The Buzz Bin

Conversations on blogs can get pretty heated sometimes. Additional comments from the author or continued conversation in the comments section may provide counterpoints worthy of a response. But sometimes they don’t.

Many organizations and individuals make the mistake of believing that they need to get the last word in these debates. Not so.

Companies and individuals running social media efforts should know that having the final opinion in any social media conversation does not don you the victor of discourse. In fact, restating your opinion to get the last word in can make parties look insecure and unsure of themselves. Consider that getting the last word in is a common behavior pattern of insecure children.

Many A-List bloggers receive contrary — even challenging — responses, yet do not feel compelled to respond to them. Why? Because they can let their words stand for themselves. They understand they’ve said their peace, that they need not add anything to conversation. Their final word is enough to stand on its own.

The key should be can the organization or individual add anything to the discussion by commenting? If not, then letting the conversation continue via other commenters or elsewhere is the best course (It’s still nice to add a comment thanking visitors for stopping by).

This is not a surrender, nor an acknowledgement that the author/commenter yields to another’s point of view. Yielding occurs like this: “You know, you’re right, Joe. Thanks for adding your insights.” No response just means they’ve said their peace. And to be frank, sometimes ill formed logic does more to reveal itself than a comment could.

Ultimately, in a fitting end to this post, there is no final word, for all discourse is a response to prior discourse. And the end of one blog post may inspire another… positively or negatively.