Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love to talk. I love it most when there are a group of us discussing something provocative, almost anything will do.


Now, here's what's bugging me. Monday my post Unaffected by Bad Marketing ran here and it resulted in a wonderful conversation and analysis, much of it happening when I was offline. And that's the great thing. The conversation didn't need me.
The ideas from everyone who commented and their thoughts and analysis of my simple thesis bordered on brilliant, making my little story seem almost profound. And there you have it: What I wrote didn't break any new ground or topple any marketing pillars but the comments left by readers really got the juices flowing and broadened the understanding of what makes advertising work. The conversation became the focal point, not my little post. And that is what social media, especially blogging, is supposed to do.
Unfortunately, I have noticed a great decline in commenting, here at the Fix, at my blog bizsolutionsplus, and at the 40 or so blogs I read. Oh, sure, there are exceptions, but overall we are lucky if two or three comments are left at any one post. So what gives? Are we tired? Are we bored? Are we running out of things to say?
Many of us like to differentiate social media by its conversational aspect. But if I write and you don't write back, a blog post is no different than a newsletter article. It just lies flat on your screen. When conversation (comments) is missing, often so is the pizzazz, that something special that readers bring to the table that the original writer missed or didn't know about or didn't care to discuss. And that comment brings in a whole new audience. And the discussion takes off. Without comments, the discussion's engines never start, leaving no chance for it to get off the ground.
Where are we with social media? Is it getting old already? Have the one percenters said all they have to say? Has the conversation died before it could even walk? And if there is no conversation, can we still call it social media?