The Online Participation Factor
Last week I posted my results of a 24 hour experiment I did on FriendFeed. The point was to try and get an idea of those following me on FriendFeed, who was participating. When I posted the results (even while doing the test) I wasn’t sure what I would learn or gain from it. There were some good discussions and questions that came from the results and I wanted to dive further in.
Is Participation Important?
Whether participating on a Social Network (such as FriendFeed, Twitter, or Flickr) or someone’s personal blog, the level at which you participate, or are expected to participate, is very different.
The Social Network
Social Networks are built and based on their social aspects. As a user, you are expected to participate at some level. I’m not going to dictate what level that should be (and no one should), but, some level of socialization is expected. However, there is always a spectrum of participators. Shey Smith had a great post on the different levels of participators on FriendFeed, but I feel he missed one outside circle: The Passive User (aka The Lurker).
Are passive users actually participating? I think so. They aren’t being social or contributing to the live conversation, but they are part of the spectrum of participators and should be acknowledged. My guess is at least 50% of lurkers participate outside of these social networks in one way or another; they talk about what they read with a friend or colleague or they think about what they read and integrate it into their lives.
But how do these lurkers help or improve a social network such as FriendFeed? They don’t (at least not directly). I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, everyone will get what they want out of their social network experience. I’m not telling you what you should or shouldn’t do, but, FriendFeed has particularly made it easy to get involved and show you are alive and kicking by simply using the LIKE link (and Flickr has the Fav button). You never have to type a single word or share a single thing, but at the very least, liking on FriendFeed (and faving on Flickr) provides the passive user the opportunity to actually help the network be more social. (On a side not, I think the “Like” link in FriendFeed should be changed to “Share the Love.”)
The Blog
Now, when reading someone’s blog, whether it is a personal blog or a big blog (such as TechCrunch), what is the expected level of participation? Is anything expected? I, personally, don’t think so. Everyone enjoys getting comments and comments show that you are engaging people, but is this engagement necessary in the blogoshere? Would blogs come to a halt if no one commented anymore? Would Robert Scoble stop sharing his incites and thoughts if the comments came to a halt and all social interaction went to FriendFeed or another social network?
I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I hope not. Blogging and the way users interact with blogs is changing. Social networks are here to provide us with an outlet to socialize, react, discuss, and ponder as a group. As a user, it is beneficial to you an the community to participate, even if it’s the simplest of ways. FriendFeed, as I mentioned, gives even passive users the ability to chime in with a simple “Like” and be on their way.
Is participation important to you? How are you participating?
Till next time…
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On FriendFeed, this post was liked by 11 people and commented on 10 times hide -
Is online participation important to you?
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Interesting points. People can participate on FF without anyone ever noticing. Participation is important to me and I try to do it in as many ways as possible, but I don't expect it to be important to everyone else.
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good post. Starting with blogs and then web2.0 the ammont of interaction has been increasing. FF is the forefront of this interaction wave that is connecting everyone on a micro-level.
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@Rasheen: I'm not trying to force or say that participation is going to be important to everyone. There will always be the passive users, just like there will always be the social butterflies. I'm just trying to encourage the passive users to try and participate a little more, with the LIKE (on FriendFeed) and the FAV (on Flickr) and whatever else is out there that makes it easy.
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Oh, but it gets a little discouraging when you try and contribute like crazy, but nobody notices you... Kind of like when you realize you're talking to yourself.
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That's exactly why I liked the article. You point out that people don't really have to step out of their comfort zone or put in much effort at all besides what may come natural in order to participate :)
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@Cheryl Allin: I believe Mark Trapp recently said in response to one of my post, "Participation is important, but I think it's more of an art rather than a science to getting your audience engaged." My advise is, contribute because you want to contribute, not because you want a reaction.
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Justin, I know how Cheryl feels. I have seen posts (from myself and others) that I find quite interesting and see little or no comment or interaction from others, and then there are the posts from people saying they just had french toast for breakfast that end up generating an 8 hour conversation. It can get a little discouraging to try to contribute when you see this occurring.
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@Jeff Henderson: I totally agree, it can get discouraging, overwhelming and annoying. I don't have any good advice (at this point) for this.
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I do want to make it clear, in this post, I am not talking about participating in the form of posting your own content, I am talking specifically about participating in what already has been contributed. I think there is a big difference and that they are two separate topics.
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