Lurking and Delurking

I'm a lurker. And so, most likely, are you ... if you're like the vast majority of online users.

You hang out in the background on discussion lists, forums or social networking sites, observing and picking up useful information. Please don't be embarrassed. There's nothing really terrible about it.

Although the word "lurker" may conjure up an image of a mysterious, perhaps nefarious, someone or something peering out of a dark alleyway, in the online world the word has a very benign meaning. Among Web users, lurking simply means "watching without participating." However, because online lurkers are invisible, through no fault of their own, they have been tagged with this unfortunate label.

Research shows that 90% of online users are lurkers. The remaining 10% fall into one of two camps: those who chime in from time to time (9%) and those who seem to live online (1%). Those prolific 1%ers often eventually become the face of their online communities, the unofficial hosts and hostesses who answer all posts with a comment.

Although lurking may be associated with time constraints, unfamiliarity with an online community or a retiring personality, lurkers should not allow themselves to fall into a lurking rut. They need to "delurkify." They need to realize that sharing experiences, opinions and general ruminations creates community, builds a knowledge base and helps people (like you) get questions answered.

So, say you're a lurker and you're finally ready to join the discussion. There are two things you can do to ensure a warm welcome from the community: introduce yourself and identify yourself as a lurker.

Yes, according to those who study these things, you can earn social capital by introducing yourself as a lurker in your first email. You might even say how long you've been lurking. For bouncing into the discussion with nary a word about who you are can be startling. You don't want to be abrupt. You want to show respect. You know the community from reading their posts, but they don't know you. A sentence or two of introduction with a phrase about your lurking — something like this, for example, "I've been watching this discussion for a while" or "I've been a lurker here" — will do wonders. Mentioning any other pertinent information, such as whether you are a parent, grandparent, student, teacher or principal, will also increase your chances of having your question answered or your comment acknowledged.

Now you know how to "delurkify" yourself, just in case you need it.

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