Comments on: Who lurks there? You do. http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/ A blog about new media, marketing, and communications Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:29:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Sara Isacson http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-641 Sara Isacson Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:15:26 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-641 Great point, Cynthia--there's def. lots of value in content/advertising reaching the lurkers... I think that my earlier comment was thinking about marketing from the social network's POV...Ttheir goal is to get members/sign-ups so that they can GET more advertising $$$ and exposure...more members/registered participants=more money, so that's where lurker-engagement becomes an issue... Great point, Cynthia–there’s def. lots of value in content/advertising reaching the lurkers…

I think that my earlier comment was thinking about marketing from the social network’s POV…Ttheir goal is to get members/sign-ups so that they can GET more advertising $$$ and exposure…more members/registered participants=more money, so that’s where lurker-engagement becomes an issue…

]]> By: Cynthia Creelman http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-635 Cynthia Creelman Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:50:46 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-635 Hey Sara, your question made me think of another question ... does every marketer need you to participate? Or is lurking enough to drive business in some cases? If you see a cool write-up about a product or service, while you might not comment, there is a chance that you will purchase. Hey Sara, your question made me think of another question … does every marketer need you to participate? Or is lurking enough to drive business in some cases? If you see a cool write-up about a product or service, while you might not comment, there is a chance that you will purchase.

]]> By: Sara http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-616 Sara Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:26:00 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-616 Like Jay, I'm a 50/50 blend--very active on some sites, less active on others based on who or what content is engaging me... There's nothing wrong with being a lurker...One of the great things about the Web is that you can learn about things--figure things out, without having to ask questions...I don't have to be a photographer to love photography--so why should I have to participate on Flickr when I I'm just there to get exposed to some cool stuff? Of course though, from a marketing POV, the mass population of lurkers present a pretty big challenge to user engagement...How do you turn a lurker into a participator? Like Jay, I’m a 50/50 blend–very active on some sites, less active on others based on who or what content is engaging me…

There’s nothing wrong with being a lurker…One of the great things about the Web is that you can learn about things–figure things out, without having to ask questions…I don’t have to be a photographer to love photography–so why should I have to participate on Flickr when I I’m just there to get exposed to some cool stuff?

Of course though, from a marketing POV, the mass population of lurkers present a pretty big challenge to user engagement…How do you turn a lurker into a participator?

]]> By: Cynthia Creelman http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-599 Cynthia Creelman Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:44:05 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-599 I have to say I'm mostly a loiterer too. However, like the others before me, I do contribute from time to time (so far this is my 2nd comment, and I have posted to this blog once). Unlike the common theory that most will contribute only if forced or paid, when I contribute, it's because I am personally moved to do so. On some level, I think a lot of people don't contribute because they don't believe they have anything to say that's of interest to others, or they're afraid to look stupid or be flamed. I know that's how I've felt in the past. But I'm trying hard to step out of my comfort zone as a loiterer and take that risk to participate a little more actively in this strange new world. I have to say I’m mostly a loiterer too. However, like the others before me, I do contribute from time to time (so far this is my 2nd comment, and I have posted to this blog once). Unlike the common theory that most will contribute only if forced or paid, when I contribute, it’s because I am personally moved to do so.

On some level, I think a lot of people don’t contribute because they don’t believe they have anything to say that’s of interest to others, or they’re afraid to look stupid or be flamed. I know that’s how I’ve felt in the past. But I’m trying hard to step out of my comfort zone as a loiterer and take that risk to participate a little more actively in this strange new world.

]]> By: Eric Primmer http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-597 Eric Primmer Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:00:42 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-597 Jay, If Claudia, Chris, and even you can cop to being Web 2.0 ‘lurkers’/ ’loiterers’ at least some of the time, then it’s only fair that I confess that sometimes I’m not-- this post being one such example. As to what motivates lurkers like me to contribute when we do, I think Claudia’s comment pins it down pretty well. “…The learners seemed to like to read them, but didn’t really want to contribute unless forced to.” Short of a truly compelling reason, such as a graded school assignment, a personal need, or an attractive reward such as money, the avid consumer/ reluctant contributor (the lurker) will be content to stay on the sidelines. To answer your question, I generally contribute to user-participation based sites only when I need to, or when it is made really easy. As a coder, I will post questions on a fairly regular basis to technical forums seeking answers to programming questions I have. If it’s not something I need, it better at least be really easy, right? Bookmarking sites like Digg and Delicious as well as some news sites like Newsvine make it easy for casual users to contribute to varying degrees through voting buttons and other tools that are quick and easy. I’m not likely to post an original story on Newsvine, but if I enjoyed a story I found there, I certainly have no problem “voting it up the vine” or even “seeding” a story I found somewhere else to Newsvine. That’s contributing, right? Alright, so I’m mostly still a lurker. Good luck Jay, in your attempts to go beyond the monolog. Even if the general statistical pattern holds true, the growing range of topics on the web is so vast that I think you’ll continue to see examples of lurkers who found their own compelling reason to step out of the shadows, even if just briefly. Jay,
If Claudia, Chris, and even you can cop to being Web 2.0 ‘lurkers’/ ’loiterers’ at least some of the time, then it’s only fair that I confess that sometimes I’m not– this post being one such example. As to what motivates lurkers like me to contribute when we do, I think Claudia’s comment pins it down pretty well.
“…The learners seemed to like to read them, but didn’t really want to contribute unless forced to.”
Short of a truly compelling reason, such as a graded school assignment, a personal need, or an attractive reward such as money, the avid consumer/ reluctant contributor (the lurker) will be content to stay on the sidelines. To answer your question, I generally contribute to user-participation based sites only when I need to, or when it is made really easy. As a coder, I will post questions on a fairly regular basis to technical forums seeking answers to programming questions I have.
If it’s not something I need, it better at least be really easy, right? Bookmarking sites like Digg and Delicious as well as some news sites like Newsvine make it easy for casual users to contribute to varying degrees through voting buttons and other tools that are quick and easy. I’m not likely to post an original story on Newsvine, but if I enjoyed a story I found there, I certainly have no problem “voting it up the vine” or even “seeding” a story I found somewhere else to Newsvine. That’s contributing, right? Alright, so I’m mostly still a lurker.
Good luck Jay, in your attempts to go beyond the monolog. Even if the general statistical pattern holds true, the growing range of topics on the web is so vast that I think you’ll continue to see examples of lurkers who found their own compelling reason to step out of the shadows, even if just briefly.

