dg comments

please empty your brain below

Thanks - I really do enjoy reading your posts. They are the first thing I turn to every morning - even when starting a new temp booking.

And ... I've never bothered to thank you. So thanks very much from me ...

Kate | 20.07.05 - 8:44 a.m. | #

And I commented twice and would have commented three times yesterday, had the Haloscan not been down. Whoops!

Gary Netherton | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 9:00 a.m. | #

my guess is that people clicked on the doughnut post more because it was out of the ordinary for DG. If every entry was like the doughnut post, I think your readership levels woud even out.

personallyI come to DG for the "London stuff", and I'd be disappointed if it disappeared.

gwplf | 20.07.05 - 9:04 a.m. | #

Personally, I think people are much more likely to comment on the top post (especially if it's short).

Some people might not have the time to read a long entry, and perhaps decide to read it later.

Also, maybe comments are decreasing in general as more people (possibly) read through RSS etc.?

The "tick a box" idea is great!

If I haven't said it before: thanks for a great blog, DG

Scribbler | 20.07.05 - 9:21 a.m. | #

Heh, heh.. I suspected something was up.

AND this makes me proud to have commented on the Southwark post and not on the Doughnut one

NiC | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 9:22 a.m. | #

Ditto

Great Aunt Annie | 20.07.05 - 9:53 a.m. | #

I wonder how many people will click on the hamster quiz link. I must admit I was tempted.

Great Aunt Annie | 20.07.05 - 10:04 a.m. | #

You are a Russian Dwarf Hamster!

What Breed of Hamster Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Blue Witch | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 10:14 a.m. | #

Damn, the picture didn't appear.
It was sweet though

Blue Witch | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 10:14 a.m. | #

Seriously though, I suspect that different people seek different things from different blogs they read.

And that, similarly, different people seek different things from writing their blogs.

And what's wrong with that?

Blue Witch | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 10:17 a.m. | #

I read (and enjoy) the blog on a daily basis. However, sometimes the stuff you write is (for me, at least) hard to comment on.

Your examples are a case in point - reading about Southwark was fascinating, but because I don't know the area that well, it's hard to comment. A simple question about doughnuts/donuts on the other hand is something that can be answered, and thus gets a comment. Same with your quizzes etc.

Fair play, you write DG for you, and because it's stuff that you find interesting and that (hopefully) others find interesting when reading. But expecting comments? It's hard to do.

Yesterday on d4d I did about six posts, and the only one that got significant commentation was the one dashed off in three mins which was more of a "I'll write more about this tomorrow" rather than a standard post. Go figure.

Lyle | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 10:31 a.m. | #

I'm with you, Diamond. It's heartening to get clicks and comments, but, like you, I blog for me: creativity, of however low an order, is its own reward. Or something.

garry | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 10:43 a.m. | #

I agree with Lyle.I read your blog daily, to feel the pulse of the seething metropolis that has a huge effect on my life, despite being a long way away. I also can't always say anything about many articles. However, I do like the quizzes! Keep up the good work.

cjh | 20.07.05 - 10:44 a.m. | #

Thanks, I really enjoy reading your blog!

Mostly I like London stuff, I mainly skip Big Brother stuff and Old top charts

Sekula | 20.07.05 - 11:08 a.m. | #

Observations:

There seems to be little rhyme or reason as to what which blog posts we, the public, comment on and which we don't.

Could the increase or decrease in numbers from day to day be largely just a random fluctuation? I tend to find that a few more people read websites in the middle of the week than at the beginning or end of the week.

A well crafted post such as your Southwark one will reap longer term benefits in terms of getting you google visitors interested in (for instance) the Rotherhithe peninsula.

Dave | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 11:27 a.m. | #

For me, I come here to read interesting posts and sometimes comment if there is a comment to be made or a question asked. Your Southwark post, which was a fascinating read, didn't really ask for commentary or response. Your 10km walk across London with all the photos was fab and I looked at all the pictures, but again a response didn't really feel necessary.

Yesterday's post asked a question so you got lots of answers.

Perhaps I should have said, on all those days that I didn't comment, 'thanks, I really enjoyed reading this'. If there is one reason why I didn't it is that I have been to a couple of blogs where that kind of thing can turn into sycophantic crawling - 'wow man, that was superb', 'amazing, you should really be a writer' etc etc.

But thanks, I really enjoy reading your blog.

Katherine | 20.07.05 - 11:35 a.m. | #

*hands dg a cup of tea and a comfy pillow* now you know we all enjoy all your blogs really don't you...although the tick box is a good idea. Personaly I think the great doughnut debate was just an easy subject for everyone to jump in and have their say.

lynn | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 11:39 a.m. | #

P.S. did you see the bit on Thames news about the Herne Hill Velodrome. Because of the olympic bid win they are re-opening it for training purposes.

lynn | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 11:42 a.m. | #

BTW...

