I've been sizing this enigma up for days now but I still can't explain it, and that's saying a lot.
I mean, have pi down cold. I know what a "participle" is. I understand the "id" and the "ego." I can mostly understand the radical-left-wing-liberal mindset. For a while I could even break down the law of relativity.
But this mystery is truly baffling.
Each evening, as I carefully pore over my site stats (dividing them into neat columns - based on a highly complicated mathematical formula which determines, among other things, "visitor IQ," "visitor desirability" and "visitor coolness" - which will later be fed into my supercomputer to aid in generating higher-quality BitterSweetLife traffic*) a disturbing trend emerges.
My visitors are returning, but they are silent. Not to be alarmist. Actually a number of return visitors comment with semi-regularity, and they deserve props. (Way to go. May the other spheres of your life display equal good taste and mental stability!)
It’s the rest of you I’m worried about.
I mean, the casual browser I can understand. The one-click-and-done crowd is to be expected. But if you have the good fortune to actually stumble across BitterSweetLife and the rare blend of class and perception that draws people back…and then you voluntarily absent yourself from the discussion? C’mon!
I hesitate to even speculate about the psychological turmoil such a person would undoubtedly experience.
To comment…or not to comment? I can do this. Just a quick remark.
But what if I say something stupid? Better to remain unknown.
Then again, who cares. It’s better to just speak up, to be part of the exchange, to join the community. I shouldn’t be such a loner.
But I might embarrass myself!
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Huh?
No, but I…I…well, it’s getting late. And the silence is warm. I feel drowsy.
That’s escapist.
No, I need the sleep!
I can’t stand you.
Me either!
I could name names, of course. My supercomputer has the ability to unerringly track down each visitor, complete with first, middle and last names as well as favorite colors, favorite sports teams, etc.*
But that would be counterproductive, wouldn’t it? Kind of like pulling the cocoon open for a fledgling butterfly. Best to hope that each of you silent readers comes to terms with your own…repressed commentivity…and conquers it, alone.
Be strong.
* Not really.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
The Mysterious Phenomenon of the Silent Readers
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11 comments:
i'm a silent reader on several blogs, there are only about 3 or 4 that i ever comment on. i don't know why i don't comment on those others...i guess it's because i just want to observe them? i like the idea of e-voyeurism...i'm a freak. (not really though.)
Uh oh, I'd better say something now before you hack into my eBay account! No really, I *do* need all those MegaHits from the 70s CDs...
Ok, so sometimes I don't say anything, but my teacher told me that if I'm going to say something stupid, then I should just shut up.
Maybe I just don't want to sound like a sexually frustrated existentialist high on drugs or worse.
=D
Aw, you guys. You're already on my good list. (The supercomputer has been barred from hacking into your files.) It's the hardened "noncommentators" that I'm really after. ;)
...he slowly taps out text into the comment field and carefully looks around like a frightened animal reluctantly accepting a handout. I am here, Arie.
-Scott
Yes. One of the lost ones joins the fold. Welcome home. ;)
I am not one of the 'lost' ones but I'll join this comment party anyway!
:-)
Yes, I admit...I am a silent reader as well. I do comment on people's blog, but I do apoligize for not commenting on yours yet! ;) It is a great blog, keep it up! That is the cool thing about blogs that you are free to comment as you wish! Have a great day! :)
Thanks for articulating this--I'd often thought it (after reading my site meter). Once had a person look at 16 pages, and say nothing. Maybe my sister? However, I realize some won't register, and the other day one of my regular readers told me over dinner, that when she tries to register, her computer gives her a message about needing a password to get the blogger login. I usually don't comment if I agree--what to say? Attaboy? Yo? Nice job? But I do like that poem with the moon photo. MW seems to have camped out at Paula's and Hip's and I go there to see what's going on.
I must confess to being a silent reader for some time now. I think the phenomenon stems from our love for 200+ seat lecture halls. We derive some pleasure out of seeing what some guy has to say about something we may or may not like and when he is done slip silently out the door without his notice.
Ariel takes attendence. He knows when people show up and participate and when they just sit in the back row. Thanks for the post.
P.S. I would have commented earlier but I am in the middle of something called "comprehensive examinations" and my mind has more or less been occupied by them for the past week or so.
Travis
Thanks for the comments, guys. BitterSweetLife has a variety of functions, some of which are therapeutic- i.e. "rehabbing" visitors so they can reach their full potential as engaged, interactive blog-readers. ;)
Actually, Travis has a good point about the "back row" thing. Sometimes being silent is a luxury. But just look how many of you "silent ones" have emerged from the shadows. Full-fledged identities as BitterSweetLife commentators await you.
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