The Aardvark Speaks: Point

September 06, 2006

Point

I agree with most people who write about blogs that there is true fun and value in the comments that you receive from your readers. Which is why every once in a while I go fishing for comments. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. It's not a big deal if it doesn't. Such is life.

Generally, I write three types of blog postings:

Those where I want my readers to get the point.
Those where I want my readers to miss the point.
Those which have no point at all.

Whenever I'm fishing for comments (which is not all the time), the most satisfying blog comments are of course those where my readers behave just as expected. Yes, it can be predictable and sometimes even dull, but it gives me a wonderful sense of power, and I'm the devious kind of person who enjoys things like that.

On the other hand, it is slightly irritating if comments are miles besides the point even though the point is blatantly obvious. And I've more than once doubted the human capacity for humour when people are trying really hard to get a deep message out of a nonsense posting that was never meant to be serious.

What's even worse though, is when readers happen to get a point which I've taken great care to hide. Fortunately, this happens only very rarely.

Posted by Horst on September 6, 2006 06:35 PM to metablogging | Tell-a-friend

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Comments

holly said on September 7, 2006 06:49 PM:

my comments on your last two entries:

on the 'story' entry:

hollywood has created this paradoxical concept of the "happy ending". the only true ending in reality is death. any other "ends" (relationships failing, jobs lost, etc.) are problematically so in that life goes on the next day and one still has to "carry on". so the point of fiction i suppose is to circumvent this by announcing a so-called "end point" which otherwise would not exist.

on the 'point' entry:

i meant to post this comment on your last entry. did i still miss the 'point'?

Richard said on September 7, 2006 07:07 PM:

Was the not so carefully hidden point of this posting to piss of your readers?

Horst said on September 7, 2006 10:00 PM:

Ha ha.

No, not really. I'm just in a playful kind of mood.

Jann said on September 8, 2006 06:27 AM:

Methinks you sell your readers short! Sometimes your points are "blatantly obvious" but hard to write comments about, so people write something a little off the point (but still relevant) in order to be able to write something other than "point taken".

Horst said on September 8, 2006 08:14 AM:

Nobody is twisting anybody's arm to write a comment.

Juliet said on September 8, 2006 01:25 PM:

What comment is expected even if not required (and vice versa) now? mmhhh??

Horst said on September 8, 2006 01:47 PM:

Ah well... confronting you with a dilemma like this might just be the point of this posting -- or not. ;-)

scotty said on September 8, 2006 03:20 PM:

I say: diagesis.

And I also say: 7 Stern!

Comments have been closed for this entry.