I first wrote about Everett Bogue six months ago when I was displeased he turned off the ability for people to comment on his blog.
Gip Plaster, among others, also left Ev’s following. If a blogger wants to turn off comments, so be it. That is any blogger’s right and all the power to him or her. But what annoys me now is why I wrote the subject above. Everett only wants people to read his blog if they have Twitter accounts.
I blinked when I saw that message.
I blinked again when I read a more recent summary of why he abhors comment sections on all blogs, alluding to people like you who enjoy commenting as the scum of the earth.
Many blogs will encourage you to ‘join the conversation’ in a place called “The Comments”.
“The comments” is where your good ideas and time (your most valuable commodity) goes to die. The reason for this is no one actually sees comments, because it’s generally assumed by the majority of smart Internet users that the commenting section is a place where the low-life of the Internet go to play.
He continued his thoughts amid a larger piece about augmented humanity (a subject that is Greek to me) during which he announced he was throwing out his prior embrace of minimalism — a concept that sparked dual thoughts by Charlie Broadway and Adam Tervort that Ev lost his mind.
Ev:
This blog doesn’t have comments because I want to encourage you to use more powerful broadcast channels to communicate.
I’m only able to engage in certain mediums (mainly Twitter) because I spend most of my day in the world learning and engaging with real human faces and bodies.
I suppose Ev doesn’t think real human faces are associated with avatars in comments and that fingers on those bodies write comments.
To be fair, Mitch Joel and many others support Ev’s claim that blogging is changing and social networking sites like Twitter are powerful media to be reckoned with, but powerful enough to say goodbye to blog commenting as a form of communication?
Ev also has a point which I agree that people who follow much more than 150 people on Twitter are in for brain overload, as this video by he and Gwen Bell elaborates.
But his insistence that the only people who should read his blog be Twitter users haunted me, as I searched his blog for different keywords until I found a passage he wrote on communication that blew me away.
For around a year I’ve been using Twitter as my primary way to communicate with most of the important people in my life.
I believe that Twitter is a new form of communication so important that it rivals the development of language in the evolutionary history of the human race.
In a few hundred years historians (or our immortal digital selves for that matter) will look back at this day and say “wow, Twitter really changed a lot of things for the people who used it. It’s too bad so many people stuck with Facebook because they were brainwashed into clicking “Like” on photos of hot girls/boys they’ll never sleep with all night long.”
Sure, Ev, that’s what people do on Facebook.
And, sure, Twitter’s development rivals the development of language.
Whatever.
P.S. Good luck clicking any of the above links to Ev’s blog, for he killed it. The links are dead. He destroyed his blog in an effort to convert everything into a book… and to force you to tweet him.
About Ari Herzog
Scum, is relative. The cream also rises to the top. Would be interesting to see where he is at in three months? Still tweeting with ‘real faces’!? Still ‘blogging’?
One day they will look back, and Twitter too will be so yesterday …
Just found this thread, and it seems that exactly as Elephant’s Eye speculated, Everett did recently delete his Twitter. I’m not certain of the reason, I think he felt it has begun morphing away from what it started out as. Not my place to speculate on his behalf, but interesting foresight here.
Wow, just wow. There was so much wrong with what he said that I’m pretty much speechless. Granted, I prefer Twitter to Facebook, but certainly not for the reason he posited.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the conversations I’ve had in my blog comments, and I intend to continue to do so. Too bad he’s shut himself off.
Hi ARI HERZOG,
I think that Bloggers should not turn off comments from their blogs as comments is the beauty of any blog post and it also increase the value of any post by discussions and sharing latest things about that topic.
If Everett Bogue or any blogger loved so much with Twitter or Facebook, he can add these Share Widgets on his blog (s) but should not remove comments box.
Nazam Warriach
WOW! And I thought I was extreme…
Was his content worthy of commenting on? By his attitude, I would guess not.
To each their own, I guess.
Take a look at Gip’s link I included near the top. He, like I, enjoyed reading and commenting and thus participating on Ev’s blog. Once that change occurred, voila!
