I once knew a blogger tormented by a troll.  I suggested that he disable his comments.  “But then it wouldn’t be a blog,” he whined.

Says who?

I must have missed the email suggesting that blogs have to have comments.  Apparently Seth Godin missed it as well (you can read why he disables comments here).

Perhaps comments don’t often add much to a blog (The only exceptions are the universally insightful comments left here on 33 charts by my readers, the greatest minds in social health).  True conversation, after all, is a dying art.  And despite our social obsession, broadcast is the order of the day.  But if you get beyond the platitudes and self-promotion, comments can (all sarcasm aside) have value.  Great comments make a post stronger.

When you think about what a blog should look like, keep in mind that the concept and definition of a blog is a moving target.  The standards of the past don’t hold today.  Early blogs, for example, were rants.  I remember reading advice from a ‘guru’ at the time who suggested that deliberate misspellings, poor grammar and strategically placed profanity raised your credibility.  It made you … authentic (at the time this was a revolutionary quality).

Advice to my blogger friend:  Worry less about your disabled comments.  Consider yourself a maverick.  And work to create content so remarkable that the commentary carries on elsewhere.