I know it’s never fun to hear or utter these words, but people . . . we need to talk.
On Monday I posted an article by Sage titled “Don’t Ever Let Someone Tell You That You Shouldn’t Video Your Snatch.” It was accompanied by a pretty cool video of female Olympic weightlifters. Both of these things made me think we might get some relatively witty blog banter.
The website had good traffic, as always, but for some reason in the 2000 or so hits to the site, we got two comments . . . and one of them was mine.
Unfortunately, it’s becoming quite rare that folks will actually comment on the blog. I can think of several noteworthy events on the blog in just the past few days that deserved responses, cheers or some kind of comments – the arrival of Brian and Makenzie’s baby girl, Matt Wilson’s email from Afghanistan, etc…. A year or so ago, we would receive 40 or more comments on certain blog articles with about half of the blog traffic we’re receiving now.
So my question to you all is . . . Why don’t we talk anymore?
I am not looking to create an environment where folks spend hours checking and writing on the blog. That is neither healthy, nor productive. I would rather you spend more time stretching or hydrating than obsessively checking the blog. But I think it’s reasonable to expect that more than a handful of you would drop us a line or two in response to the content or photo on the blog. Heck, you can just write down some random thought or question that you would like to open up to the community.
The blog community will certainly never supplant the in-house community at Invictus, but I would love to see it support our community a bit better. If you see a photo of one of your friends, workout partners or someone who inspires you, drop a quick note into the blog comments. If you have an opinion on a topic or an experience to share, post it on the blog comments. And if you have an idea for a blog post or a question that you think others would benefit from, shoot us an email and we’ll make sure it gets on the blog. If I can tailor the content of our blog more to the needs and desires of our community, I will certainly do what I can to make that happen.
Let’s all do our part to make this a more interactive forum. Nothing crazy, just a kudos to a fellow athlete or a comment on the workout once in a while. Cool?
Good talk Russ.
Thank you so much for bringing this issue up. I have noticed the same thing with our blog and facebook page. I know people are visiting the pages, but the lack of interaction is ridiculous. We take the time to post pics/stats/wods/etc, and the members dont respond. But, if we stop doing them people will ask why?!? Thanks again for blogging about this. Your neighbor to the north.
Eric
CrossFit North County
Keep up the good posts WineCountryCrossfit in Napa appreciates!!!
And I thought to check the blog just before going to Uni, big mistake, too many comments to go through 🙂
BTW, we also have a 5K run in a santa costume to benefit a project that helps african orphans, whose parents died of aids. all little bits help.
I read it every day and comment now and again. It just depends, and I don’t mind saying that sometimes I have nothing to say. Looking forward to the 5k on 12/30 with Nuno and Nichole and then starting Calvin’s performance seminar on 1/3/11. I also plan to work with Sage on front and OH squats, and George and Nichole on power cleans–I watched both of their techniques over the past week and was very impressed. An intermediate rowing private class or seminar with Shane will be a goal to help work on longer rows and improved efficiency. Dani I… Read more »
You got a good schedule out for the next 6 months!!!
Looking forward to continue to help you towards your goals
I am so excited for the 5k Courtland! This will be my first one ever so, in honor of that, we need to get as many participants as possible! The start of the 5k is blocks away from the gym so we can meet at Invictus then walk over. The “Sea of Green” will be out in full force.
Nicole what’s this 5K you’re doing? I might want to get in on that action. 🙂
I have been on the night shift for the past three months and I must say I look forward to my little break around midnight because I get to read the blog and workout for the day…….I get a thrill pretending I am the ‘first’ person to read the most AMAZING blog on the web!! =)
we miss the grunts….
CJ – A lot of posts, but not about today’s WOD! OMG! It kicked my butt at 0600 this morning. I seriously thought my heart was going to come out of my body! Ok, but I felt great all day!
F’real, today’s WOD was awesomely brutal. Cheers to Michele & ValPal for their pep talks during the last round!
To all the new mothers and fathers out there (and there are a lot of you), we totally understand that you have your hands full. I am just happy that you still take the time to check the blog. Thank you so much for bringing us new little Invicti! Cody K – I love the commitment of hitting up the workouts while at sea. Just know that you’re not alone. Richard, Thom, Mike, Jason, Payton and many others are or have been in the same situation. Keep up the good work and it will pay huge dividends when you can… Read more »
well, I’d like to say that having been gone for a few weeks it was AMAZING to be back and see my peeps at 6am.
