What do you all think about the (not so new) but new to TheEventOf… Facebook comment box? I’m testing it out here on TheEventOf after having some difficulties getting it up and running over on my main blog Phogropathy.com.

I’ve been thinking about it for some time now and can come up with a handful of reasons for and against implementing the Facebook Comment functionality into your blog. I thought I’d take a moment here and discuss the major points here so have a read, think it over, and of course try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Four Pros for Using the Facebook Comment Box on your Blog


  • Facebook is huge – They are closing in on 1 billion users and I see no sign that they will be stopping any time soon. Even with Google+ being really cool and all I just can’t see people leaving Facebook when it’s really not broken to begin with – sure the change something and people freak out, but they’re still using it right?
  • It’s easy – It’s just like commenting on a post in your NewsFeed except its at the bottom of a blog post. If you’re logged into Facebook you’ll automatically see the box with your profile image ready and set to comment. Nothing gets easier. No filling out a name, email, captcha codes, etc. Just comment and go.
  • It looks better – To be honest I love the look of the Facebook comment box. I find the typical wordpress box a bit clunky and unattractive, while this comment box is sleek and really works well with a white layout. I haven’t seen it in a black or dark layout though I do know they have the option. The WordPress comment box has always been my least favorite part of a website and I think that this streamlined box is really something that can change the way we comment on blogs in the future.
  • You get more exposure – Everytime someone comments on your website there’s the chance that the “post to Facebook” box is left checked. When this happens their comment on your blog will show up in their friends news feeds with a link back to your blog. If this person has a lot of friends the chances of one of them being interested in what he or she just commented on and going to check it out is relatively high and not only that! But that person can actually respond to that comment right from Facebook and their friends will see that they’ve commented on your post and they’ll see the link and have the option to comment as well. Talk about viral exposure.

Four  Cons to Using the Facebook Comment Box on your Blog

  • Your comments are locked into Facebook – As far as I can tell at this point in time you can not get any comment back out of Facebook onto your blog if you choose to leave Facebook’s comment system at some point in the future. This is only a problem if you have any reason to believe that Facebook will be dying or that your desire to leave Facebook as a traffic source starts to creep up in the back of your mind. Both of which seem unlikely at this point, but so did Enron’s collapse right?
  • People may feel intimidated – I’ve heard that the contrary is true, but I’ve put this in here because I can see it being a possible draw back. People might not be willing to post their Facebook profile all around the web. When you’re leaving a comment on someone’s blog strangers will see and have access to your name and default image. Talk about a privacy issue for many people out there… we’ll see what this brings about however here on TheEventOf over the next several months.
  • No more Spammers – Some people like getting spam comments right? It makes them feel loved and needed? Well at least the good quality spam right? The people that are just saying a nice thing about one of your headlines because it’s a quick link back to their site? Well I mean you may still retain them, but only if they really want to comment on the post. This could actually be a pro, but who knows.
  • Limitations – While you have full moderation control over the comments that are left in your box you’re not going to have any fancy spam controls like captcha codes or the like. It’s up to you to maintain the order in your comment boxes and this can get tedious if you’re getting a lot of comments on a lot of different posts.
So after some careful thinking and mulling over all these points I decided I’d give it a go. To me the pros seem to out weigh the cons. Sure my comments could be lost forever if I leave the Facebook platform, but the added exposure from you people commenting on my site could greatly benefit me in the long run. This blog averages 30-50 unique visitors per day and receives about a comment a week – if that. So seeing that I’m not actually sacrificing any comments it’s the perfect chance to see if I can spur some discussion.

Anyways that’s the long and short of what I have to say about the comment box. I’ve put it on all the posts here at TheEventOf so please try it out and let me know how it works, what you think and whether it’s worth keeping around. I think I’m going to give it at least until the end of 2011 before I make the official decision so you have some time to play with it. So what are your thoughts? Try it out now why don’t you and tell me!

Speak your Mind

Comments So Far

Filed under: Blogging Activities • Technology

Comments are closed.