The Wrong Question: Is It A "Real Blog"? about 40 per cent of the 2,200 people who have responded think that the ability to comment isn't a requirement, but enhances a blog's content "dramatically," and about 34 per cent say that commenting isn't a requirement. The remainder think that a blog without comments isn't a real blog [...]
The bottom line for me is simply that the comments on a post are often at least as interesting as the post itself, and in some cases much more so. In that sense, the post is like a magnet that attracts different viewpoints - some of which are bound to be moronic "you're an idiot" kind of comments, but some of which are occasionally going to add huge value. [...]
So is a blog really a blog without comments? Sure it is, if only because the term "blog" is so viscous and malleable that it can mean just about anything. But I don't think of BoingBoing or Google's blog or other prominent examples as being "blogs" in my definition. Are they valuable? Sure. Interesting? Often. But - at least as far as I'm concerned - still missing something.
