Alright, so I learned a lesson recently: Conversation-making online is really, really effective and to an extent, enjoyable too, as long as the volume of discussion maintains some sort of natural ebb and flow and remains, well, manageable. This is especially true with blog comments.

While it's fairly easy for most blog authors to maintain a qualitative back-and-forth with several people at once, the "conversation" paradigm just absolutely breaks down when, for example, several comments quickly become several hundred. Think slashdot effect, but in the comments thread.

In this scenario, whatever dreams, ambitions or hopes you had of meaningful dialogue just get crushed by the sheer volume and force of several hundred voices each talking to you and each other all at once.

It's not to say this stops you from adding value or making meaningful connections, but man, you really have to work A LOT harder to do so, and the return on your efforts can still feel a little futile. In this case, you also start to wonder: is a blog really the best tool, the best platform for this particular conversation?

Technorati Tags: attention, blogging, conversation