CyberFootprint

Disqus is a tool gaining immense popularity, as many bloggers adopt it. It is glorified as something that revolutionizes comments and brings simplicity to your blog. There are two sides of the coin, though. Here is my perspective on the issue.

Getting an account on Disqus allows you to easily comment every Disqus-enabled web site across the web. According to the provider, the main advantage is this one.

“Your account gives you a verified commenter profile where you can display, track, and manage your comments – all across these sites.”

Chris Brogan justified his move to Disqus because of two main factors: flexibility and searchability. For Chris, this might make sense, because every bit of  SEO matters, even in the comments. For those who have only few comments below every post, a bit extra searchability is nothing crucial.

Let us take a closer look at the application and compare it to the standard comment system that comes bundled with WordPress.

Disqus

The most notable benefits of Disqus are the following:

• Makes your commentary available on the run
• Centralized database for the comments
• Support OpenID, can connect to Facebook, hence destroys the anonymity of the users
• More visually appealing

On the other hand, even this comment system has some drawbacks

• Needs other blogs to be DISQUS enabled to track your comments properly
• Freezes quite often
• Export and import of the comments is somehow unclear and complicated

One of the reasons why I’m still not using Disqus is my friend’s blog. I was determined to start using this utililty and I saw it at Vojta’s site. In an effort to add my immensely important perspective on the issue at hand, I tried to log in with my Disqus account and then with my Facebook account. The comments froze both times. Since then I am waiting for a more stabile version of the application.

WordPress

The universal WP commenting system does not offer much. It is simple, cannot connect to Facebook and has a one major flaw:

• You need to fill out everything manually every time

The system is also quite adjustable and adaptable. If you really want to control your comments, you can always use BackType – a service that displays your comments and their location.

• Traceable by BackType
• Versatile

We shall see what happens with the development of Disqus. One important issue to overcome for the company will always be trust. They will have to persuade the users to let go of control they previously enjoyed over the comments. Once the developers manage to do that, I am sure that Disqus will become an industry standard.