We moved into a new modern flat a few months ago with lovely views of the harbour and ocean. All I could think about is what we could see. “Oh, look from this window and this one and the deck…” What I hadn’t thought about was windows work both ways. So one day when I was walking home, I looked up and noticed my son’s bed was unmade and he had toys all over the floor. It took a second before I realised that if I could see this from the road, then so could all of the hundreds of people who walk and drive by our flat everyday.
Now, I am thinking that blogging may be similar. I love reading good blog posts. “Oh, look at this one and that. Did you read the one about…? Let me send you a link” So when I created this blog all I could think about is all of the great views I could see. But of course, this blog like most are public so every word I write can be seen by anyone passing by. Not just by the friends and commenters who I know about, but also the unknown lurkers who happen upon it.
The funny thing is you get used to it. I didn’t start closing the curtains when I realised that everyone could see in. I didn’t even start cleaning. I just decided that it comes with the territory. If I want to look out, it means that others can look in. So with blogging I am not going to close access and change my writing. In fact, I welcome the casual readers. Hope you are enjoying it, dirty laundry and all…
The term lurking is so loaded and associated with the negative connotations of doing something illicit or creepy, that it is hard to get past the word and think about who does it and why. Back in the pre-blog days of CMC, Lee-Ellen Marvin wrote a popular article, Spoof, Spam, Lurk and Lag: the Aesthetics of Text-based Virtual Realities, which introduced lurking behaviour in MOOs.
Those who watch the screen but refrain from participating, becoming invisible, as it were, by having no presence. (Marvin, 1995)
In those early days of lurking, there was definitely the sense that people were hanging about in semi-private spaces, not wanting their presence detected, but I think lurking has evolved and has a different meaning in the blogging community.
I have been lurking blogs for a few years now and with motives no more sinister than enjoying the posts, but not feeling particularly compelled to comment. Much more along the lines of Giuseppe Riva’s, The Sociocognitive Psychology of Computer-Mediated Communication: The Present and Future of Technology-Based Interactions.
The motivations for this behavior are varied: having nothing to say, feeling “outclassed” by scholars who post frequently, or simply enjoying the exchange as a passive reader. Moreover, the use of lurking is a good strategy for getting a sense of what is acceptable in a new environment. (Riva, 2002)
So now I am interested, not as a reader, but as a blogger. What are lurkers looking for in a blog (my blog)? What’s in it for them? And if lurking is seen as a lesser from of blog participation, should we (I) be trying to encourage lurkers to comment? Is lurking really comment-challenged or just a different form a participation, one with it’s own benefits?
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