After cube routes in Dec 2003,
and square routes in Dec 2004,
will we have ****** routes in Dec 2005 ?

e.g. Prime Number Routes ?

dg writes: sssh, don't tell everybody yet

Sekula | 20.07.05 - 12:01 p.m. | #

Yeah, but... what did we decide about doughnuts then?

Scaryduck | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 12:33 p.m. | #

I would also agree with Lyle - everybody can have an opinion on Doughnuts, but not everybody can have an opinion on Southwark because some people have never been there. And in discussion with other bloggers I have often heard them rail gainst "comment whoring" where people leave a completely inane comment like "thanks, I enjoyed that" just so that they get a link back to their own blog included.

There is one further point. I do check in on your blog every day. But I also check a lot of other blogs. Sometimes when I see that you have written a particularly long post, and especially with one like the Southwark one which is not time-specific (ie you could have written the same post last week, last month or next year) I will often think, "I'll leave that until I have a bit more time to read it properly", and then come back to it a few days later by which time I always feel it is pointless leaving a comment because nobody ever reads comments on old posts.

Alan | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 12:52 p.m. | #

I managed to read some of the Southwark stuff, but didn't get to finish it and coulnd't comment as I was fitting the reading into my 1-year-old daughter's nap time, and she woke up before I'd finished.

Now that I'm at work and on my lunch break I can go back and read more. Do you know how many comments posts attract the day after they're published, or later?

dg writes: Some of my posts still get comments the day after they're posted. Most of my posts don't get any comments any later than that, because they're not at the top of the page any more.

Ant | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 1:04 p.m. | #

I found blogger through you in the first place, and since then only visit two blogs on a daily basis - yours and Scaryduck. Both totally different but excellent. Keep it up.

E | 20.07.05 - 1:57 p.m. | #

I agree with many comments above when it comes to your Londony posts -- I'm most excited when I see you've decided to do another series on a "local" theme (random borough, bus routes, Prime Meridian, E3 local history, etc.).

I'm not much of a link-follower and I'm more keen on words than images, so you have little evidence of my visits other than a single hit.

Comments -- Alan's comment above expresses my feelings exactly.

The Dunce | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 2:05 p.m. | #

I'm another daily reader who never comments but I enjoy your blog tremendously, particularly the London stuff... so please keep up the good work

Cas | 20.07.05 - 2:41 p.m. | #

There are occasions when I read your Blog like I would read an informative magazine article (Southwark). I read, digest and move on as there isn't anything else I could add to what you've done other than go, 'Ta'.

Other posts (Doughnuts) are 'open', they invite a response and interaction. They are also 'A quickie' during the working day where as the longer post may need an 'offline' read etc.

Both types of post are good.

Greavsie | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 2:52 p.m. | #

DG, What would I do whilst munching my lunch at work. You provide me with a Window of London life for a London exile.
Keep on enjoying your Blogging and I'll keep on enjoying reading it.

BigAl | 20.07.05 - 2:52 p.m. | #

"My week-long walk down the Regent's Canal, for example, attracted 25\\% fewer visitors than usual, and you lot wrote only a quarter of your usual number of comments. But I didn't care because I wanted to write it." And I'm so glad you wrote about it because it inspired us to walk a part of the canal ourselves one weekend. I love your posts about your travels through London as they allow me to discover more, even if I never comment. Planet.

Planethalder | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 3:03 p.m. | #

i think that box to tick if u like the post is an excellent idea. how does one incorporate that? i would like my blog to have it. many times i have liked a posting and would like to show my appreciation, but dont really want to comment.
as for visitors comments, i dont expect it so when someone does comment it is a nice surprise. i dont even bother to find out how many visit my blog. what is the point? i find if u blog for others, u get to be very selfconscious and self censor urself.

anthony wong | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 3:32 p.m. | #

Your doughnut post asked a question and you got some answers. Your London post seemed like the giving of information with no features of dialogue, so people don't respond they just absorb. Its all jolly interesting though, keep it up and you can have a tick.

Jacky | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 4:00 p.m. | #

I bet if you put up something like the doughnut post every day, you'd soon find interest dwindling. It may have generated lots of discussion as a one-off, but the detailed journals are what keep your long-term readers loyal.

Apart from my daily news fix, and updates on Everyone's Favourite Football Team, yours is the only web site I make sure I visit every day. On a good day, I even send links to friends if I think they might be interested - that's how I was drawn in to your web in the first place (it was one of your London Bus related weeks... Square Roots, I think). I doubt anyone sent the doughnut link to their friends.

