It’s National Delurking Week, folks. It’s a lot of other offical weeks too, I’m sure, but this one is special. It’s one whole week where you, the unseen shy masses, are encouraged to come out in force and say, “Hello, world!”
What is a lurker? Generally, it’s the person who reads along on a board or in a journal, but doesn’t participate. This is the source of some angst for bloggers in particular, who are posting their thoughts and lives and find themselves wondering, Am I boring? Am I just entertainment fodder? Why are they reading but not posting? WhoooooareyouohnoIcan’tstandnotknowing etcetera.
I have to be honest, I am a lurker myself. I have been known to lurk in journals from time to time. I lurk all the time on Television Without Pity, where the posters are all so witty I have yet to come up with something I feel is brilliant enough to warrant my first post. It admittedly can be intimidating to jump in when everyone seems to know each other and say, “Hi!” It feels almost like plunking yourself down at the cheerleaders’ table in high school and interrupting their conversation. Being a bit shy, I was very reticent to do this at first, and to jump in online and start, um, talking. Or typing.
Five years ago, on another Site That Shall Not be Named, I finally bit the bullet and made my first post, and I am so glad I did. All the posters who were so intimidating and ‘famous’ on the board were kind and nice and welcoming, and in time they became my friends. In more time, I became one of those famous and intimidating posters simply by virtue of the fact that I had been there a long time. It’s kind of funny to me that someone would view me that way, and I am sure everyone else in that position feels the same way.
So I dare ya. Go on, post. Resolve to go into just one blog or journal and say, “hey!” Or, if you are someone who has been reading along on ConstantChatter and has yet to jump in and start posting, this is your golden opportunity. Please stop by and say hello, we’d love to have you. We don’t bite (mostly). And I promise you, 5 years after my first post and still going strong, it is SO MUCH MORE FUN this way!
Jesvet
Usability expert Jakob Nielsen recently wrote an article about lurkers. He said 90% of users are lurkers, 9% post occasionally, and 1% contribute almost all the content. He accused us 1% of having no life.