From lurking to posting - a community participation framework

Are lurkers beneficial or detrimental to a community? Does it make sense to try to convert lurkers into participants or is it just a waste of time and of ressources that would be better allocated e.g. in taking care of new members? Opinions are divided and like in so many cases the answer to both questions is: It depends. Interventions targeted at delurking aren't outright useless. But it seems, that much can already be achieved by setting the right framework for participation.

Can Community Management Influence Lurking Behavior?

Most online communities have lurkers. Lurkers are users on the fringe of a community—they observe what happens, but don’t interact, post, or contribute. Most CMs have likely wondered how they can turn lurkers into regular contributors. There’s some academic research that dives into this topic. (continue reading on: The Community Manager)

Can Blogs Be Virtual Communities?

To answer this question, Anita Blanchard examined a very active blog, the Julie/Julia Project which followed the blog author, Julie Powell, as she cooked her way through Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. During its one year existence, the Julie/Julia Project had regular updates on most weekdays and also on many weekends. It was a very popular blog with hundreds and then thousands of daily hits. There were frequent comments by readers. Julie would sometimes respond to the comments; other commenters would also respond to each others' comments.