Become Visible in Ton of Commentators
I once bump to high traffic blog and see that there are so many comment in each article. I wonder if every comment can be visible for admin and other readers. I see that there are many comments without catchy identity. I think catchy identity need to make different from other comment. As new reader in that high traffic blog, Base my own experience, Blog admin and readers can not cope with so many comments at that time, so they will tend to only read the most unique comment or commentator identity. Yeah, there are some times that I attract to read comments that have interesting identity. The commentator identity has something different with others.
Catch Interest by Using Avatar
Yeah, we can using Avatar to catch some interest from others. In my own self experience, It is avatar commentator that attract me to read their comment and to click their link if their comment is really interesting for me. I do not sure 100% but I think many bloggers like me which read and do link click for interesting commentator avatar only. And because of that, I think that the avatar really a must have for each blog commentator. The avatar makes us can catch the attention and bring our blog some traffic. Avatar is our brand identity in blogoshpere anyways. So, I really suggest the blogers to make an avatar– an interesting avatar exactly — for blog commenting purpose.
Using Gravatar as Anywhere Avatar
Blogger can have anywhere avatar by using Gravatar.com service. Bloggers only need to sign up to gravatar.com and make their own unique avatar that can catch attention and of course personal. It is really easy to have unique avatar with gravatar.com. I rally suggest gravatar.com for blogger — especially for blogers that usually comment in WordPress blog. It is because WordPress blog support gravatar by default. I do not know how to integrate Gravatar with blogger.com yet, but I bet it can be integrated by some tweaking blogspot html code. Base on my own experience, blogger.com almost can be integrated with anything kind of plugin. Of course, it is as long as we know how to manipulate blogger.com html code.
What’s Gravatar?
That’s my question when I hear about gravatar.com first time. Therefore, we leave about blogger.com html code in behind for now. We just focus to learn what is Gravatar.com exactly first. Gravatar.com is one of many online Automatic web services which is using for unique avatar identity creating base on email address. Automatic as you know is a company that create WordPress engine. That’s why gravatar.com always works perfectly with blog that use WordPress as their blog engine.
Having Gravatar
Right after we sign up in gravatar.com, we will be asked by gravatar.com to choose which picture (which will be act as our avatar) and the picture will associate with our email address. We freely choose what picture that we want to be our avatar.
After we choose it, each time we comment in each blog that support gravatar.com service, the picture (avatar) will be appearing as our identity. And our comment will catch more attention if compare without avatar. In my opinion, it will make us have more visibility in blogsphere in long term. It is because the avatar already associate with our identity in others bloger mind. So, others bloger will directly know our comment by see the avatar only. As we know that picture (avatar) more catchy than only letter as our comment identity.
Conclusions
To be different is the way for us to catch attention in crowd. That is applied to blog commenting as well. We need the difference to catch attention in high commenting blog. We can make difference by using personal unique avatar in each blog commenting that we do. Gravatar.com provide anywhere avatar for blogger. Gravatar provide avatar that matched by our email address. So, the same avatar that we already set in gravatar.com before will appears automatically as our commenting avatar in each blog as long as we using the email that we subscribe in gravatar.com. Of course, the blog must support gravatar.com service.
That’s all update this time, wait for next update!
you are right… comments without avatar arises various questions… nobody likes their site getting spammed… nice article yaar
[...] #3. Gravatar [...]
I very rarely read the comments of a non-avatar left on other blogs. I mean come on how hard is it to create one? It’s not difficult at all. So if they can’t be bothered to do that then I can’t be bothered with their comments. When a non-avatar leaves a comment on my blog it usually gets stopped by the spam blocker because they wither provided invalid name or email or there IP address is suspect.
Yeah you right, the serious blogger surely have avatar.
yea.. i should now change my gravatar with a hot-girl picture
lol…
hey Dana, talking about disqus comment system
do you know why there is an error when i try to upload my HTML code of my blogger template? i couldn’t install disqus comment system on my blog right now.
Any idea?
Nice idea.
About disqus, i never use disqus so i can help you about it.
There is no need to change the WordPress comment form… you can use several plugins to improve the comment form and give it ur own look.. also there are comment forms like Disqus available… but I dont like them much..
I only like disqus or intense debate if use in blogger.com platform blog.
I find it funny that you can replace the comment system in WordPress, how silly is that? I mean the features that come with it are outstanding.
Yeah, the wordpress comment form is great so i do not intend to change it.
Yes comments without avatars or gravatars are suspected by me too as spam… I like comments with gravatars… Gravatars give the comments a unique look….
Yeah, agree with you.
Images always catch eyes better than text only. I learned this from my teacher. He told me to draw anything in my lessons down on a paper. When it’s done, I can remember longer and more impressive. And I find it same as commenting on blogs.
Yeah, images is better as first screening in crowd.
@Brad Harmon
Agree with that. No Gravatar comment does look like spam.
Gravatar is really important. It’ll help others to identify you. I also prefer to be in the top commentator list for high traffic blog. It really helps us a lot
Gravatar and be top commentators are killer combination.
I am a real person and definitely not a spammer. i think you can identify a serious commenter based on his post.
Yeah, we surely can identify by post but gravatar more easy to identify.
Nice article on Gravatars. These days, there’s no excuse not to have one. People remember others with pictures, not words. Using a good Gravatar helps brand you and your blog with very little effort.
Yeah, we must have it.
@dana
And sleeping guy also rocks.
Using Gravatar is a must just like having an ID card..
Yeah, gravatar is blogger id card.
Do you see my “S” in most of blogs? Then you can identify.
You are right Gravatars are very important. And it helps a lot in creating Identity.
Yeah, your “S” always can tell.
I have been using using Gravatar for a long time. It has not only helped me to create an identity, but also helped me to give visibility to my blog
Yeah, you right. Gravatar really helpful for visibility.
In the long run, gravatar or avatar can help you stand out in the crowd. If your gravatar is unique, you will catch other attention e.g. john chow, shoemoney and darren rowse, they are all using gravatar and we can recognize them anywhere on the internet
Yeah, true. Gravatar help us to be unique.
Great thinking! You don’t have long to catch someones interest in a comment so you need to stand out somehow. Especially on a high traffic blog with lot of comments its hard to stand out in the crowd. You need to personalize your comment. I think a picture works well to make it personal and people can see that you are a real person not just some spammer as Brad said.
Yeah, agree man. It is personal touch what become power of blogging indeed.
Dana,
I think you are right. When I see comments without an avatar I assume one of two things. First, this person is a spammer. Second, this person does not comment much. The quality of comments are usually very poor as well.
Brad
Yeah, that what i think.