Virtual lurking
Gartner has coined the term Generation Virtual (Generation V) and it determines how marketing gurus can engage us in the online world. It is used to describe the blending of behavior, attitudes and interests in an online environment.
Source: Marketing Charts
I was just looking at the diagram and was trying to understand what can each quadrant bring to the table from a community perspective. If one is a contributor, creator or an opportunist, its all good, in some way or another, contribution is made. However, if one is a lurker (and I am guilty of being one in some communities), then what is the value of that? Would you want lurkers to hang around?
I would say yes but the proportion must be correct. Why? Obviously the best would be that everyone comes together to contribute and share, but in the real world it doesn’t happen that way. Some people really only wanna take stuff from people and not return a “favor”. However, as I said previously one of the reasons I write on a blog is to think through and express my ideas (whether if its right or not). Its a breeding ground of new knowledge and exploration with others. It would be the same in an online community, the more you share, the more you receive. Remember, what comes around goes around.
Incentives are important for your top contributors and they ensure the success of the community. Let lurkers do what they do.
Melissa Tan said,
Hi Sean – I like your blog! I think lurkers are definitely important and I don’t believe most of them only want to take… I think they are more likely to be lurkers due to lack of time or confidence.
Another way to look at it, is that lurkers are not only the majority, but also one of the primary consumers of content. The creators create content for lurkers.
If you’ve built up a true base of lurkers and do have a call to action – they may actually follow. As an example, a lot of people read joelonsoftware. And when he sponsored the Business of Software conference, I suspect a lot of the people who attended were passive followers of his blog.
Sean said,
Hi Melissa, I do agree with you totally. Not everyone just wanna take and if people do not contribute, there might be a million different reasons why they are not doing so and many of these might be out of the control of the community.
I believe that many people will contribute only when the “sun, moon and stars” are aligned.
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