Participation is a HUGE part of the online social world. If no one participated social media would not exist – this is most blatantly obvious when it comes to things like reviews and forums.
Personally I find myself often lurking without contributing (which makes me the same as what is thought to be about 90% of people online – http://www.nngroup.com/articles/participation-inequality/). However, when I am given the option to “Like” something I’ve noticed I contribute consistently through expressing my approval (or disapproval) without words. More infrequently, I can be found as a contributor on topical forums. However, although I may remain a consistent contributor for a few months I often find myself becoming taxed by the constant stimulus and pressure to respond and will disappear like a teenage runaway in the night – cutting ties to everyone and everything on the forum. On certain forums I may reappear again, but this is rare and it may only happen after months of absence.
In my work as an information profession I’ve found that when it’s part of a job or a project I actually really enjoy communicating with others and the intimacy of remaining in close contact. It’s primarily when it comes to my personal use of social media that I become wrapped too tightly in the online social world for my own comfort.
I respect the lurking. I find that the majority of the time, if I’m not passionate about something, I don’t see the point in my officially weighing in. I agree, that I may “like” something, but sometimes I fee like my input doesn’t add anything.
I like your opening observation that social media cannot run on lurkers alone. I know there are people on Tumblr who complain about users who only Reblog: if everyone only Reblogged, there would be nothing to Reblog. (Kant would be displeased.) Personally, as a content creator, I don’t mind lurkers at all–though maybe likers would be a better term, to distinguish those who Like from those who don’t? Anyway, if there are lurkers, I can tell myself I have a larger audience than I probably do, and so I create more.
HI Christian! Yes, we are out there reading and reading! Please create more. Many times I find myself “liking” things because someone else has already said what I wanted to say but in a better way so I feel I am expressing my “I second this statement” or I really appreciate a viewpoint someone has or something someone has created.
It sounds like tumblr may have a similar problem to pinterest – things get reblogged/repinned so often that the same things tend to show up over and over again and new content gets sadly pushed to the wayside.
I know I’m a little late to the draw here but I’ve been lurking (ha!) and felt like I should leave a comment. I actually don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation, really, except to say that I’m almost always a lurker. The only time I really feel the desire to comment is when I feel the need to correct. I just prefer to let everyone go along with their business — unless they’re wrong –t hen they need to hear about it!