Thou Shall Not Comment

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The whole blogosphere seems to be in an uproar about Seth Godin.   The A-List blogger of all A-List bloggers has been somewhat notorious for not allowing comments on his blog.  But then, out of nowhere, Willy Wonka turned the lights on.

The interesting thing here is that he has already created a huge community based on the principles in his books Purple Cow and All Marketers are Liars, among others, as well as his blog.  It's a huge, blog-affluent crowd, that would largely like to have the opportunity to share, discuss, and debate his ideas, but unfortunately, Seth doesn't seem to want to make it easy on us.

His explanation is this, "First, I feel compelled to clarify or to answer every objection or to point out every flaw in reasoning. Second, it takes way too much of my time to even think about them, never mind curate them. And finally, and most important for you, it permanently changes the way I write. Instead of writing for everyone, I find myself writing in anticipation of the commenters. I'm already itching to rewrite my traffic post below. So, given a choice between a blog with comments or no blog at all, I think I'd have to choose the latter."

Fine, I guess.  It's his house, and he has the right to treat his blog however he feels.  And those who don't like it, have the right to not read it.  If this so called Godingate is what slays the dragon, then it would be a shame, but if that's the gamble he'd like to take, more power to him.

The unfortunate thing is he had a real opportunity to solidify Seth, the brand, here.  His blog is mostly an extension of his books, and a one-way communication vehicle.  By expanding, and opening his thoughts to the masses for debate, the Godin brand, really could have grown even larger, and connected his constituency even closer.  And it would have been a nice treat for those of us who have enjoyed hearing his thoughts for the past few years.

I'm not going anywhere, mainly because Seth has been so influential in my young career, but it would have been nice if he had taken the other route.

I think it should be noted that Seth has always been quick to respond to email's, and always forthcoming, and at times funny in his response.  I think he should be commended for that, at least.

All the talk is here.  (Via Viral Garden)