Let’s take an honest look at ourselves with a little test. Don’t worry, it’s not a hard test and your honest answers will help you diagnose whether you are in fact a lurker (check out this confession from a real, live Lurker, Virginia Heffernan of the NY Times). Ready? Let’s begin:
- Do you have an account on a social media platform (Facebook, Linkedin, Connected, etc.)?
- Do you log in at least 1-time per week?
- Do you comment on anyone of your friend’s profiles?
- Do you hit the “like” or “thumbs up” icon to indicate when you like something someone else has posted?
- Do you post Twitter or other micro-updates?
- Do you ever submitted customer feedback on a comment thread or rated a product?
- Do you share photos on sites like Flickr or Snapfish? If so, are they private or public?
- Do you blog? Do you comment on blogs?
- Do you do any social bookmarking like Delicious or Digg?
- Do you like to hide at home under a blanket with the lights off so no one will see you?
Okay, that last question was a joke, and this list isn’t really exclusive nor representative of what makes or breaks a lurker. What it is intended to show are different online behaviors that foster engagement. That’s a big word that we’ll want to remember: ENGAGEMENT. It’s what this project of looking at the behaviors of lurkers is all about. By looking at the world of online behavior, which I think is more measurable than real world behaviors if we can only develop the right analytical structure and metrics (stay tuned for this), perhaps we can better understand how to nurture engagement both in others and ourselves. The implications here are staggering for human relationships and particularly for businesses looking to create better relationships with customers.
Think about it: understanding and have tactics for stimulating greater engagement in ourselves and others means that people will get up off the couch and take some action. If it is your husband, that means he will be driven to get up and do the dishes on Sunday, even during football season because you have found a way to engage his interests. If it is your customer, that means she will be driven to speak up about your products, tell her friends, and buy more of them herself. If it is you, that means you will be driven to speak up when you like something, and more importantly, to speak up when you want to change something. The tactics we will discover here have broad application, and I think they can change the world.
What actions do you take to engage others? How can businesses better engage their customers? Is it even worth the effort?
Related articles
- Lurkers Anonymous: The Unseen Masses Online (mymedialabs.com)
- Engage Your Online Community the Pink Floyd and Foo Fighters Way (mymedialabs.com)
