What you’re really after is repeat business - a medium-sized group of people who consistently comment, as opposed to lots of comments from folks who post once and never return. The latter is nice, and it’s always good to see a big number, but it’s less of a community if they’re fleeting visitors. That is where a forum scores well - people who sign up and post a bit soon become part of that group. On a blog, certainly on a niche or new one, it’s a lot more casual/random in the early days.

The key of course is being consistent in what you say and giving your readers a reason to comment. I’ve tried to be strong in both departments but I think it’s only in the last few weeks I’ve really started to find my way. Even then, I still get a lot of ‘random commentators’.

I think it does have some to do with how specialized or “niched” the forum is. There are a couple of forums I belong to that rarely get mired down into silly “I like X and the Y you like sucks” kind of threads.

But certainly, I can see where being a moderator or forum admin could be a handful.

I’m with you on the blogging thing too. For me, it’s a creative outlet and an opportunity to share stuff I find interesting or concerning with others. Our family & friends are spread out across the U.S. and even a couple abroad so our blogs are a more effective means of getting the word out to folks about what’s going on in our lives.

My only complaint is that I’d like to further develop the communal aspect but my posts garner few comments. Not always, but many of my posts are never commented on. And while I know that I’m blogging for me and that should be enough, I do have to admit that I crave a little bit of the validation that reader feedback provides. Sure, traffic stats & such will tell you if people are bothering to stop by your door, but comments are a more tangible indicator that you actually connected with those visitors.