Are You A Blog Lurker?

Blogging, Thinky November 12, 2009 31 Comments @niallharbison

Blogging Lurking Are you a lurker? Do you read this blog often but never leave a comment? Don’t worry it is not a bad thing as research shows that up to 90% of people who spend their time online never engage with the community and simply digest information. I started thinking about this recently when a couple of people starting talking to me about my posts in great detail in real life at events and I got this lovely link from a chap who had clearly been following me for a year but who I had never known had existed until a week ago. It’s like I have had a friend for a year without even realizing it.

This blog has over 1000 readers a day yet in my own head I only think it has about 10 or 12, the people who are active in the comments and who talk to me on Twitter or our Facebook page. I never think about the people who just stop by and read but don’t leave comments. Anybody who has a website or blog will have these lurkers (it sounds like a derogatory word doesn’t it?). Without lurkers none of our blogs or websites would have much traffic at all yet in this new uber connected world I know precious little about the people who know every single thing about me and what I do. I’m not giving out as I am a blogger, this is what I do and I am just grateful that people find this place interesting enough to stop by for a read every day.

I guess these are the same sentiments a journalist or author would feel every day but in this new digital age I think the connection between author and reader could maybe be greater? Maybe I am wrong? Maybe people just want to lurk and have no interest in interacting with me? Maybe I am being greedy?

I’d love people who do read this blog to maybe say hello in the comments today. Introduce yourself as it were. You don’t have to use your real name if you don’t want to, just make something up. Where are you from? Link up to your day job website, your blog, your Facebook or your Twitter. Whatever you are comfortable with sharing. Or email me and say hi here

I’m genuienly interested in seeing what you all do and where you all come from. Stop lurking and say hi

Comments

http://iampaddy.com Paddy

I would say I’m a bit of a lurker around this and most sites on the web then. I follow hundreds of blogs religiously but there’s simply no time to comment on every single post. To be honest, the majority of posts I just scan through and move on as I have a million other things to see/do. I do leave comments when I feel I need to have a say. I suppose you could compare it to reading a newspaper and sending a letter to the editor? Even though it’s far easier to just fill in a few fields on a blog, it still takes considerable effort to comment often. It’s just a time issue I feel rather than people not wanting to interact.

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Sure I had lunch with you a couple of months ago, you are hardly a lurker here! Like the analogy of the letters to the editor though

http://www.dirtykitchensecrets.com Bethany Kehdy

I feel the same exact way. I don’t think you’re being greedy. Naturally you want your readers to engage and give feedback. It’s very valuable. They tell you if you’re heading in the right direction & it’s nice to be appreciated and not feel like you’re talking to a brick wall. I always think, when someone does not comment it’s my fault; I did not engage them too well. I’ve stumbled across to your blog a week ago- and I’ve not just been lurking

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Glad you found the blog Bethany and hope you are enjoying it See now I can see by clicking through to your site that you are a big foodie like myself and I’ll email you later today about a couple of foodie things I do which may be of interest. That’s the beauty of blogging…that I can make some great connections with people all over the world simply by writing some content or making the odd video

http://curlydena.com Dena Walker

Surely people will be compelled to leave a comment if the content resonates or jars with them enough? Asking for comments feels strange to me I have to be honest. Let the work speak for itself I say.

Maybe tweak the design of the site to encourage comments more strongly instead?

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

I was concious that people would think that when writing this post but to be honest my motives were around meeting the 90% of people who hang around here and I have no idea who they are. Happy with the amount of comments we get here already and not worried if people prefer to lurk in the future but getting that link from the chap saying he had been watching for a year was a real eye opener for me. I was like “wow” somebody has been watching my life for over a year and I had no idea. Kinda obvious when you think about it but surprised me. Hopefully the relationships I make through this blog will run deeper than getting a few extra comments on a blog post (see the comment above from Bethany for example, I’ll email her this afternoon and start talking about food and perhaps doing some stuff with Lookandtaste and foodandfizz. I just wanna meet more readers I guess
http://curlydena.com Dena Walker

Why not put some thing on the home or “About Us” pages asking people to stop by & say hi? If you want to meet people – give them an opportunity to do so. Commenting on blog posts is intimidating for people at first – especially as they’ve been known to blow up into full-on arguments (not specifically here, but in general).

