Mack Collier, as usual, put out a helpful post today on how to write great blog comments and rightfully so, I wrote a comment (hopefully a great one) - but after submitting my thoughts and reading again, I began thinking; the focal point of this post is not only on how to leave great comments, but to really read and understand what the author is writing about. Doing so helps you understand and provide further value in your own thoughts. But, what if, the problem lies there, with the readers. Not those who read the entire post but those who are...
Skimming
To give a quick and superficial reading, scrutiny, or consideration; glance
Now don't run away from here because I told you that you have a problem. You might not even fit this mold, though some probably will. It happens, to a lot of us. We have a ton on our plate and sitting down and spending 5 good minutes reading each and every post that catches our interest just isn't in the cards for us. Where other times, we may just feel obligated to read a friend's post and quickly comment to clear up your queue of blog posts. Whatever the reason may be, it ultimately creates an unhealthy reading habit and one that's really unfair to yourself and the author.
We're cutting ourselves short, from the content and information that the author has written to the comments and discussions that follow. While in the process, commenting on a piece that we really don't have a full understanding of but yet still look to formulate our own thoughts, as if to say "hey, I'm staying current and reading every new blog post AND I'm commenting!"
OK, so I obviously don't think it's the greatest of practices. I understand we try to cram as much as we can into our content filled brains. There really are a TON of great posts being produced every single day and all we want is to try to catch a little nugget of information that we can take back to the desk...and it works - sometimes. Skimming allows you to get bits of value but far from what a focused, in-depth reading would bring.
What do we do though? Do we forgo any skimming because; if we don't have time we just shouldn't attempt to look like we know what we're reading or should we put an emphasis on our reading and spend quality time towards it?
Oh, and feel free to tell us if you're a skimmer, we won't hold it against you!
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