Sports Collector's Digest - See No Evil

This week T.S. O'Connell from Sports Collector's Digest turned off the comments on his Infield Dirt blog. That's not a typo - he turned off comments on his blog. [Major credit to Voice of the Collector for being the first to blog about this change.]

This just in . . . it's not a blog, if you don't allow comments.

I have emailed T.S. in the past (and did yesterday asking about this) - I think he's someone that really cares about the hobby, but playing the "hear no evil/see no evil" game doesn't help things.

Online "commentary" isn't flawed as the title of T.S.' blog post states. The flaw occurs in how corporations use it. Companies engage in social media to bring them closer to the customers. To hear their voice, get their feedback, and have a conversation with the people who pay their salaries. Blogging is social media - if you aren't listening then you're just another web site or medium.

My social media soap box:
It's the rise of social media like blogs, facebook, and twitter that has taught companies to listen to their customers and that customers like to be heard. Don't run away from comments, encourage feedback and use it to gather precious data about your customer's preferences. Use the feedback tool as a way to show them how much you respect their opinions and appreciate the time they dedicate to sharing it with you.

My advice to T.S. - allow the comments, moderate them before posting if you must (I have to do that now because of spam) and have a conversation with your customers.