You’re advocates of engagement and interaction which of course is to be commended – but make it easier for people to do by creating a specific area for it. This will encourage interaction & ultimately make people more comfortable with commenting on specific posts
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Yeah its a good point because I have already had 7 really nice emails from people introducing themselves in great detail. People like me and you take it as a given that we will comment on blogs etc but for the vast majority of people it is just something alien that they are not comfortable with. Have my thinking cap on for some sort of intro area, just how it would be designed and work is what I’d need to figure out

http://lifescience.ie/ Brian Christensen

I would classify myself as lurker-ish although I’m an FB fan and Twitter follower. Great blog, finally got around to watching some of the vids yesterday also.
Here are some links from me:
My LinkedIn: http://ie.linkedin.com/in/brianhc
Company FB fan page: http://www.facebook.com/sciencejobs
TWTR: http://twitter.com/sciencejobs
Our main company website: http://lifescience.ie/
Company blog: http://lifescience.ie/blog/

And although I agree with Dena, I can understand your frustrations – it would be nice for people to say hello in a more visible manner regularly. Ultimately greater interaction can only be a good thing.

Keep up the good work!
Brian

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Brian I wouldn’t class you a lurker at all, talked to you plenty on Twitter before It’s not that I am frustrated because this is just how the internet works but I always just wonder who is out there I guess I am just a noisy sort of guy, I’d be the same out and about playing football or in the pub in that I always want to meet loads of people

Leo Fogarty

I’ve been a lurker for ages both on the blog and on Twitter. But I guess it’s a bit like real life, there’s a load of social groups of friends or aquaintances that I’m aware off and keep tabs on but o wouldn’t always converse with them. Blogs are a bit different where as you’ll usually only comment if you have something to contribute on topic, sometimes somebody has expressed your opinions in a comment before you. On Twitter you can have a full blown conversation and it doesn’t have to be on topic

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

See you are a classic example Leo, I always see you on Twitter but had no idea whatsoever that you would be stopping by here to read the blog! Glad to have you

http://www.midpointcreative.com steven

Hi Niall,
Good post. I have been reading this blog for about a month or so (after seeing a few of Laurens tweets). I must come out of the closet as a bit of of a lurker but I am trying to kick the habit and actually comment on a few posts. I am looking to start making a proper effort on a blog for work and these are only really of value when people/readers are engaging with you. I can’t really get upset by not getting comments on mine if I don’t bother to participate in others. Karma and all that…
I must say though that the way both you and Lauren respond to individual comments in fairly real time is refreshing and would encourage me to comment more…
Cheers
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Glad to hear you are enjoyng it Steven. We are able to reply to comments in real time because it is part of our job but that would probably be unrealistic for most people TBH. It probably does generate more comments though if people know that they are going to get a reply but the flipside is that people expect it then so if you stop doing it then you risk annoying readers, it is an on going job as it were Welcome to the blog BTW
http://farmersimonk.wordpress.com/ Simon Kenny

I suppose I’m a lurker then. I am very interested in the blog posts and for the most part don’t need to engage a response as the content is easily digested.I promise to say thank you in future.Thank you!

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Hi Simon and don’t worry I am not after thanks at all although nice to get! I just wanted to meet some people. You leaving a comment proves what I was thinking as I had literally no idea that a farmer would be reading this blog! Albeit a trendy blogging farmer but still a farmer

http://kevindowling.ie Kevin Dowling

I lurk quite a bit, mainly thanks to RSS feeds and readers which let me read content without ever visiting the site.

My own blog gets roughly the same numbers per day as yours and I get very few comments. Likewise, shoryuken.ie (the games site I admin) gets thousands upon thousands, more and more people every single week. Consistent growth since launching in the summer – yet the same few people comment on the articles!

