Posts by Amanda Nudelman
We’re all familiar with this scenario: spend a few hours writing a great blog post (or a few days), hold your breath when you click the publish button, and then BASK IN THE GLORY OF THE AMAZING COMMENTS THAT ROLL IN, ONE AFTER ANOTHER! Unfortunately, that last part isn’t always true. But, there’s hope! We’ve got a few ideas for using Disqus in unique ways to engage your community.
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Okay you guys, I’ve found a real gem for you this week. Emma Hager is a frequent commenter on one of my favorite sites, The Man Repeller. She’s a real standout in their community, and I think you’ll easily be able to see why. She’s the smart/cool chick you want around to give it to you straight about your clothes, your boyfriends, your insecurities, and hopes and dreams. And she’ll do it in the nicest way possible. For real though, I think we’ve found your newest girl crush. Read on and try telling me you don’t want to be her friend.
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So, you may have heard that there’s a football game this weekend. In honor of the single day in which over 100 million people get together to watch football, we’re featuring one who actually talks football most other days of the year, too. Underdog is a big Denver Broncos fan (lucky him, this year!), and spends much of his time sharing his knowledge, and debating others, on It’s All Over Fat Man (the story behind the community’s name is brilliant — you can read more on their site).
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Mommyish is not your typical parenting site. And LiteBrite, a rad commenter from their community, is the embodiment of their commitment to fresh and open dialogue about what it takes to be a modern parent. Whether she’s commenting on sex, pregnancy, relationships, raising kids, or the occasional story about baby teeth necklaces, LiteBrite is a commenter you want around. Her personal anecdotes lend depth to her opinions, and allow her authenticity to shine through as brightly as her name suggests. Plus, she’s a roller girl. And let’s be honest, a woman who knows how to throw an elbow with a smile is going to be a sparkling addition to any community.
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Commenter Hamish Lamont is exactly the type of person you want as part of an online community. He’s measured and thoughtful, but doesn’t mind a little healthy debate. He holds a deep appreciation for the things those around him are passionate about — in this case, motorcycles. As a rider, Hamish views building a motorcycle as the ultimate form of creative self-expression. And his site of choice to discuss this creative outlet is Bike Exif. Read on to see why.
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There are a lot of communities that help make Disqus the lively and illuminating network it is today. Out of all of these communities there are sites that continue to rise to the top and make us take notice. So, in the time-honored tradition of “End of Year” lists, we bring you not a lame, Top 10 list, but a GIANT BLOWOUT TOP 33 SITES ACROSS 11 CATEGORIES LIST! We’ve compiled this list based on Gravity, the trending visualization featured on the Disqus homepage, along with some good ole fashioned human selection.
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This week, we turn our spotlight on Inconspicuous Detective, a frequent commenter on Listverse. His favorite site covers a wide range of topics (from gun control to Voodoo to the artist Banksy), and you’ll notice that Inconspicuous Detective’s thoughts and opinions are just as varied. He takes inspiration from an unlikely source: detectives. Inconspicuous Detective lauds them for not just their knowledge, but their wisdom. He draws particularly from two characters that make a rather odd couple. Read on to find out who they are, and don’t forget to share where you draw your inspiration from!
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Our second Commenter Spotlight features NightOwl, a frequent commenter over at xoJane. We’re especially pleased to be presenting NightOwl this week, as her favorite community, xoJane, has just received the distinguished FOLIO Award for Best Online Community. XoJane is one of my favorite places to find authentic, generous and funny women sharing their thoughts, and NightOwl is one shining example of why the xoJane community is deserving of this award.
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We’re excited to introduce a new, regular series to the Community Blog — Commenter Spotlight. We’ll be featuring commenters from communities across the Disqus network. Each Commenter Spotlight will include a custom illustration (a loose representation of the commenter’s avatar and top-visited community), a 5-question profile, and a fun, extra section called “Up-vote or Down-vote?”. This last part is pretty straightforward: we ask the commenter if they would up-vote or down-vote 5 subjects, to give you a little sense of their personality (in addition to the profile).
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We’ve been focusing a lot lately on the importance of community. When we talk about community, we think of it in two ways — online and offline. Offline, you might be in a weekend biking club, while online you’re a closet hardcore Robert Pattinson fan. So where do you go to bridge the gap? Online, where you can find fellow geeks of every flavor: foodies, gamers, fashionistas, mommies — the list goes on and on. But while you can find satisfaction in one of these two communities, these online and offline interests still remain separate. What can you do to unite the two?
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Disqus recently convened a panel of four women at BlogHer ’13 to talk about building community, return visits, and monetization through comments. These four accomplished bloggers — Danielle Smith, Lindsay Ferrier, Fadra Nally, and Lizz Porter — shared their wisdom, and what follows are 5 key takeaways that any blogger can put to use for building a stronger community.
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When we decided to put a new face on Disqus.com, we knew we wanted to show some love to the sites that use Disqus and use it well. Destructoid was an obvious match. Destructoid isn’t your average gaming site (in the past they’ve been described as “the ‘uncle that tells dirty jokes to kids’ kind of gaming site”), and one of the things that sets them apart is their unique and vibrant community. Niero Gonzalez is the founder of Destructoid and started the site in 2006 as his personal blog.
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