Throughout my time analyzing the blog Faith and Fear in Flushing I have definitely made my feelings about it clear. It has a way to connect with fans that other similar blogs do not. Now, I can analyze writing style and content all I want, but the real way to see if Greg Prince and Jason Fry connect with their readers in a real way is to check out the user generated content. The comments section.
Anyone who reads various blogs knows that the comments section is not always the most holy of places. However, Faith and Fear is not one of those communities in need of comment policing. The comments do not pile up into the hundreds, but for most substantial posts, loyal readers are not afraid to give their two cents and have productive interactions.
In a post I have previously mentioned in my blog, “The Lady Behind Home Plate,” readers commented with heartfelt condolences that represented true community within the New York Mets family. Pictured below, one commenter, named Shawn Butler, wrote what seemed like his own blog post expressing his own relationship to the blog post’s subject, Bo Field. Prince, who wrote the original blog, even commented back with his impression of Butler’s added information.
Shawn Butler’s comment in “The Lady Behind Home Plate.”
This infact is not rare for Prince. He frequently interacts with his readers through the comment section, which may add to why so many come back to read on. Prince’s comments stand out in another post I have previously mentioned entitled “This Tweak in Baseball.” Out of the seventeen comments, seven of them were Prince in response to his readers. And this phenomenon is not an anomaly. His frequent interaction also brings other commenters to become more active in the section.
Greg Prince’s comment interaction.
Getting readers involved in the blog not only brings them back for more page clicks, but can also add to the value of the blog and its content. It is also not rare for the writers to reach out to their readers for help getting information for a post. It goes to show how readership on its own does not make a blog a success.
Baseball With Bite 