eekim.com: EEK Speaks

Thu, Feb 05, 2004

Are Lurkers Bad? #

At the OCSI meeting yesterday, DavidHartzband asked JohannesErnst how many people he expected to have on the online workspace. Johannes said that we should keep it small for now, adding, "Lurkers don't help us." (X5)

I'm probably being a bit unfair to Johannes in mentioning it here, but it got me thinking: (X6)

Do lurkers help? (X7)
Do lurkers hurt? (X8)

My answer to both: Sometimes. Lurkers are part of a group's latent energy; good things happen when that energy is activated. Lurkers are part of the all-important weak-tie network, and it's important to keep them engaged, even if engagement does not translate to participation. However, having lots of lurkers as a community goes through its nascent "sausage stage" can hurt if it drives lurkers and other potential participants away. (X9)

Here's another question: Are lurkers members of a community? This question is left as an exercise to the reader. (XA)

/collaboration | Posted at 1:58pm

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EEK Speaks

A blog about collaboration, community-building, and the various goings-on at Blue Oxen Associates, with occasional digressions on food and other vital matters.