There are a lot of totally useless comments written every day by people who know nothing about what they're writing about.
This may be because of the unrelenting drive to write something because they feel they have to. It's like this empty void needs to be filled with just something, so they might as well.
Or there are the know-it-alls who know nothing. They are so puffed up with self importance, they have to comment just to maintain the fix which makes them feel so good.
But there may well be a time when you start commenting on a post and realise you know nothing about subject. The infographic below will help you to save face when this happens:
And here's some code you could paste into your own posts (via the text mode) if you want to share this Infographic with your readers.
Properly read the post
The first thing to do is to read the post. And I mean properly read it, taking your time rather than skim reading it. Make sure you fully understand everything mentioned there.
Doing this will give you a much better idea of what to write about in your comment. You will be better informed to make a good judgement. You may actually learn something vitally important which may inspire you to have your say.
So many people contribute to the commenting section when they know nothing about the subject, purely because they haven't bothered to fully understand the post in the first place.
Read all the other comments
If the blog or social profile is popular, there are bound to be other comments. These can be an excellent source of material which could help you to write a decent comment of your own.
Never underestimate the knowledge of the other readers. They may be loyal regulars who have spent time following the blog or social platform and will have built up quite a decent library of information during that time.
Rather than rushing in blind and commenting when you know nothing, it's worth taking the time to look for clues to sources within the vicinity of where you are reading. Perhaps another blog post or social update nearby may have the answer you are looking for.
Scan your own knowledge
Depending upon your age, the amount of schooling you've had, or how widely read you are, you may already have the answer in your head. Anybody with a reasonable amount of education will have some knowledge to draw upon.
The art is to know how to withdraw it from your brain, analyse what you've got, and then twist it round so it can help you. The ability to do this correctly could mean make or break when it comes to writing a good comment.
It is usually the ignorant contributors who end up writing useless comments because they know nothing about the subject. Or have preferred wasting their time rather than gleaning from the vast expanses of knowledge the Internet can give them.
Draw upon your experiences
Curiosity is a good thing when it comes to finding out information. Also doing other activities rather than being cooped up at home. People who have bothered to get out and experience the world will have a better knowledge bank to draw upon.
Also, if you had gone out and had adventures, your imagination will have been given free rein. This skill helps people to write better as well as contribute valuable comments. It allows you to think of scenarios which might be interesting to the blogger or social updater, or something their readers and followers could relate to.
Good writers are rarely restricted when it comes to writing comments, even if they know nothing of worth to offer. This doesn't mean you should write any old waffle. A reasonable amount, preferably a minimum of three sentences with an introduction, main message and final close, is usually all that is required.
Ask someone you know
How well versed are your connections? Could any of your friends, family or acquaintances provide the answer? In today's digital world, technology allows us to access at least one person who is knowledgeable about the subject in question.
People who have been busy connecting in social networking sites will have acquired a valuable amount of followers who could be contacted. This does depend upon how long you have been using social media for, how voracious you are about interacting and engaging, and when was the last time you spoke to them.
Cold calling a contact purely to glean necessary information may not be appreciated if the other person is busy. Whereas if you had bothered to maintain your relationship with them, they will be much happier to help you.
Look at information around you
We live in a digital world where information and news is in constant reflux and renovation. Tonnes of media is pumped into our environment, even when we don't want it. Therefore rather than irritatingly ignoring it, why not use it to your advantage?
There are plenty of news and educational sites for you to work through. It's also worth considering what might have prompted the post or update in the first place. Many people are inspired by what they have just read, watched or listened to. Then will then write about it and publish it on their own platforms.
Really there is no excuse for anyone to write a post in which they know nothing about the subject. Especially if it is focused on the latest trend or gossip which saturates our media in such quantities.
Actually do some research
Whenever you want to write an article about something you know nothing about, obviously you would do a bit of research first. There are plenty of websites and blogs to curate the material you need to write something suitable.
But when it comes to commenting, your attitude changes. It seems as if you don't value the information you share as much as you would within a post. And yet it can be read and interpreted in exactly the same way.
I think it's irresponsible to not think carefully about what you write. Providing inadequate contributions could be detrimental to your reputation, resulting in you being seen in an unfavourable light.
Avoid claiming undue expertise
It's a good idea to be super sure of your sources when you write anything on the web. There are plenty of people ready and waiting to pounce on what you say, only to pull it apart in an attempt to undermine you.
Trolls are particularly good at doing this. They write in an extremely convincing style to convey their message to the masses. Their aim is to bamboozle the uninitiated or anger the knowledgeable, as well as cause havoc, upset and ultimately an argument. And usually they know nothing about the original subject.
And spammers are also a prime example of people who know nothing about what they say. Especially those whose focus is to get their link published come what may. Make sure you aren't tricked by their ingratiating ways set out to deceive you into thinking these are real comments.
Bonus: if in doubt, ask a question
One of the main reasons for commenting is to add something of value which would enhance the original post. This would get you noticed by the author, and consistently repeated contributions may result in them visiting you and commenting in return.
Therefore a good way to worm your way out of a situation when you know nothing about the subject, is to ask a question instead. Get the author to clarify their subject in such a way people learn more about it. You continue to appear intelligent, achieve a response, and may even spark a discussion when you ask further questions.
Asking questions is always a good cop out. Gear them towards gaining sufficient wisdom for you to continue the conversation. Always be enthusiastic about the subject and fully appreciative whenever you receive a reply.
How do you comment when you know nothing about the subject?
The worst thing you can do is to write anything for the sake of it, such as "Nice post" or something equally useless. This is not helpful to anyone, and is more likely to be deleted or caught by the spam moderators.
Bear in mind what you want to gain out of commenting on this post. Is it important is it to appear knowledgeable, or is this a scenario where a bit of gossip is in order? Is your purpose to increase your reputation, or to get noticed by delivering similar noises to which everybody else is making?
Whatever the reason, commenting should be fulfilling for both you and whoever receives it. Therefore if you know nothing and can't think of anything suitable to say, perhaps you shouldn't comment at all!
- How to generate inbound leads using social chat - 21 August 2023
- 10 steps to get qualified leads using social chat - 14 August 2023
- How to encourage comments through participation - 4 August 2023
Hello Allice,
I am glad to be the first commenter on your post, usually people should comment to add value to the topic discussed and to the community reading it. So, one cannot give an authentic comment without reading the article thoroughly. And yes, a comment can be an additional info, or a question and may take some other photos, like the trend of gifs these days.
So your post stressed the ethical standards behind commenting to make the web a great community.
Thanks for the great insights, and keep it up 🙂 !
Thank you fariss for being the first to comment. Which element of this post inspired you to write in?