Celebrate Blog Commenters

First off I’d like to say thanks to everyone who takes the time to read Victus Spiritus (VS) and leave comments. This thanks extends out beyond the blog itself to comments left in other communities (Hacker News, reddit, twitter, friendfeed, facebook, etc). The act of sharing ideas by blogging is greatly rewarding, more so when others see value in the message. Although I continue to write for myself, the small soapbox I first stood on is no longer entirely my own. It has become a small community, and your voices and perceptions add depth to my simply shared concepts.

I have had the great pleasure of reading the shared thoughts of those who link back to their own blogs in comments, and by following trackbacks to sites that link to VS. Each branch back then connects to a great many other sites and the web of information quickly goes beyond my ability to follow and read. This process reminds me of a definite need for automated two way search (personal and relevant). This will be made by possible by tools that aid in discovery of content, and will greatly benefit many readers.

Throughout my experience as a regular blogger these past six months I discovered the most valuable section of any blog is the comments. I’ve learned this not only from reading other great blogs (AVC, Scobleizer, LouisGray.com, Kevin Kelly) but by witnessing my own comments section. No matter how sharp a bloggers information and writing are, the comment section separates the wheat from the chaff. It is at this interface where our hypotheses meet with interested minds. They shed further light on often provocative topics helping to bring in the long tails of knowledge. Commenters care enough to write something, even if it is a declaration of how much they disagree with what is written. At the best of times both the blogger and commenter come away from a conversation with entirely new views on something that was previously a “closed topic” for them both.

At this point I’d like to put the spot light on some of my favorite commenters here.

Eli Sacks for his continued support, review of my atrocious grammar accidents, and ongoing sharp rational vision.
Vladimir Vukicevic for his open mindedness, keen business sense, and sharp eye for value in our society
David Semeria for sharing his positive vision on an open web (and pointing me to some ingenius tools that he is crafting)
Paul Homer & Robert Male both recently left some of the most in depth and well thought comments I’ve read in some time

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