// Langwitches Blog

Day 21: Make a Recommendation

In our blog posts, we’ll often recommend another blog, a post or a resource that we’ve read, but we may not always do that in comments. For today’s task, courtesy of Shelley Krause , you’re going to make a recommendation for a resource in a blog comment. This can be a link to another blog or post or a link to a book, video, etc. Be sure to indicate why you’re making the recommendation.

I left a recommendation on My Wonderful World Blog . Here is my comment:

Day 22: Highlight a Favorite Comment

For today’s activity, you’re going to review comments you’ve previously received on your blog and highlight one or two of them in a post, explaining WHY you liked the comment(s). Were they thought-provoking? Did they ask a great question? Did they encourage you at a time when you needed it? Be sure to link back to your commenter’s blog if they have one.

The comment I would like to highlight comes from Kathy Shields on my post Day 9: Should We Be Commenting on Blogs?. Kathy blogs on Rippling Pond .

Hi, It seems like ages since I met you at FETC. I have had trouble just keeping up with all the reading letting alone thinking, reflecting commenting and generating my own posts! I think that controversy is the key to generating numerous comments. Some people are very comfortable with confrontation and they enjoy the intense dialog of argument. Their blogs become great sounding boards for a wide range of opinions and ideas. On the other hand, when I think about why I felt compelled to respond to your post which found via Twitter… Well, I think you are genuinely interested in collecting opinions and feedback in a more ‘research based’ sense. I don’t detect the baiting that goes on and generates knee jerk (sometimes regrettable) comments. I also commented because I know you, respect you and knew a visit to your blog would enlighten me in new and unexpected ways. My own blog seldom elicits comments but it doesn’t stop me from logging my own ideas and opinions. It helps me to think more clearly about topics or to retain a record of the passion I have for a topic, person or cause. In short it helps me with self reflection. Perhaps I am not bold enough to elicit the kind of reflection one gets when they delve into controversy or engage in finger pointing. That being said, I do like the drama of this kind of verbal engagement as long as people don’t get nasty. I love a good intellectual debate. I think a blog can spark conversations that never appear in print. Does that kind of comment count?

Why did I choose this comment? I loved the way, that I was able to follow Kathy’s train of thought. I can literally imagine how she started writing and then the "comment" turned into a full fledged blog post, that could stand on its own. Kathy describes, though her own perspective, what she sees occurring in other blogs. "baiting and knee jerking comments"… I had NEVER conciously picked up on that. Bloggers bait??? Through Kathy’s comment I am looking at some of the content I am reading from a different perspective.

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