Breaking the silence
Yesterday on the blog, Meg wrote this:
My mum read today’s blog almost as soon as it was posted. Noticing that no one had commented yet, she said, “Oh, I could do the first comment. But I won’t.” This exasperates me because she is very lovely and very clever and could write some very interesting comments. But she insists on being a silent reader for fear of embarrassing herself. Please can someone encourage her to write a comment at some point?
Sure enough Meg’s mum was well and truly bullied into leaving a Comment, and she did, and it was heartwarming. This ties nicely in with the recent theme of How Lots Of People Feel Like Leaving A Comment But Suspect They’d Have Little To Say And That It Might Be Embarrassing (HLOPFLLACBSTHLTSATIMBE as it is popularly known). Many ‘lurkers’ (now known as QIPs) expressed similar worries when I raised this issue recently. What if I say something stupid? And get into a socially awkward situation? And etc?
It’s perfectly reasonable to feel that you’ve got nothing to add to the discussion, or that it’s not even the sort of blog which merits real discussion at all, but it would be a shame to feel like anyone was holding back out of shyness because if there was ever a place where you can express yourself in a low-pressure environment without any pressure and with the instant gratification of being ‘published’, this – my friends – is it. So if you are in the position of Meg’s mum and are ever tempted to write something, bloody well do it, will you?
I’m going to revive the convention whereby if you leave the first Comment, you get to request a topic for the next blog and I’ll try to stick to it fairly conscientiously. If that isn’t an incentive, I don’t know what is.
This is not really about the blog; I just like to see people doing themselves justice. Leaving a Comment on a blog is a tiny thing but it would be nice to feel that for some, it might be a useful first step towards fuller communications with the large number of humans who come under the heading ‘OTHER PEOPLE’. There are a lot of the buggers. You might as well have a go.
More on the subject of better interactions with our fellow man in blogs to come.
The Comment Race is open.
Posted by Meg on December 4, 2010
Happy Birthday Melanie and Claire! It’s awesome how many twins read the blog. I’d like to be a twin. Probably. I have no experience of being a twin so I don’t know. I might hate it. But I might love it. Not sure whether I’d prefer having someone to talk to the whole time or stick with a brother who doesn’t start a conversation unless it’s about video games or computer programming. I love him how he is but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have someone in my immediate family with whom I could share things and talk about things other than computers.
Yeah I suppose we did sort of bully my mum into commenting. But I don’t think she minds. She’s just happy that she’s been mentioned so many times. And she might think she has ‘nothing insightful to say’ but I think she’s extremely intelligent and wonderful. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my mum. She is genuinely amazing.
Posted by sherbetjax on December 4, 2010
I always read and rarely comment.
Thank you so much for my tickets to your Liverpool show last night – it was brilliantly funny, as always. Laughed ’til I cried. Bring on the next one!
Jess x
Posted by Ingrid on December 4, 2010
Happy Birthday Melanie and claire! And hey Rachel/Pandora. Im a watsanian twin to! My brothers a bit of a QIP though. Thats three sets of us now!
Posted by Rachel/Pandora on December 4, 2010
Happy birthday Melanie and Claire!
I didn’t know there was another set of Watsonian twins. Twins are awesome.
Posted by Shell on December 4, 2010
Happy Birthday Melanie and Claire!
Sue Dib): You’ll have a great time at Mark’s gig in Brissie. I took Mum to see Mark for the third time last night and she’s still chucking when she thinks of her favourite bits. As am I, as always.
Mark – there is now an Argos ad on TV where one of the wise men brings the baby Jesus a Frisbee! It’s a terrible advert but it makes me snigger. Your fault.
Thank you for signing my ‘stupid thing’. A smoke alarm because it fell from my ceiling that day, It was almost a snowball but that would have required too much planning, equipment and risk of frostbite! Smoke alarm now back up on the ceiling – safety first.
Posted by Lydia on December 4, 2010
Happy birthday Melanie and Claire x
Posted by Cat on December 4, 2010
I’m sorry Mark, you know I’m always here <3
Posted by Rachael on December 4, 2010
Maybe if we target one lurker a day we can eventually persuade them all to end their silence.