The only reason I decided to write the above is because of some tweets I sent him the other night not comprehending some of his thoughts, and that’s after seeing his name in a tweet of someone else I followed.
You’re not extreme, Mr. John.
Well, I appreciate that. Moderating comments sometimes makes you feel like a soup Nazi… No Link For You!
I get irritated by the obvious “I just want a link here” fools. I try to keep a clean blog.
But, if he wants to be like that, so be it. I think it’s lazy and he’s missing out on some good connections.
Is he eccentric or misunderstood? It’s easy to jump to conclusions, and I agree with most of what you’re saying here, Ari, but the thing that moved me to comment is his Facebook comment.
If you look at Facebook users as an average, and I’m talking about all users, not just those in your circle or your field or your interests, then yes, I would agree that the majority of them do spend their time clicking “Like” on a bunch of pictures of people that they think are attractive.
I do however think he should have gone about it in a variety of more productive ways. If he wants to push Twitter on his blog so badly, then enable Twitter access in the comments, have a hellobar set up that advertises Twitter, etc. Maybe lists of FollowFriday nominees that he enjoys.
Not going off the deep end.
Even so, Geoff, how is sharing you like something on Facebook different from retweeting something on Twitter? Or, commenting on hot girls different from sending a tweet to a random girl who’s avatar you like?
It’s relative.
To someone like you or me, the two are no different. Not even than any other sort of advertising that we may do, where we would share the information that would be most relevant to our target audience.
The average use of Facebook, however, is more in line with how Bogue describes it. Now granted, the argument could be made that since I have not personally done any sort of professional statistical research, my argument is invalid – but I am merely making this claim based on my observations of my own friends and family that use the service.
Ari,
As you know yourself (since you’ve been part of a few) Facebook offers a great crowdsourcing and exchanging of thoughts opportunity. I’ve seen two recent questions on my Facebook Page generate over 50 comments on each, with full out discussion and great ideas being shared in long form. Something Twitter (as much as I like it) will never be able to do while limited to 140 characters.
I don’t know this Ev guy and he certainly doesn’t seem to be someone I’d want to check out anyhoo, based on his thoughts (which we’re all entitled to).
But good luck on getting the kind of long-form discussions on Twitter that you do on Facebook and (even more so) blogs.
On a side note, Danny, would you have been able to generate 50 comments on your personal profile wall?
A recent status update on my personal profile generated 58 comments. A recent photo, 37 comments. So, yes, if the update warrants it, the discussion will happen, personal profile or Pages.
And that’s not even going into the Groups conversations…
Are you active in Facebook groups? I used to… then strayed away.
Very active in a private one, where there are some great thoughts and questions raised (and have led to more than a few blog posts across the web).
Apart from that one, no (which reminds me I need to leave a few).
Well said Danny….and I’ll second that. This past month Ev’s little campaign to make everyone in the social media world feel like some type of dufus has only shown me the guy is just making wild statements for ratings. I think Ev’s true calling is to be some shock jock on radio where you make as many outlandish statements as possible to make the whole world hate you.
Very odd indeed.
Marcus
Dear fellow “scum of the earthers” I’ve visited a few blogs that don’t allow you to comment, only tweet.
Takes me a few seconds to realise that the comments are dead and then I’m out of there feeling a little peeved.
Who knows what future generations will say about twitter and facebook, but most of us have seen it all before.
In the 60′s – yes I really am that old – Timothy Leary prophesied that future generations would imerse themselves in the drug culture and be stoned 24 hours a day!
Me… I settled for a couple of glasses of wine and a little blogging. LOL
Ari, why are you writing about this? Is it worth it to write about a dead end subject? If you are stuck for something to write about, I will write a short piece that you can publish as a guest post if you like.
It would be something completely unrelated to minimalist blogs that don’t allow comments.
I have a subject in mind.
Because I write about social web strategies, the repercussion of prohibiting blog article comments or specifying the type of blog reader to read your blog are strategies that blog owners should consider. That’s why.
So you do.
I was having a bad night. Apologies.
