I think it’s fantastic that you have so much contact with your audience and other bloggers.

I agree with you. Having a blog or site that prevents people from communicating with you is just advocating the same “Web 1.0″ mind frame that social networking is supposed to eliminate. I’m not saying that the opinions of the “untouchables” don’t add value to others, but social advertising is still just advertising. Why only commit to partial participation?

People who express their opinions and close out their communities are not “talking to” people, they are “talking at” people. It’s “do as I say and not as I do” all over again.

It’s true though, it doesn’t really hurt them because we still want to follow them, learn as much as we can and become just as successful.

The “untouchable” bloggers will eventually fade away.

The people who realize that they wouldn’t be “pro” without the audience’s support will surely survive longer.

Thanks for commenting.

I run two Yahoo Groups where I have a very public presence. I’m on Twitter (follow me! jenngivler), and I contribute to conversations on my own blog as well as other blogs.

I totally agree though – I’ve seen “untouchables” and resent the fact that they are inactive in the so-called community they are trying to build.

I mean really, you want people to help you sustain your business i.e. buy your products, and you’re going to tuck yourself away and not be bothered to immerse yourself in the world. Give me a break.

Matt, unfortunately, it’s NOT hurting these people… it’s quite an interesting dynamic, really. I mean, Seth is still selling Millions of dollars worth of stuff – and he doesn’t look like he’s going to be walking around the community any time soon…

It actually makes me really sad to know that Seth Godin doesn’t let people comment his blog. It could be a real problem for him.