Lessons from a Reformed Lurker
Ok I admit it… I was an Internet lurker. By this, I mean that I was one of those people who read discussions on forums and message boards but never participated. As someone who now enjoys making a contribution on the Internet, I thought I would take a look at some lessons I have learnt.
Firstly, was there anything wrong with being a lurker? My former lurking could best be described as benign (see the Wikipedia lurker page). That is, my lack of motivation to contribute can probably be explained by feeling uncomfortable expressing my thoughts online accompanied with a touch of laziness. I was certainly never a smart-ass or perverted lurker. So in this sense, my lurking never impacted negatively upon anyone else. That said, I have learnt the following:
Lesson 1: Lurking Reflects an Mindset of Taking Without Giving
I have come to see though that lurking is reflective of a certain mindset. This is a mindset of taking without giving anything in return. Just imagine if everyone on the Internet had this attitude. There would be no content as no one would be contributing anything! The Internet is what it is today because many people feel the desire to contribute, whether it be a big way (creating a popular site) or a small way (simply leaving a comment of appreciation after an informative or enjoyable post).
Lesson 2: You Gain a Greater Understanding of a Topic When You Write About It
I enjoy reading others’ posts and responses to them because I come into contact with new ideas, different viewpoints and personal experiences. I find that I get the most value from these when I write a response because the process of writing makes me fully reflect on my own ideas, viewpoint and personal experience.
Lesson 3: Synergy is a Great Thing
What I often find when reading forums or blogs is that the thread or comments can take on a life of their own. You never quite know where an active discussion between people from different countries, cultures, political leanings, etc may end up! Every so often I come across a thread or comments on a blog that reflect the idea of synergy. That is, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. The individual contributions of a number of people create a greater understanding for the whole group.
Learn how I found happiness and meaning and how you can too. Get your FREE copy of my e-book by signing up.
9 Comments
December 4th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
[...] own blog, what can I do to promote discussion? I recommend starting with Peter’s article on getting involved in online discussions. Peter is my hero when he showed me (indirectly) that replying to comments, either on mine or his [...]
April 18th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Hi Peter,
Thanks for this post, it’s the post that pushed me into starting my own blog at beplayful.org.
David
[Reply]
April 18th, 2008 at 6:59 am
[...] 4. Contributing is better than lurking [...]
August 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I used to be like that, always reading the content and don’t participate at all. A couple of months ago I realized that it would be more fun to write a comment more often.
The advantage of this is, that I get in contact with other bloggers, which taught me lot over the last months.
You have a great blog, keep up the good work!
Thanks
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I really need to stop lurking. And to do that, I’m going to start with a simple act… I’ll leave you a comment to show my appreciation. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and for helping, and inspire others to have a better outlook on life.
[Reply]
October 21st, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Never thought of reading content and never responding as a negative. The idea that it is our responsibility to post comments,( the give and take of it) is one of those great ideas that make so much sense. Thanks for a great site and good info ; )
[Reply]
November 5th, 2008 at 9:56 am
“HI, My name Is Cameron, I am a lurker….”
Brilliant post! Thanks for snapping me out of my long and drawn out stage of “silent think”.
[Reply]
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
[...] 4. Contributing is better than lurking [...]
February 20th, 2009 at 4:57 am
Hi Peter,
Just to stop my lurking attitude and since I am reading your inspiring ebook and getting a lot of valuable ideas, I just want to let you know that some links are broken like the link in the ebook pp 6
http://www.thechangeblog.com/2.....e-my-life/
will not work while
http://www.thechangeblog.com/change-my-life/
works, the same applies for the links in the change-my -life article.
so I did get the links right but I thought I let you know .
Thanks for this site
[Reply]
Share your thoughts, leave a comment!