Instant Messaging Makes Move On Commenting

Is the Google Talk chatback widget/badge/gizmo a taste of things to come? Commenting is something that lots of people think is necessary on a blog, for it to be a blog. However, IM is something everybody understands, and isn’t that a preferred way to communicate with the blogger who’s post you just read and find widely entertaining/offensive, or just easy to react to?

– IM him then. Tell him off.
– He’s not on my list!
– Do it on his blog.
– How?
– With the Google Talk badge, stupid!

Google’s new Google Talk badge isn’t anything particularly new, there’s been IM widgets and badges for your blog available for quite some time. It’s nothing new, but it’s official.

Should IM integration into blogs be seen as a way to move the conversation from the blog comments, to direct communication with the bloggers, and is that a good thing?

Personally, I don’t want to blow the doomsday horn for comments on blogs. IM and comments are two different things, the latter being a way for a public discussion where others than the writer and original commenter can pitch in. However, should direct IM functionality be common on blogs, it surely would mean less comments, since a lot of questions – which may seem direct enough when asking them – would be an asset in the comments, if nothing else so for the fact that the answer would be available for all, meaning that less people would have to ask.

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I won’t put a Google Talk badge on my blog. Don’t annoy me with direct questions, that’s my take. My time is valuable. Others might view it a different way.

What do you think? Direct IM on blogs, what impact will it have, and would you consider enabling it yourself? Or use it?

View Comments (7)
  • another step for google, Google is gaining control
    of the internet it wont be long before google rules the internet!

    but yea I’ll look into this stuff

  • I don’t think I would want that capability on my blog either Thord. Seems to make it less personal/prfessional? I’m not a fan a instant messaging. The novelty wore off sometime last year for me.

  • Reader-writing interaction through comments is one thing, but this seems a bit too far. For popular blogs, every time you checked gmail, you’d be inundated with IMs, on top of an already bulging inbox. Yuck.

  • I am not a fan of my time being a slave to im, unless it has special meaning. (I im in a chat room all day long as a futures trader and it is great for sharing.) I prefer the comments format for my online web businesses as it allows me to interact at my convenience.

  • I personally would like for people to comment on my blog. But I have most people hitting me on IM, facebook, myspace, or email to get in touch.

    I’ll look into the Google Talk badge becasue I just want my readers to be able to reach me in the easiest way possible for them.

  • I think it really depends on what you want to do. Personally I think ChatBack tools like “http://www.hab.la” or Google’s chatback are great, but sometimes you want people to add ‘comments’ or forum posts to your site to build a community. On the other hand if your trying to sell a product, or want to build ‘relationships’ direct chat works really well.

    BTW, http://Hab.la is a pretty nice alternative to Google’s Chatback that works in any Jabber client, as opposed to just Gtalk.

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