I'll admit I skipped the Southwark post though - I no longer live in London, and it's not a borough that's ever likely to occupy a special place in my heart. Now, if the next time you do it, you can see fit to draw out Bexley...

Oh, and I'm a Siberian Dwarf Hamster!

Le Bob | 20.07.05 - 4:13 p.m. | #

*Off-topic but connected*

There was a 'security alert' at Bow Road earlier I heard on the R2 travel news. Now we'll see if all those new cameras can deliver...

Blue Witch | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 4:19 p.m. | #

I commented twice yesterday, convinced you didn't really care about our thoughts on doughnuts.

dg notes: Yup, you were one of the two people who wondered out loud whether something might be up - well spotted

Essexgirl | 20.07.05 - 4:35 p.m. | #

I haven't been able to do one of those quiz things since I did the "Which Buffy character are you?" one and it told me I was Mr. Giles.

I wanted to be Spike, goddammit!!!

Alan | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 4:37 p.m. | #

DG, I have never commented as i feel very unerudite and can never think of anything clever, relevant or witty to say unlike so many of your regular commenters, but I visit your site most days and really appreciate it. Especially as I live only 3 miles further east than you and have seen nearly everywhere in London you go in my job as a courier, but never notice a quarter of what you do!

andy | 20.07.05 - 5:34 p.m. | #

Ex-S.Londoner, always here, always reading, not always clicking or commenting (although I ticked the box).

I'm with Le Bob, I'd be interested in a few pictures around Bexley/heath - been 5 years at least since I was in home territory and I'd love to read your views.

I was a Russian hamster as well, and you're right BW, that was a damn sweet picture

GoodTwin | 20.07.05 - 5:37 p.m. | #

I think everyone is kind of saying the same things. Like DG sometimes I spend ages on a particular post cos it interests me and in the back of my mind think that people are bound to comment on that. And again like DG I might make a post that takes no time at all but just because people relate to it better they comment.

My level of commenters is very low in comparison to the amount of traffic I get (possibly with the exception of July 7th - but still proportionally the level of comments was low to the huge surge in traffic I got that day.

To me there's absolutely no rhyme or reason to people making comments - but it's great that this post has unearthed some of your "lurkers" and maybe they will be tempted to comment more often.

Annie Mole - London Undeground | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 6:50 p.m. | #

I endorse Katherine’s comments.
I read your blog daily as I get pleasure from it. Your views on Big Brother, Music, Railway Station repairs I personally find a bit nerdish- but hey life would be boring if we all shared the same pleasures in life.
I was annoyed yesterday to find a banal blog which was slapped onto your blog in obvious seconds and I was also amazed at why so many people replied.
The Regents canal and London walks etc I have hard copied as one day I will drag my children around London as a history experience.
Thank you DG- please keep the good work up.

peter | 20.07.05 - 7:07 p.m. | #

I'd like to echo what some others have said - the blog is superb, and I think your well-thought-out posts like the Borough reports and the walk are one of the best parts. But when you ask a question, you are more likely to get comments.

With the other posts, people will read them, but like a good book, you won't necessarily write to the author... just count every comment on those posts as especially valuable. I don't get a large volume of feedback from my site, but as you know, it's purely informative, so I don't expect to - but I enjoy every time the inbox for my website email address pops up with a new message.

On that note, thanks for all the links on Saturday!

Dave Arquati | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 7:54 p.m. | #

I feel your pain. Long thought out post that took all day to get right = 2 comments. Brief thought about tea bashed out in a few minutes = 20 comments.

I think the more universal the topic, the more people feel they can add something to it. Given the amount of work you put into your longer posts what else can we add? But like you say, it's not really an issue. Except for when it is.

I've had similar thoughts about a quick tick-box and I'm surprised no-one's brought out a service to do just that...

Pete Ashton | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 8:14 p.m. | #

Oh, I thought you had said prime numbers were a no go because there were too many of them. Have you changed your mind? If you have it's great news, roll on December...

dg writes: ssh, I never said I'd be doing them all

stroppycow | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 8:53 p.m. | #

That tick box at the bottom of this post is a fake, isn't it?

dg writes: yes, it's a fake, because I have no idea how to set it up for real

Fatima | 20.07.05 - 9:28 p.m. | #

I, er....never mind.

Uncle Hunty | 20.07.05 - 10:24 p.m. | #

oh yeah...i, er...i love you mate.

Uncle Hunty | 20.07.05 - 10:25 p.m. | #

...in a stricly aussie bloke kind of way you understand.

Not that 'other' way preferred by, you know...gents who skip.

