Hello!!! *waving* (side eye)
A fellow blogger and I were venting earlier about the highs and lows of blogging. I had very few lows to vent about because for me blogging is a hobby so I enjoy it. For her its like a thorn in her side because she has about 100, 000 more followers than I do. For me blogging is therapy and ways to share info with friends and fam. For her she is constantly wondering what content is relevant and appropriate for her huge audience of followers.
One thing we both have in common is, dare I say it...LURKERS!!! Oh Em Gee!! For those of you who don't know what a lurker is...lemme dumb it down for you. Its the people who frequent your blog, profile, online journal or whatever simply just to read what you say and BOUNCE!! They don't click "like" or "recommend" they just read your every word and look at your content from the sidelines and roll out. Some lurkers frequent your blog more often than those who actually comment.
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User participation often more or less follows a 90-9-1 rule:
90% of users are lurkers (i.e., read or observe, but don't contribute).
9% of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time.
1% of users participate a lot and account for most contributions: it can seem as if they don't have lives because they often post just minutes after whatever event they're commenting on occurs.
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One of my homies was bragging to the crew how much she loved my blog but I had to stop her to say, "you read my blog???" she was like...yeah girl, I follow you on Google Reader!! I was like oh heck naw, NOT YOU TOO! To me Google Reader is just a fancy way of lurking. Half the time the writer of the blog has no idea that you are even following them. After giving her blues about not supporting my "movement" she now follows me on twitter!! LOL!! She is probably lurking right now so, "Hey K.W"!!!
We are all guilty of "browsing" the net...I am a reformed lurker, to me lurking was wack because I wanted to add my two cents in the comments! If the website is interesting enough for me to read on a daily basis why not just "JOIN" or "FOLLOW"???
If I am all up on your site you are gonna know I've been there. I won't comment on every blog post or entry because I can't always co-sign or relate but I will contribute here and there. If you don't see me pop up every once in a while then I'm not lurking!! Being nosey 24/7- 365 is not a good look!
I know certain people are shy and don't have much to say...I get that, I'm not talking to the introverted people. I have shy anti-social moments myself but C'Mon Son!! Come out of hiding...I added a hit counter a month ago and so far almost 9,000 hits so I know yall are looking and watching!! I have some who write me on
michelle@curvyecocentric.com to add comments and I thank you for showing love!!
A year or so ago one of my favorite bloggers shut down her blog because she felt like she was talking to herself...I really miss her contribution to the world wide web...she was so positive and refreshing but like so many before her she stopped blogging because she didn't feel the support from the community of people who "followed" her.
Bloggers do alot of research and preparation to offer us information, insight and their perspectives. At least you can "like" something every once in a while. SHeeSH!!
For those of you who offer a comment or a retweet I THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Your feedback is priceless. I love blogging so you can join me for the ride if you wish..but yall need to stop lurking so much and come out of hiding. If you are reading this then you are on this site for a reason. I don't bite!! LOL!
Support your local blog TODAY!! <--- super cheesey, I know!! LOL!