Blogging and commenting

Two people have engaged with me in the last couple of days about blogging and commenting (do I comment everywhere I read, how many comment back, etc.) and as a business colleague always says, "if two people are asking, then more are wondering" :)

So I thought I'd share the information here too.

The stats

I read TONS of blogs. When I went to check, I counted 106. That was not the entire picture because there are a couple of private ones I read too, and some business blogs that come to my email. So probably 110 (after decluttering 6) in total.

I was horrified when I checked my settings because my comfort number is around the 40 mark.

I regularly go through my blogs to take out the ones that no longer interest or inspire me. If I find I keep "marking all as read" then at some point when I have some time, I remove them from my GR.

But let's go back to those 106 in my Google Reader, as they were before decluttering.

Of those 106, only 33 have commented on this or the organising blog at one or other time, sometimes only once, but I have a good memory (mostly!) so I remember.

Of those 33, I'd say 20 - 25% comment very regularly, that is about 5 - 7 times a week. And that's where I spend most of my time commenting back.

More on commenting

There are also some business blogs I comment on regularly as my goal for this year was to consciously comment on blogs in my niche using my organising blog to track back on. Some of you may be interested to know that I only budget 15 minutes per WEEK for this type of commenting.

I also comment quite regularly on some other blogs even if they don't comment here or follow me. Actually there's a lot who don't follow me but I enjoy them just the same, for whatever reason.

There are some people who comment here and do blog, but I don't read their blogs regularly (in other words, they're not yet in my Google Reader) but I do check in every week or so to see how things are going, and of course, then I comment.

There are also people who comment here who don't have blogs.

The blogs I read are made up of infertility blogs, mommy blogs (I'll admit that I enjoy reading more about the mommy than the baby), home decor, tons of photography blogs, organising blogs, business & productivity, etc.

Here is a pic.


I guess the bottom line is this -

My reading interests are varied but my connections are probably more with people in similar circumstances and that's where I comment most.

Do you comment on every blog you read? Or what %?

What are some of the categories in your Google Reader? Even if you don't have actual categories, what else do you read besides mommy blogs? :)

P.S. If you're interested in some of the categories, please feel free to ask in the comments. I'll happily share some of my favourites.