url you could simply click “Track comments on this post.” and then have it added to a special RSS category on Bloglines that says “Recent Discussions.” With any luck, Blogliens or Google Reader developers will see this.
I’d use it.
[Update] I recently found another service that does this called coComments. Looks like it is has a number of improvements over co.mments. I’d check it out.
5 responses so far ↓
kenzielee // May 9, 2007 at 4:19 pm |
Hm. You make an interesting point. I guess I’ve never really thought about it. I leave comments here and there, and sometimes I’ll check back– but the blog world is so vast one easily gets lost making comments and receiving them.
kenzielee // May 9, 2007 at 4:20 pm |
PS The A&W box on the head– yeah, totally got a laugh out of me.
Nathan // May 9, 2007 at 8:16 pm |
Hey Kenzielee!
If you leave comments here and there, thank you for having Giddlebits be one of such places :)
And that is precisely why I think it would be such an important addition. If blogging is about conversations, then certainly a means to track said conversations (and not forgetting where you commented or about the discussion) would be a valuable addition.
Glad you liked the A&W box. I had another one where it was more of a closeup, but people said it was a bit freaky :-p
Mr Gray // May 22, 2007 at 10:37 am |
Nathan,
are you finding co.mments to still be working? I have been trying to add conversations to track for the past week with no success – sometimes it won’t even load – the page returns with proxy errors. I’ve emailed support but have not received a reply. I’ve just signed up to cocomments to try it out.
Nathan // May 22, 2007 at 11:11 am |
Hey Mr. Gray!
Thanks for stopping by Giddlebits :)
That’s quite odd. Although I do get a proxy error here and there, co.mments.com is still working fine for me. I’m not exactly sure the cause of it. It could be that they’re doing updates or maybe they’re just asleep at the switch. I’ll let you know if I have any ideas!