It's my blog and I'll take comments if I want to

I am of the opinion that one's blog is just that - one's blog. And if someone does not want to take comments for whatever reason, that is up to them.

So I found it interesting (to say the least) that Mary Baker Eaton of the Newburyport Blog found it necessary in a recent post to once again defend herself for not taking comments.

What the heck? It's her bleeping blog! She has a way to contact her right there at the top and that should be enough for anyone.

Then today, she posts about social media in general, which I found hilarious (in fact, she's been keeping me chuckling pretty much all week - thanks, Mary) in one way but also rather sad because I agree with her conclusion:

I am being very cynical today, but it appears to me that social media,
Twitter, Facebook, is often used as a great Search Engine tool (SEO) to get blogs and websites to rank high on search engines. A bastardization if you would of its probable original intent.

And for an educated society, to have one of their major communicating tools take the form of 140 characters or less, is to me is a huge, waving, red flag. Are we going from a nation of sound-bites, to a nation of “tweets?” A nation where thoughtful sentences and paragraphs are a thing of the past—a passé, elite Liberal agenda. I hope not. I’m a big fan of the well written, and spoken, at times lengthy, written word.

A couple of weeks ago I had a reality check: I Googled "Wood Waste Boston" and some post from this blog popped up #1 on the results (even before the website for Wood Waste Boston). I was braggin' to my sister, then she Googled "Wood Waste Boston" and my post had fallen to #2, behind the website!

OH NO!

Then I said, "On the other hand, how many people are writing about a construction and demolition recycling facility in Everett, Mass.?" - we both laughed - and there was my reality check.

I wish I could say I've attained fame/fortune off this blog, but I never have. It hasn't stopped me from posting.

Mary's right - my original intent was not to be #1 on a Google search.

Oh and I do like my comments - I even like the ones from various "Anonymous" people. That's what journalism is all about - giving a voice to people who are afraid, unable or unwilling to speak for themselves.

I don't like it that newspapers are going away from the "anonymous source." Some people are risking a lot when they speak to a reporter; that doesn't make them less worthy of being heard.