Why I Switched to Livefyre from Disqus

One of my recent posts was a comparison of Disqus vs Livefyre vs Intensedebate commenting systems.  My conclusion at the time of writing was that I was going to stick with Disqus, at least for the time being.  Anyone with any degree of observation skills, though, would see that I’ve since switched to Livefyre, and I thought that it was high time that I explained why.  So, there may be more, but these are the three main reasons why I made the switch.

#1 – Support

The Livefyre support team, led by Jenna Langer, is second to none.  You’ll be hard pressed to find blog posts that discuss Livefyre and don’t have Jenna leaving comments.  Getting the word out about their product and supporting their brand is clearly at the very top of the Livefyre to-do list when they come to work each day.  I’ve had a couple times where I had questions about their product and submitted questions into their Helpdesk, and every time I have received responses within hours (sometimes minutes) of submission.  During my time using Disqus I did not find this to be the case.  They weren’t bad at customer support.  My questions just didn’t seem like they were met with the same sense of priority.

#2 – Innovation

The Livefyre team, when compared to Disqus is smaller, has fewer resources, has smaller and fewer clients, and is the new kid on the block.  All these things would make you assume that they would be playing catch-up with Disqus in the commenting system race.  From what I’ve seen, though, it has been the complete opposite.  It was Livefyre that first rolled out the ability to @mention Twitter users within your comment.  It’s Livefyre that ties into your Facebook account and allows you to draw them into the conversation.  Tying into social networks is where it’s at now.  Commenting is a social activity.  I want to be using the product that will best tie into social networks, and right now that’s Livefyre.  Disqus has copied their functionality, but it has been done with more bugs and not as completely.  Livefyre is regularly pushing new functionality into their product, and I want to support that effort.

#3 – Community

In my comparison of commenting systems I said that I was staying with Disqus because of the community.  Disqus simply has a larger user base.  However, I’ve come to realize that the Livefyre community is much more engaged than Disqus.  Check out SpinSucks for an example of a community that is extremely engaged and social.  It’s this kind of a community that I want to build into any blog that I’m working on, and, from what I can tell, Livefyre has the more vibrant and engaged community.

Summary

There are definitely more reasons for the switch, but those are the main ones.  The transition to Livefyre was so simple that literally anyone can do it.  You can click the “Get Livefyre Now” button on their website to see just how simple it is.

Have you changed commenting systems lately?  Are you a Livefyre or Disqus nut?  How are things going for you, and why do use what you do?

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About Luke

My name is Luke, and I'm the Online Media Manager for a technology company, photographer, husband, and father. You can see a snapshot of some of my work at LukeCoburn.com. I cheer for the Red Sox and am completely in love with my wife and four little princesses.

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