"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible;
to be credible we must be truthful." - Edward R Murrow

Comments Matter.

Pretty cool: Yesterday I sent an e-mail to a blogger for the San Francisco Chronicle commenting on the flaws in the copy-editing & fact-checking of his blog entries Not only did he RESPOND to me in a positive/thankful way, he then sent me a FOLLOW request on Twitter. I feel pretty respectful & respected right now. I thought that my comment would be perceived as naive criticism from one of the many commentators.


This proves that no matter who you are, or how insignificant you may think your comment is. Even if there are 1,000,000 comments - your stills may be read & may have an influence on the writer. I know I see rude comments all the time on articles, blogs, etc. all the time. I do a lot of commenting as well (as an observer, not as a critic), and it is good to know that I'm not just wasting my time typing out what I think.

I am not going to post the comment or post who the person is, because I don't want to put any unwanted spotlight on him. I accept his follower request and I am also following him in return. It just made me feel good to know that I wasn't just looked at as "19-year-old journalism student who is trying to criticize a San Francisco Chronicle Blogger," and by the way he is also a business man and deals with advertising & hosts a show that is watched by many online.


Let this be a lesson to us.
Next time you comment on a blog, article, etc. think of what you would do if the person sent you a response. I had been unable to leave a comment so I had e-mailed the man, but it is the same concept. I did not leave a vicious or overly rude comment (it was a mature comment with a critical tone), but that doesn't mean that it could not have been taken in that manner. I feel respected and I feel respectful.


P.S. If you are one of the people on Twitter who follow & read my posts then you may know who I am referring to if you are going through my Twitter followers/posts. If you want to go do your own research and figure it out for yourself then so be it, but I don't think that those details are pivotal to this blog entry. I am talking about my personal experience in comparison to commenting as a whole.

Cheers :)


"Be careful. Journalism is more addictive than crack cocaine. Your life can get out of balance." -- Dan Rather



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