Please don’t prenounce this post too fast, it wouldn’t give Disqus the credits it deserves.
Disqus is a commenting service you can add to your blog or post so people can comment. Behind this service is your network of own comments you made using Disqus all over the web, so you can trace back any comment and website you visited. Setting up my blog two months ago, this might be the most valuable services I’ve added.
The power of Disqus lies in its community building. Wherever the Disqus engine is in place you can use your credentials and add a comment using your own profile. People can easily see who you are, where you work on and push the ‘like’ button on a comment generating points. One of the best features though is that the service also features other ways to login, using OpenID, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo or just as a guest. It makes it that easy not only to communicate back to the original post, but also share it using your social media tools.
When you start using the service on other websites you instantly see when it is used. Although the service of posting comments and replying them is quite standard, you ‘know’ when a Disqus service is being used. The layout is so simple, yet very recognizable. When you go in for a comment, the rush of discussion starts to flow and this is the first time you feel reading a post can actually lead to a two-way conversation. You don’t know the people (yet), but you’re just getting in and join them. They are not strangers, they are people interested in the same things as you are. This is exciting.
My blog without Disqus would be dead. Well, actually still starting up this blog it is also dead with Disqus but you get my point :-) Time will show as this blog is showing its earliest sign of being born (thanks to Google Analytics) and when the time is right, discussion will follow in its early life (thanks to Discus). There’s still a long way to go, but providing the ability to communicate and starting up discussions will be the most valuable part on any blog. Not only from a social media standpoint, but from a human one as well.