It’s okay. We’re entitled to be human.
This is even more idiotic than forcing people to login and use a captcha to comment on a blog. By forcing the conversation on 1 channel, this guy is limiting things to only a certain demographic. I wonder what he would do if his Twitter account ever got deactivated…
I’d be surprised if Twitter (as we know it today) is around in 24 months, but that’s fodder for another day and another article.
Here I am, I guess, exercising my right to be scum… I mean really, Everett is missing the point. I suspect the real reason for his actions is laziness. Oh well though – it’s cound to catch up with him.
Me, I don’t even use Twitter so I guess that makes me double scum.
Sounds – to me – like he was doing this to get some buzz going on behind his name (may be to find a publisher for his book).
Twitter lets you “communicate” in 140 characters. Anybody who thinks that this is enough to stay in touch with the people who really count, needs to read that statement again. We – as people heavily involved with twitter – get so engrossed in it that we forget that it is a marketers and a geeks place – I can’t see it getting a maket share a lot bigger than 20% (A LOT of people are still only using their PC as a way to go online).
“Everett only wants people to read his blog if they have Twitter accounts.
I blinked when I saw that message.” – You an me both Ari! I don’t have Twitter as you well know…
““The comments” is where your good ideas and time (your most valuable commodity) goes to die. The reason for this is no one actually sees comments, because it’s generally assumed by the majority of smart Internet users that the commenting section is a place where the low-life of the Internet go to play.” – Utterly offended by that. I am a regular commenter on many blogs, therefore Everett is categorising me as the “low-life of the Internet”! Outrages and offended.
So often I have said and heard others say, comments often are more valuable than the article itself! So many people adding great contributions improving the article, giving it support…
“blogging is changing” – of course, but not in such a way that means no comments! No feedback, criticism, praise, addition info or other.
“P.S. Good luck clicking any of the above links to Ev’s blog, for he killed it. The links are dead. He destroyed his blog in an effort to convert everything into a book… and to force you to tweet him. “ – Very clever, I don’t Tweet and don’t read that many books. Relating to an earlier article you posted Ari, I would probably read a book by you, why? I read your blog and I like it.
Would you read Everett’s blog? – Ev who? Never heard of him, does he have a blog I can read?
No, but you can check out his Twitter… – Great! I don’t use Twitter.
You buying..? – Nope
To conclude my rather long ranty quotey comment:
What a fool.
Thanks as always Ari
Christopher Roberts – A faithful reader
Is he a fool, or is he a wise man if he got you to write so much? Deep thoughts.
Thing is Ari, he doesn’t know what I wrote – unless he visits here, although according to him, you should turn off comments.
If he had his blog I could have written this non existent comment on his no comments blog.
I sometimes turn off comments. Once a year, maybe.
I saw recently you did, on a competition. I wanted to comment saying how it was a great idea, but not really a prize for me, so I would be ok, but I was going to thank you for the opportunity. Alas I could not
Thing is I am being a bit of a hypocrite, as I have three blogs
Philosophy – August 2010 (WordPress – Comments)
Technology – August 2009 (Self coded – No comments)
Social – May 2009 (Self coded – No comments)
When I started my tec and social blogs I didn’t know much about WordPress, so I opted for self coded, and haven’t as of yet upgraded. I plan to upgrade my tech blog to WordPress later this year, as you can only rate articles, not comment, as I can see no easy self coded way to add comments. Although, I do encourage feedback via my contact form, so does that sort of count?
What do you think, am I just as bad?
Ari, thanks for writing about this. I’ve only known of Ev Bogue and his assault on the freedom of speech that blogging facilitates for about a week, and it is irritating to me also… However, on a skim of his blog before it was erased from the public eye, like those Nixon tapes, i noticed very little substance. There was alot of big ideas thrown around that he just got from some book. For example, when he read in “The omnivores Dilemma,” about how evil high fructose corn syrup is. Ev proceeded to soap box about HFC as if it were an evil spirit that need to be exorcised from the embrace of middle America. Now he is just trying to succeed at marketing other’s ideas as his own. He would still be a consumer if he could have afforded it. But New York “chewed him up and spit him out.”
