Comments tie you into a community. In this new link-based web economy, community is the strongest way to ensure stickiness, repeat customers, and marketing. Without this community building you’re left with just texts and graphics on a HTML document. No soul, no intellectual stimulation. This is like going to a new neighborhood and instead of being civil to your neighbors you just start scrawling graffiti everywhere.
alwayscapitalize, in response to this thread.
I’ll admit that I may be misinterpreting this quote… with that said, HUH?!? Comments may tie you into a community, but if that community is composed of anonymous, uninformed, racist trolls, is that something that you want to be a part of? Is that something that you want your brand to be associated with? Is that something that’s actually adding to the topics covered in your newspaper?
Also, I don’t get the “scrawling graffiti” analogy. Aren’t 99% of all online newspaper article comments pretty much the equivalent of graffiti?
Don’t listen to social media gurus. Can’t say it enough. Adding web 2.0 functionlity does not equal online success.
