Blog comments are dead. Really??

So what is happening on the web?

This is part two of yesterdays post Google V Facebook – the face off.

Google was unbeatable at one time, but then again Yahoo used to be too – remember when they dominated the web?

In April Facebook announced their new "Open Graph" launching the "Like" button and other ways for websites to display Facebook content and "Likes" on their sites.

Now Google is trying to play catch up to an never ending array of changes that Facebook has and will be implementing to it's platform and strategy.

But Google is struggling, just look at Google Buzz, doesn't look like that has stung too many recently, and who has been hearing anything about Google Wave either

Facebook is also treading lightly, not wanting to end up with egg on their face like MySpace and FriendFeed.

(Camel cartoon reposted from yesterday)

Hence the hooohaaa about privacy and Facebook's quick reaction and back peddling.

Facebook is making an real effort to attract businesses. With that strategy they could create a sturdy platform that is woven inextricably into the fabric of the web. This one initiative may be enough to ensure their longevity in the medium to long term.

But here is the rub for blog publishers -

Are consumers taking the easy road when it comes to interacting on the web, or are they more savvy than we give them credit for?

If a blog visitor makes a comment on a blog they visit, that comment is only really visible to other visitors to that particular page – and even then they have to scroll down past the end of the article.

But if the visitor clicks the like button and shares the page with their Facebook buddies along with an appropriate comment – how many get to see the interaction now?

Answer – all of their friends and some of their friends friends – many, many more than if they merely commented on the blog post itself.

This one action – in itself – is already changing the dynamic of the web! Hey, I think I might be onto something here …

Just to prove my point, our last post attracted 12 "Likes" or Shares as of 12 noon the next day and NO comments:

Comments were dying anyway?

But then again blog comments were doomed the moment Google decided to make link building efforts easier to police by creating nofollow, which aimed to disrupt the flow of link equity across certain links to eliminate spam.

WordPress and whole bunch of other platforms went along with the whole concept by making links to other sites nofollow by default.

Definition: The NoFollow link attribute (rel=”nofollow”) is a tag that tells the search engines to not follow links that have been tagged. NoFollow links do not pass any precious Google Juice needed for SEO.

So what is coming over the horizon?

To whet you appetite, let me mention a recent new initiative that stands out and has real promise. It's a new WordPress plugin from UpThemes.

This plugin addresses the problems of comments I mentioned above, it actually replaces WordPress Comments with Facebook Comments.

Tomorrow we will explore what other changes are happening.

… and please if you feel like commenting go ahead, or at the very least "Like" …

The next Post in the Series: Search set to become more “social”