I have been using Intense Debate as a comment system for a few months now on this blog and, after a few initial hiccups, have been happy with the system. I like the threaded comments and the ability to reply to comments via email without having to log in to my blog. And Intense Debate makes it easy for users to comment using video (which I have activated, but have yet to see an example of from readers).

But above all, I think comment systems do a better job in helping foster a sense of community in a blog. It makes it easier for me to keep track of repeat visitors and commentators, which helps me develop relationships with people who take the time and effort to post a comment.

To help with this last point, I have activated a couple of new Intense Debate options that might make it easier for people to leave comments.

You now have a number of options as to what “identity” you want to use when leaving a comment on the blog. You can do so anonymously as a guest, enter in a name & email address, sign in using an existing Intense Debate account or an OpenID account and now sign in using your Facebook or Twitter account.

What this means is that when you leave a comment using either Facebook or your Twitter account, the link back from your comment will go to either your public Facebook profile or your Twitter page. I am also hoping that it will make it easier for you to share content from the blog on either Facebook and Twitter, but at the moment I am still figuring out exactly how that part works. Still a work in progress…