Posted by Suzanne, aka Snr Watsonian on December 4, 2010
Happy birthday to Melanie AND Claire! Hope you have a WONDERFUL celebration …
‘Birthdays’ is a great topic … I wonder how many Watsonians share the same date???
There’s the interesting fact that when you have 4 or 5 people in the room then at least 25 of them will share the same birthday … never was much good at maths!!! Sure you know the one I mean …
Mine’s 18 May … anyone else???
Posted by Tom Beasley on December 4, 2010
Always nice to see some new people commenting.
Posted by Sue (Dib) on December 4, 2010
I have overcome my HLOPFLLACBSTHLTSATIMBE state just to say I look forward to seeing you in Brisbane in March. It will be my first ‘live Mark’ experience. Do you still need pens or do you have enough now?
Posted by Ivan (@ivanbrett) on December 4, 2010
Congratulations and welcome, Meg’s mum! It must feel lovely. There’s no chance of embarrassing yourself here because generally everyone who reads this blog is lovely. And that’s a fact.
Posted by Tracey on December 4, 2010
Hi Mark. Well done Meg’s mum! I have nothing much to add today – just to say it’s frozen overnight here, ice everywhere and it’s freezing. No different to anywhere else, I suppose! My dog has to go for his boosters today so that should be amusing for my husband as he normally has to lift my spaniel, Domino, into the car! Take care out there everyone. Traceyx
Posted by Phil on December 4, 2010
It’s 4am. Can I be the first. No idea for a topic but could you make your typeface a bit bigger? It’s a bit of a struggle this time of the morning and if I increase mine globally as it were it buggers up everything else! (Technical term, that.)
Posted by Misha on December 4, 2010
Hurrah for Meg’s Mum!
My Dad is really not half so tech or comedy savy, but he does now know of Minchin (that minchin bloke you like) and weirdly, Karaoke Circus (that thing you’ve been to before). There is hope yet.
Posted by Juliet on December 4, 2010
Oh please, just comment. I do and I don’t even know English that well.
And there is always something to say (sometimes not related to the blog, but it’s nice to know how Watsonians are doing, so come on and comment).
Tomorrow I have my graduation party and a huge blister appeared on my lower lip so… I’m pretty pissed. Does anybody have any kind of magic cure for such thing? I’m willing to try almost anything. xx
Posted by Julie on December 4, 2010
My day is never complete without reading the blog. Nice to see it was posted dangerously late again! You’ve been playing it far too safe recently.
Posted by Alex on December 3, 2010
Aww, now I want to say something but, for once, I have nothing to say. Err, it’s been very cold today. Possibly the coldest I’ve been so far. And I’m in Newcastle.
Yes, that will do.
Posted by Emily on December 3, 2010
I don’t know why I avoid commenting so much when I met fellow Watsonian amycool because of a comment I left on this blog, and I’m very glad I did. The number of times I’ve avoided being first, including just now is daft, and I don’t know why I do. I think just now was because I didn’t have a topic to suggest.
Posted by Katy on December 3, 2010
I quite often read the blog and think about writing things and dont. But quite often I go “oh so what if no-one cares what I write” and I write it anyway. Those are my favourite.
This is one of those occassions.
Posted by Melanie on December 3, 2010
By the way, my sister’s name is Claire.
Posted by Zoe Fell on December 3, 2010
Oh, the comment race again. How I love it.
Commenting on the blog all the way back in…February (Was it really almost a year ago? (Yes, it was.)) has led to some of the most brilliant moments in my life so far and has given me the most amazing friends. So it’s a GOOD thing. Very much so. And these friends have helped out in aspects of my life that I never even considered that they would.
Blog Comment and ramble DONE.
Posted by Hannah Mae on December 3, 2010
I have absolutely nothing to add but now feel compelled to say something. See what you’ve done!? I always worry I comment far too much, so it’s reassuring to know it doesn’t seem to bother you. Well done to Meg’s mum for speaking up.
Posted by Melanie on December 3, 2010
Therefore, my topic of choice is birthdays, please
Posted by Melanie on December 3, 2010
1st in – and it’s me and my twin sisters birthday today! 23, boo.