Comment aggregation is nothing new lately in the blogosphere, there are many alternatives from Disqus to IntenseDebate to tools like Backtype. It’s all about aggregating comments and making discussions central on your blog, from all different areas where conversations about your blog can happen. Here’s why I decided to stick with simplicity and my own comment system with some cool BackType pimpin’.
Why Comment Aggregation?
Having a means to centralize most or all comments related to your blog posts is very important to your social marketing success. This enables your readers to engage in a conversation that is multi-dimensional, spanning across numerous online properties. It’s a necessity now, given the dynamic nature of the social web. People no longer just comment on your blog alone — conversations are happening in many different places.
To facilitate discussions and engage your readers in the conversations they are having about you and more, you’ve got to start considering the best way to make your blog commenting system as dynamic as the world it operates in… enter BackType and other tools.
Why BackType?
I know, there are a ton of big names in social marketing and internet marketing who are praising all the latest comment aggregation tools and third party comment systems, like Chris Brogan and Disqus, among others. I get it and there are certainly valid points for using a tool like Disqus or IntenseDebate.
Here’s something to think about: Are all tools used by the big wigs in social marketing, really effective for your blog, your business, and your goals?
Listen, there are a ton of behind the scenes relationships that often times affect what others use on their blogs (not to say, in the least, that’s why Chris chose Disqus). There are also very different reasons why someone like Chris would use Disqus and why it might not be the best alternative for your audience, your business, your blog.
It all comes down to what’s best for your blog, your goals, your business, your audience.
Why would Disqus not work for all blogs? Well, let’s take a look at that… After installing Disqus on, not only this blog for testing, but 10 other clients — the result was across the board — comments actually declined. Why? Chances are, the average blog reader, has no idea what Disqus is, or what it’s value is to the commenter. Not only that, but the average Joe (or Jane) might even get confused with too many options on the comment end of things… who knows… the numbers spoke for themselves.
Here’s why I like the idea of using Backtype. First, I get to keep all my comments on my blog and there are no third party sites that my readers must consider, in addition to my other comment features (Facebook Connect, etc.). While I am an early adopter and I cover alot of social web technology, I know my audience enough to know that most are not as tech-savvy and the easier it is for them to engage and comment, the better.
Second, and probably most important, I am able to aggregate comments and discussions related to my posts across some major playing sites on the social web…
Backtype aggregates comments and more from Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg, Reddit, Hacker News, and other blogs — all into your comment stream, on your blog. There is no need for your users to login, their comments that are linked to your blog posts, are automatically gathered.
The BackType Team Rocks!
So, I fell in love with the service — but now I’m seriously impressed all the way around. When installing BackType on my blog, there was an error that didn’t allow me to set a particular setting (mixing backtype with your regular comment threads)… I contacted BackType and it was insane how fast they not only let me know they were on it, but they updated the Wordpress plugin itself. And followed through while I tested it.
Now, I know Chris Brogan 
can get that kind of support from Disqus (by they way, they never offered to help me migrate my comments when I tested it j/k) — but it’s rare that a little guy (gal) like me can get that kind of support.
So, that’s why I’m confident anyone can integrate BackType and if you run into problems, just contact them, you’ll actually get a response and resolution, even if you’re just a little-wee blogger 
Support and relationship matter to me when I decide what services to use for my blog(s).
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I highly recommend the BackType Connect plugin for Wordpress blogs, if you’re looking for an easy way to snazz up your blog conversations and gather a big chunk of discussions/comments happening across multiple sites.
BackType’s blog post about the Connect plugin for Wordpress
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… looking forward to connecting with you!
Maria
Note: In my case, the technical issue was related to customization/alterations on this blog’s comment file. BackType confirmed, in a VERY small percentage of users, there might be an issue with the plugin working… it probably won’t happen to you, but if it does… set your settings like these to solve the problem:
There you have it, super easy fix to get all the benefits of pulling comments in from across the Net, without all the hassle
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