]]> By: Jay Ferrari http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-593 Jay Ferrari Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:23:51 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-593 Eric: Like a lot of folks, I suspect I'm a lurker on most sites, but an active participant on the handful of sites of genuine importance to me (professional interests, personal hobbies, etc.) My follow up question then: What, if anything, is to be done about this lurker-filled web world? Do we, as marketing pros, try to get more people involved with a specific site, or do we try to create more sites that cover the range of specific interests? Maybe both? Any thoughts on what's pushed you past lurker-dom in the past? Eric:
Like a lot of folks, I suspect I’m a lurker on most sites, but an active participant on the handful of sites of genuine importance to me (professional interests, personal hobbies, etc.)

My follow up question then: What, if anything, is to be done about this lurker-filled web world? Do we, as marketing pros, try to get more people involved with a specific site, or do we try to create more sites that cover the range of specific interests? Maybe both?

Any thoughts on what’s pushed you past lurker-dom in the past?

]]> By: Chris O'Leary http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-592 Chris O'Leary Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:43:19 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-592 Hmmm....a "lurker". No, I am not comfortable with that term and I usually take my cyber subculture lingo cues from William Gibson. I don't recall him using that to describe the wanderers of the matrix. The fact that we have to navigate should alone indicate the quest for knowledge and make us worthy of a less creepy label. I'd accept "loiterers"...maybe. Hmmm….a “lurker”. No, I am not comfortable with that term and I usually take my cyber subculture lingo cues from William Gibson. I don’t recall him using that to describe the wanderers of the matrix. The fact that we have to navigate should alone indicate the quest for knowledge and make us worthy of a less creepy label. I’d accept “loiterers”…maybe.

]]> By: Claudia http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-581 Claudia Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:54:01 +0000 http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/2007/04/23/who-lurks-there-you-do/#comment-581 OK, so this post shook me out of my blissfully lurking state. Since my friend, Marlies, pointed me to this blog, I've been enjoying it so much. You have turned me on to a lot of interesting stuff. I look forward to learning something new from you everyday. You always get me thinking. Thanks so much! In return, I'm inspired to comment about this lurking phenomenon. I remember it well from the days when I tried to use discussion boards as part of e-learning programs in order to get learners to reflect on and discuss topics with each other. The percentages were similar to what you showed here. One or two people would contribute content and everyone else would just read. We finally realized that to make these discussion boards succeed, we had to assign (sometimes pay)people to populate them. The learners seemed to like to read them, but didn't really want to contribute unless forced to. Sometimes, we did make contributions to the discussion boards a requirement--similar to passing a test. Recently, I noticed that Training Day blog (http://vnutravel.typepad.com/trainingday/) advertises a Blog and Win strategy. Every week, there's a contest to win a current book. If you enter a comment to the blog, you're automatically entered into the contest. That's motivation enough for me. OK, so this post shook me out of my blissfully lurking state. Since my friend, Marlies, pointed me to this blog, I’ve been enjoying it so much. You have turned me on to a lot of interesting stuff. I look forward to learning something new from you everyday. You always get me thinking. Thanks so much!

In return, I’m inspired to comment about this lurking phenomenon. I remember it well from the days when I tried to use discussion boards as part of e-learning programs in order to get learners to reflect on and discuss topics with each other. The percentages were similar to what you showed here. One or two people would contribute content and everyone else would just read. We finally realized that to make these discussion boards succeed, we had to assign (sometimes pay)people to populate them. The learners seemed to like to read them, but didn’t really want to contribute unless forced to.

Sometimes, we did make contributions to the discussion boards a requirement–similar to passing a test. Recently, I noticed that Training Day blog (http://vnutravel.typepad.com/trainingday/) advertises a Blog and Win strategy. Every week, there’s a contest to win a current book. If you enter a comment to the blog, you’re automatically entered into the contest. That’s motivation enough for me.

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