Comments on: Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities

By: Community Lurkers « UniFace 2nd Gen

Community Lurkers « UniFace 2nd Gen — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 06:18:56 +0000

[...] Francois (2010). Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities. Emergence Marketing. Retrieved from http://www.emergencemarketing.com/2010/02/18/active-lurkers-the-hidden-asset-in-online-communities/ [...]

By: How Do Lurkers Lurk? | One of a Kind in a Full House

How Do Lurkers Lurk? | One of a Kind in a Full House — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:32:47 +0000

[...] Gossieaux, F. (2010, February 18). Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities. Emergence Marketing. Retrieved from; http://www.emergencemarketing.com/2010/02/18/active-lurkers-the-hidden-asset-in-online-communities/. [...]

By: Educon’ish’ | EdTechTrek

Educon’ish’ | EdTechTrek — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:56:43 +0000

[...] the “Delicious” effect. By all means enter these new learning spaces as an “active lurker“, for there is much to be gained by simply listening to conversations and re-sharing of [...]

By: What Most Online Metrics Won’t Show You

What Most Online Metrics Won’t Show You — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:54:53 +0000

[...] estimates conclude 1% of community members contribute content. I believe this percentage is higher when we think of sharing links and other social behaviors, but [...]

By: pligg.com

pligg.com — Wed, 19 May 2010 08:23:17 +0000

Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities…

Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities…

By: Broad-Seeding, Dilution and the business I am in « Marenated

Broad-Seeding, Dilution and the business I am in « Marenated — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:00:14 +0000

[...] much time trying to make sure that I touch the “movers and shakers” in our space that I forgot about all the lurkers and people we have yet to make an impact on. Trust me, there are a lot of them. Shame on [...]

By: References on Lurking | Full Circle Associates

References on Lurking | Full Circle Associates — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:58:52 +0000

[...] Francois Gossieaux- Active Lurking [...]

By: francois

francois — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:23:23 +0000

Hi Tom — thanks for your thoughtful comment. I love how you are segmenting lurkers and was wondering if that information was public or not.
Let me know — francois

By: How Communities Work Part II « A Human Voice

How Communities Work Part II « A Human Voice — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:47:20 +0000

[...] How Communities Work Part II Another interesting post from Francois Gossieaux over at Emergence Marketing – Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities [...]

By: Tom O'Brien

Tom O'Brien — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:35:58 +0000

Francois:

Another interesting post. We have done a lot of community participation analysis, and found some similar dynamics.

I’d like to add a couple of points.

1. The degree of lurking (read to post ratio is one easy way to look at it) has a very wide range depending on the community type. It can range from 100:1 (automotive communities) all the way up to 1,000:1 (financial services) depending on the type of community.

2. We have done segmentation of data by community participation roles (Mavens, Participants, Advocates & Newbies). Each of these roles has very different participation motivations, issues, motivations, drivers and questions. Understanding the details of each segment is critical if you want to engage with theg community in a positive way.

3. Many (or even most) vibrant communities are not company or brand owned, but rather owned by their own mavens. See http://www.howardforums.com for cellphones or http://www.priuschat.com for cars. Brands can support and participate in these communities, but they are well advised to understand the community motivations first.

In general the results of the MIT study are interesting and useful, but I would want to understand the particulars of a given community before engaging, because individual community dynamics, motivations and characteristics vary widely.

Tom O’Brien
MotiveQuest LLC
@tomob