A couple of years ago I did a survey to investigate when people comment on my blog. I selected 10 typical posts, then I counted your comments and the time at which you made them. The survey confirmed that most of my comments appear fairly soon after a new post appears, and then fewer and fewer new comments appear as time goes by. Not rocket science, but intriguing enough. Just recently I've had a hunch that things have sped up, and that the majority of my comments now appear even quicker. So I've carried out the survey again, just to check. And what do you know, I was right.
[For analytical purposes I've only considered posts posted on this blog at 7am on a weekday, and I've selected the ten most recent of these. That's about 200 of your comments under consideration altogether. I'm aware that I'm very fortunate to have this many comments, so thank you. I'm aware that most bloggers don't post a new post every day, instantly demoting yesterday's post to obscurity. And I'm aware that most bloggers don't post at the same time every day, with readers expecting a fresh post every morning. In fact I'm aware that my blog isn't typical in any way. But I still think the data's interesting.]
elapsed time
comments
the first 6 hours
60%
the first 12 hours
80%
the first 24 hours
92%
More than half of the comments on my blog are posted within 6 hours of a post appearing, while it's still fresh and new. Four out of five comments are made in the first 12 hours, by which time most regular readers have checked out the page to see what today's post is. And more than 90% of comments are made during the first day, while the post is at the top of the page. After that I stick another daily post on top, and the old post is relegated down the page, and the comments dry up. All of which suggests that if you lot have anything to say, you say it quickly. And you say things quicker than before. Here are the corresponding figures for two years ago:
elapsed time (2006)
comments
the first 6 hours
50%
the first 12 hours
75%
the first 24 hours
90%
Two years ago half of my comments came in the first six hours, now it's the first five hours. Two years ago it took 12 hours to get three quarters of my comments, now I get 80% during that same period. And two years ago one in ten comments dribbled in after Day 1, now it's a mere one in twelve. The flurry of activity in my comments box peaks earlier, and dies off faster. Here are the latest results in more detail:
time comment made
comments 2008
comments 2006
7am → 9am
21%
17%
9am → 12 noon
30%
28%
12 noon → 3pm
17%
15%
3pm → 6pm
7%
13%
6pm → 9pm
7%
10%
9pm → midnight
8%
4%
day 2
8%
8%
later than day 2
2%
6%
When I post a new post at 7am, most UK blog readers are still asleep (or otherwise occupied). But some of you are very quick off the mark and get in with an early comment. My busiest hour for comments is still usually 8:30-9:30am, just after many of you have arrived in the office for work, and while the post is still fresh. The rest of the morning is also relatively busy, comments-wise, but by early afternoon this interactive activity has already started to fade. Two years ago there was a slight peak at the end of the working day, around 5pm, but that seems to have disappeared. Things go fairly quiet during the evening, presumably because you're all busy being sociable and have no time to comment, or maybe everything's already been said. During the early hours, UK time, I receive only a handful of occasional comments (usually either from Americans or those Down Under). Then there's barely a flicker of interest as the second day dawns, and passes, because now there's something more recent to comment on. And very few people stumble across an 'old' post after more than two days and feel they have to add to the debate. Conversation by then is essentially dead and buried, and even if you do write a comment it's unlikely that anybody else is still going to be around to read it.
So, there you have it. If today's post is typical I'll get a quarter of my total comments by 9:30am, half of my comments by noon, three quarters of my comments by 6pm and nigh all of them by 7am tomorrow morning. Which, typically, is nigh exactly what happened yesterday.
(Oh, and another thing I've noticed... I suspect I'm also getting fewer comments than I used to. I have a theory as to why, and it might additionally explain the speeding up of comments. More research tomorrow)