It’s nice to have readers, but it’s much nicer to get feedback on articles/posts, but it’s developing a community around “yet another blog” that’s proving to be the biggest challenge right now, not the usual “SEO” problem (which is quite easy tbh!)…
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Yeah the SEO can only really get you so far, although it sounds as if you are doing great. I think it is when the community starts to build that you get to take the blog to the next level to be honest. It is a very tricky thing to do though, takes a lot of patience and persistence. Years I would say. I don’t think it will ever really change with the same smallish group of people leaving comments as you see that with the bigger blogs as well. It is just like real life in that some people are vocal and most just like sitting on the sidelines taking it all in
http://www.grabradioworld.com Eileen

My name is Eileen and I am a lurker! My lurking started on niallh.com and merged to simply zesty. There’s interesting posts here, keep up the great work!

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

See this is exactly what I was talking about Eileen! I have been looking for a good music solution for my iPhone as I can’t get spotify and downloaded some rubbish radio stations but now I am going to go and give your one a go! Hehe funny that you have been around since the NiallH days Glad to have you!

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Good man

http://MetaSpring.com Case Ernsting

I really liked this post and the encouragement to comment (not only on this blog, but across the web). It wasn’t until I started working with my current employer (www.MetaSpring.com) that I understood how vital comments are in the blog process, both as a writer and reader.

As a blog writer, I love reading comments that continue the conversation and build familiarity. As a reader, being urged to comment (by my SEO boss) has stimulated my thinking beyond the traditional “Read the content, move on” model. I highly encourage everyone to try to comment on at least one blog a day (questions, remarks, stories, whatever). Your online relationships will improve and your online citizenship will increase. Win, win for everyone!

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Yeah good points here because most people have heard that they should comment but too often they just run out and comment on random blogs. The key is to start commenting on a group of blogs and building relationships with as many bloggers as possible and creating friendships, that is where the real value will come from!

http://click2engage.wordpress.com Sabina Piter

Do I lurk?, you ask… Do I ever!
Funny you should write this post though! I was just thinking today that when I found you guys I commented on several posts, whether here or on FB, and then I thought… maybe it’s too much, I don’t want to exaggerate either. So then I’ve lurked around here for a while (taking it all in, I might add)

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Ah there is no such thing as commenting too much. I spend a lot of time on about 5 or 6 blogs and always comment on them as I feel part of the community and often see the same people commenting with me on a regular basis. The comments can often be as good as the blog post itself with people having different/better opinions than the author themself!

Pauline Sargent

Hi, I’m a newbie to social media and would be guilty of lurking rather than leaving comments, even though as I’m reading articles I am making mental observations. So as of today bigger effort shall be made and comments left if I have been informed, entertained or challenged. Thank you

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Ah you don’t have to leave comments to get the best out of something you are reading. I also read tons of stuff every day and never leave a comment on it. I just wanted to meet some of the people that hang around here!

http://blog.productful.com/post/2009/11/09/Identity-theft-why-we-must-be-vigilent.aspx Joe Haugh

Niall,

I like this article, as I think it is important to talk as to why people do interact online, and why they don’t. I started blogging more recently, and I really enjoy it, but I also enjoy reading other people’s blogs as I learn information from it, and as is the case in this posting, hear other people’s views on certain topics. My experience to date has been not everybody is into blogging and commenting, some people do like it, and others find the whole process too impersonal. Personally it is a way to get your point out there and communicate what you are trying to do. In some instances by contributing to other people’s postings, they will review your blog if you have one.

Hope you found my contribution of interest.

Joe
http://supahypasonic.tumblr.com Benji

I donâ€™t lurk. But back in around 2001 I used to lurk this one Sonic the Hedgehog message board.. The internet was new back then, and I didnâ€™t really understand how everyone on the message board was just so friendly to each other, I wanted to join in and talk with them about Sonic and be friends with them and have fun posting to their replies, but I basically didnâ€™t know how to start or how to join in. So I just stuck around the board reading everything without ever contributing. Now itâ€™s 10 years later and Iâ€™ve realized a long time ago that there was no reason for that. haha.
Sauguste

Hello. Just found this blog after searching google for, “Why do people lurk?” Thanks for the post.

Are You A Blog Lurker?

Tags

Other Posts You May Like

5 Brilliantly Creative Uses Of Tumblr

Are Big Tech Blogs Just Turning In To Content Farms?

How To Get 1000 Blog Subscribers Within 3 Months

The Obsession With Tumblr – Charting Spectacular Growth

Comments