CJ – great WOD today as always!
I’m never leaving town again!!! :o)
Welcome back CP! See you next week when I return from NY. I suspect Hawaii was a bit warmer than it has been here.
Well I always read it, sometimes I just dont feel I have much to say. As with a few others I usually read it during my first cup of coffee, therefor, my brain is only 1/2 on… excuses, excuses, ok, I will comment more 🙂
CJ, glad you posted this! That was one of my big disappointments coming from another box was the lack of conversation on the blog. Great coaching, great programming, great blog content, great community, but no conversation on the website…WTF? Use it to encourage someone thats been kicking arse lately, use it to brag about a great workout, use it to call someone out that needs push. Two months now at Invictus and its great to be part of the family, but no so glad that I owe Michele 100 burpees for my alma mater losing to Kansas!
I can’t wait! Bwa ha ha ha
Tim,
It’s rarely a good idea to battle the M-Dawg. Whether it’s a bet or wrestling match, she’ll blindside you from out of nowhere when you least expect it.
I used to stalk the blog before I became a part of the Invicti community 🙂
I did too! Thoroughly enjoyed my month at Invictus and now I stalk the blog from Hawaii almost every day! Love hearing what you guys have to say. Definitely one of the best blogs…probably because of the diversity of the content. Thanks guys!
Wow. This is awesome. As a member, I have to agree with Price. I read the blog first thing in the morning on my Crackberry while sipping my first cup of coffee. Often times I don’t feel I have anything witty or compelling to contribute and so I don’t say anything at all. Good to know that a simple acknowledgment will do sometimes. As a contributor to the blog, I can say that when folks comment on what you write it means a lot. If there aren’t any comments you wonder if what you have shared has made an impact… Read more »
Going to do the WOD out here at sea despite the long hours and little sleep. My buddy remembered his KB so we are good to go! See you all next week.
hahaha, Liz I’m sure my little dairy cow aka Katie-Mac could relate to you. Anyhow, CJ how do you feel knowing that there are people around the world who literally follow your blog/programming – I mean no big deal
you suck. good thing you have a cool dog to redeem your suckitude.
I second what Susan said. Also, her statement made me realize I have a minimum of two more months being a dairy cow for my little man. I have new respect for cows. Anyway, I miss you all and hopefuly will be back in 2 weeks!!
Liz! Let’s just say running that warmup lap around the block while serving as a milk cow is not very comfortable…but the little ones are worth it! We are thinking of buying an exersaucer to leave at CFI with the hopes it buys us enough time to complete the WOD- with all of the new babies, it should come in handy! Hope all is well 🙂
BTW….the WOD looks scary…Im still in my difficult difficult stages…just showing up tonight is going to be my challenge today…see you later!! Ahhhhh
Kellie,
I hope it went well! Rest assured, we were all scared when we started, and we all went through those difficult stages. Just be patient, focus on performing the movements as well as you can and be humble. Those are truly the keys to getting through the beginning phases as quickly as possible. If you do that, you’ll feel like a veteran in no time at all.
Well CJ and Invictus Group….I would like to say that the Invictus Blog is the only Blog that I LOVE to read almost every day. I believe you have an awesome mix of topics that keep me reading every day!! I will most certainly engage myself a bit more…
In all honesty, it’s very cool to see participation on here from followers that may not be in the gym on a regular basis, or ever (like Thijs). We know you’re out there and we’re happy to have your support, so keep the chatter going. It keeps us motivated as coaches to keep churning out good content for your reading pleasure.
You all are the best!!! I just jumped online while on my lunch break at the Poliquin Level 2 certification and saw more than 20 comments! You guys kick arse.
I promise to try to be more interactive on the blog (and maybe even TwitFace – aka, Facebook). It can be tough to check in multiple times per day depending on what else is going on at the gym, but I am sure I can crank out at least a couple of responses to blog comments each day. I’ll make it happen.
PS – we now have the ability to ‘reply’ to specific comments which allows for a more cohesive discussion rather than trying to find people that have replied to your comment 5 entries below. To use this feature simply click the ‘Reply’ button below the comment you are commenting on…if that makes sense 🙂
Like this…
Or this?
or possibly this?
How did you guys do that?
Only the cool kids can do it….Sorry Sinthia
Haha, typical. Nested comments are limited to 5 levels. Thanks for testing the limitations of the new feature on the website, love you guys too :p