Switching to Disqus

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March 7, 2010 By 20 Comments

Over the weekend I’ve installed a new comment system on this blog: Disqus.

commenting with disqusI’ve hesitated about this for a while now but the killer blow came when I discovered last week that users are commenting on Facebook on a client’s FB Fan Page instead of using blog comments. I’ve kind of deduced that users can’t be bothered to login with separate details. Hence the switch here: Disqus lets you connect and comment using your Facebook and/or Twitter login.

The other reason I’ve decided to give Disqus a spin is that it clearly encourages users to tweet comments and publicise them on Facebook.

Finally, I also like the way you can reply to a comment via email and see it automatically posted on the blog. Neat, huh?

The Drawbacks

I’m not so sure Disqus looks as nice as the CSS styled comments I had running. What’s more page load times vary a little bit because of the strain on the Disqus server.

I’ve noticed a few bugs over the weekend but I’m going to measure if I get more tweets, retweets and Facebook mentions.

The absolute biggest drawback with implementing the Disqus comment feature is that new commentators are no longer directed to my Thanks for Commenting page. I’ve got so many great responses from people for this page that it almost, nearly almost stopped me switching to Disqus.

But I figure the potential greater exposure on Twitter and Facebook is worth it. Also, Disqus enables users to do more with commenting, making it much easier to search the comments and for the comments to be found out on other platforms. Bottom line, I’m hoping Disqus will enable more people finding my thoughts about online communications.

If you have any thoughts about the switch to a new commenting system please don’t hesitate to let me know in the, er, comments!

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About Jon

Marketing and Communications Consultant. Head of Jontus Media. Podcaster. Life-long Liverpool FC supporter. Guarded by basset hounds.

  • EightFalls

    WHAT! No more thanks for commenting page? The first time I saw it … it hit me with a good chunk of this is super fantastic! You will have to find a way to make this work … hehe. I have just installed the Disqus myself and I will let you know how it goes. Then again … I didn't have this thank you page of goodness.

    Great post!

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    I'm really going to miss using the Comment Redirect plugin but I've been researching the effect of Disqus and its tie in with Twitter and Facebook so I figured it was time to give it a go.

    I'm also loving the ability to reply to comments directly through email. That's super-fantastic in itself!

  • freelancerant

    I can see how Disqus can be of great benefit for the blogger, but one downside is that the reader has to login to Disqus to leave a comment in order to be “recognized” with their website and avatar. It won't keep me from leaving a comment, but I would hate leaving readers with an extra step to leave a comment so I doubt I'll be trying it out soon.

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    I thought you could leave a comment as a “Guest” without logging in?

    I understand what you're saying though, J. I'm just curious to see how OR if it leads to more social media mentions and traffic.

    If it doesn't bring any benefit, I'll kick it into touch.

    One thing I really like though is the ability to reply directly to your comment in email. That's where I'm writing right now and as soon as I hit REPLY it will appear on the site.

    That saves me time, and hopefully you if you want to respond again.

  • freelancerant

    Just to clarify, when you utilize the regular WordPress comments with the gravatar plugin, then readers will see their gravatars when they leave a comment. With Disqus, they have to be logged in to have their gravatar show up in the comment.

    I'm probably being a little nitpicky, but it's one thing I hate about it… another login to remember.

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    DISQUS works great for My Blogs, I simply love it and I think that maybe all blogs will have Disqus one day.

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    I agree, disqus is one hell of a comment system. But I too have a bit of a problem with it's interface and how it looks. It's just hard to make it look seamless with the design of most website. I hope they can improve on this as soon as possible.

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