This was an interesting read, if I may add I don’t think the blog will ever die as a medium for communication in the internet. Not in the next 5 years, not even in the next 20 years. Sure, tweeting is the trend right now but where do the tweets usually lead to? Ironically, a blog post.
Take the forums for example, it began as USENET newsgroups back in 70s, is it dead 41 years later? Nope, it just evolved. The same thing will happen with our blogs. Blogging is just one of the platforms where people can openly interact. It will not cease to exist, it will only evolve.
Small minds can only handle comments of similar size, I suppose. It sounds like his blog was only a play for more followers, and that he doesn’t know about the vast amount of anti-spam plugins in existence.
I think Evet hasn’t appreciated the power of comments that are written for the sake of advancing one’s blogging quality and not for the sake of having one’s website exposed through comments area. On the other hand I cannot blame him because the majority of commenters do not even read the post or the previous comments and write a one-size-fits-all phrase like “great post dude”.
Awesome post!
I read Bogue briefly, but found his ebook a carbon copy of others already out there and badly in need of editing. (Same with his new book.) Bogue is a sideshow at this point. Minimalism didn’t bring in a steady stream of money and he moved on.
I have great respect for Gwen Bell, but not Bogue. Bogue doesn’t teach. Bogue writes for himself and only wants Twitter followers because they will do the work for him. Bell, on the other hand, is pretty genuine and interested in interacting. Bogue seems to me to be a spoiled child that never grew up.
“found his ebook a carbon copy of others already out there” – now that is interesting, for a man who tries to convey an image of someone who is unique and leading a new trend of blogging…
“I have great respect for Gwen Bell, but not Bogue. Bogue doesn’t teach. Bogue writes for himself” – Very true, agreed.
Some observations:
1. this blog post was a waste of time, and added absolutely no value. it makes you appear as whiner because ev made different blog decisions for HIS blog than what you wanted him to. So what?
2. the majority of the comments, in this case, are low level replies to piggy back off the whining you initiated. this has not been an elevated conversation. has it?
3. meanwhile, according to the number of ev’s followers on twitter(slightly over 5500) he appears to be doing something right as a few bloggers like yourself continue to attempt to bash him and his ideas. as a blogger you don’t wake up and accidentally reach 5500 followers. whatever he’s doing like it or not he’s doing something right.
4. You should be taking notes from ev. ev has and is still attempting to produce valuable content. if you don’t understand it, or it’s simply not for you, then move on, but what value are YOU creating for others as a blogger?
5. what is the number of your supporters ? Instead of simply critiquing, you probably could learn a little something from ev.
by the way you forgot to mention he has a new
blog: http://evbogue.com/
evolve!
Ha! I’m really late to your original comment. Ev, is this you?
I rather enjoyed this post and not because I haven’t read or don’t like Mr. Bogue. He’s OK, as far as bloggers go, but seems to be one of the most arrogant blokes I’ve ever read. For that reason, I stopped reading him. Ev has done little to nothing of value since FBTS, as far as I can tell, but toot his own horn and ask dumb questions on Google+. Oh well, to each his own. If you enjoy that sort of fake introspection rather than actually being introspective, enjoy reading him. It’s sure to get you nowhere, which means you’ll be able to join Bogue there.
Wow, this post really got my mind crackin!
I guess I need to stop reading here and get back to work and apply it.
thanks
Oh, lordy. A few months back I had a little spat with Mr. Bogue on Twitter, and wrote about it here: http://tinyurl.com/4clgyyp. Months later, it’s still the most-viewed page on my little site, every day. It amazes me just how squarely Ev hit a nerve in the minimalism community… I stopped paying attention to him after everything went down, but I see the ire is still out there.
I think he just pulled the plug didn’t he? What they call “info-suicide” these days? I just checked and evbogue.com, farbeyondthestars.com and vergework.com are all returning 404. His Github page is still up though. Tent.is is still up too. Love him or loathe him he’s still one of the more interesting characters I’ve met online…