Uncle Hunty | 20.07.05 - 10:26 p.m. | #

The well researched posts are what make me come back time after time, even if I don't comment or click all the links...

And I love the fact that I can actually learn some things almost every day.

Thanks.

Shellers | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 10:46 p.m. | #

They're far better with holes.

Oh, hang on...

onionbagblogger | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 11:07 p.m. | #

i'm more of a "read every day but don't say anything" type of person. I read your blog a lot because it's great to see different perspectives on London life.

I used to live near where you are fairly recently and it's nice to kind of "catch up" with the area even though i'm not there any more.

it's also packed full of ingenious, witty and intelligent writing, something which is a rarity these days (most blogs you tend to come across are more "ooooooooooooOOhhHH i luvs my bF*~~~;#; aarrghhh!) but it's very interesting anyway.

Please don't stop writing - i've been a *closet* reader since about 2002 with breaks, when i didn't have a computer!

k-yay | Homepage | 20.07.05 - 11:27 p.m. | #

I agree with Shellers. Keep up the good work.

Jeremy | 21.07.05 - 12:47 a.m. | #

Another reader but non commenter out of the woodwork - I used to commute to Tower Hill (or Fenchurch St) a lifetime ago, more than 25 years anyway. Now living in fairly remote Australia, I find your London information fascinating, especially the gherkin visit (always appearing in TV shows shot in London), Greenwich meridian trip (if the train was slow enough I used to see a yellow line painted on a brick wall which said it was the meridian), the 46 photos on the Southwark visit (I looked at them all, honest) and the next train indicator at Bow showing my last train home, poignant.

Gillian | 21.07.05 - 1:03 a.m. | #

Not much else to add here, except 'thanks, I really enjoyed reading this', as I do all your posts, even if I rarely comment.

Cheers, and keep up the good work - I really enjoy visiting your blog.

The Girl | Homepage | 21.07.05 - 1:12 a.m. | #

I've never had a day where I didn't learn something new from your site. Essential reading.

Invicta | 21.07.05 - 1:15 a.m. | #

Okaaaay... when hubby drags me off to 'Discover Auckland' on my w/ends, as I commented about the other day, I shan't bother blogging about it. I might chat about pies instead. I shall put the Auckland stuff up on a website instead. It is hard to comment on a place you don't know but it doesn't mean we don't all luv ya!

Michelle | Homepage | 21.07.05 - 2:48 a.m. | #

DG, I love your blog but rarely comment. I have read your blog every day for a the last 6 months or so. In fact I recently decided to read every thing you've ever posted and I am currently working my way through the archives (I'm now up to April 2003). As an Aussie I don't feel that I can really comment about some of the London stuff, but I enjoy it anyway.
The other blogs I read religiously are Scaryduck and Tom Reynolds.

Carolyn | 21.07.05 - 6:01 a.m. | #

I've had similar thoughts about a quick tick-box and I'm surprised no-one's brought out a service to do just that...

Actually, 20six let you do this, by awarding "Sweeties" to posts you've enjoyed. Bit naff though... and people rarely seem to bother.

mike | Homepage | 21.07.05 - 4:31 p.m. | #

Alan says I always feel it is pointless leaving a comment because nobody ever reads comments on old posts

Oh dear, I do. How sad.
Sometimes I don't look at blogs for several days and then go catching up. As I am doing now. Dg, I don't think comments are a good way of evaluating a blog. (I don't "evaluate" blogs at all - but when I'm in blog-reading mode, yours is one of the first two I read.)

I love the London stuff, BTW, even though I don't live there any more.

dg writes: even if nobody else reads comments on old posts, I read every single one

anne | 22.07.05 - 12:33 a.m. | #

Keep fighting. The blog is great (and i love the tours). However, I hardly ever comment. So what does this say? Who knows, perhaps it is an indication of me being lazy.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

Michael | 22.07.05 - 8:12 a.m. | #

I'd comment lots more on various blogs, if it weren't for that fact that my brain packs itself away on holiday whenever I have to use it whilst sat in front of a pc.
That and the high likelihood that I'll sound like a moron

Kizi | Homepage | 22.07.05 - 6:15 p.m. | #

Just discovered you this week. So far have copied your Oranges and Lemons walk from January of 04 and passed it on to some friends who are each planning London visits in the next couple months. They are all now beginning to check you out as well. You are becoming my travel partner as I begin to plan my next London vacation. Keep up the great work - you've got a huge fan in Brooklyn NY. I'm going to try to read you every day, but I won't post too often - I sort of use you as research. Many Many thanks. M!

MMMorrell | 27.07.05 - 11:26 a.m. | #

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