Website Builders.com

  • Home
  • Builder Reviews
        • Our team have carefully reviewed a selection of premium website building platform, making it easier for you to choose the right one.

          While most website builders are compatible for generic  website building, including online stores, blogs and generic websites, some are better than others depending on what your website type.

        • Website Builder Reviews

          GoDaddy

          IM Creator

          Jimdo

          Squarespace

          Voog

          Weebly

          Wix

          WordPress

        • Store Builder Reviews

          BigCommerce

          GoDaddy Store

          Shopify

          Weebly

          Wix

          Yola

        • Comparisons

          Wix vs. Weebly

          Shopify vs. BigCommerce

  • Start A Blog
  • How To Guides
        • With over 500 pages of detailed tutorials and guides, our guides cover a large chunk of online topics.

          Learn crafty tips and tricks to make your time online smooth. Our directory is useful for internet newbies, as well as aspiring website builders.

          Check out the full directory.

        • Building a Website

          How To Build a Website

          Name Your Website – Domain

          Picking a Web Hosting Service

          Content and User Experience

          More

        • Searching and Research

          Searching the Web

          Doing Research Online

          The World of Wiki

          Finding Videos Online

          More

        • E-mails – Basics and Advanced

          Getting Started

          Sending an E-mail Message

          Opening Attachments

          Sending Attachments

          More

        • Social Media & Communication

          Instant Messaging

          Online Networking

          Facebook

          LinkedIn

          More

        • Files, Downloads, Software & Installs

          File Formats and Extensions

          Install Plug-Ins

          How to Download Files

          Downloading Software

          More

        • Making Money Online

          Making Money with Facebook

          Affiliate Marketing

          Virtual Assistant

          Writing Articles

          More

        • Online Shopping

          10 Tips for Smart and Safe Shopping

          Smart Shopping

          Protecting Personal Information

          Looking for Discounts

          More

  • Website Builder Tools Your Business Can’t Do Without (+ Links To Useful Resources)
    • HTML Character Codes
    • Advertiser Tracking Cookies: There ARE Ways To Opt Out – Here’s How
    • Website Glossary
  • Our Blog
        • Recent Posts

          When you have awesome writers, it is easy to spread wisdom. Take a look at some of our recent posts on various internet and website related topics.

          Have any suggestions on topics? Don’t hold back, send us your ideas:

          [email protected]

        • 12 Simple Rules on How to Use E-mail Politely

          Live Chat Software: Is it Worth It? Facebook Says Yes.

          Algorithmic Warfare: Is it the Beginning or the End?

          How to Promote Your Pet Business Online

          DIY Marketing: 7 Steps for any Business Owner

        • 20 Ideas to Generate Your First Online Sale

          Complete Guide to Content Marketing

          8 Best Free Photo Editors for Product Photosraphy

          Press Kits: DIY to Free Media Hype

          Why Backlinks are Essential for SEO – How To Build Them

  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • How Did You Make This Site?
    • How the Website Is Funded
    • Our Team
You are here: Home / The Complete List Of How-To Tutorials For Internet Dummies / The Interactive Glossary: Defining the Net / Lurker Definition | The Interactive Glossary

Lurker Definition | The Interactive Glossary

Disclosure: Your support helps keep the site running! We earn a referral fee for some of the services we recommend on this page. Learn more

Contents

  • 1 Lurker
  • 2 Frequently Asked Questions
    • 2.1 Are there any negative consequences to lurking?
  • 3 Glossary Index

Lurker

A lurker is a member of an online community who observes activity on the platform and consumes content but does not contribute content or participate in social interactions.

Have you ever heard of the 1% rule? The 1% rule is a rule-of-thumb that says that in any online community only 1 out of every 100 community members contributes new content to the community while the remaining 99% consume content. In communities that include editable content, such as Wikipedia, the rule is modified to state that 1% of the community members create content, 9% edit content, and the remaining 90% just consume content.

So what exactly is a lurker? A lurker is a member of an online community that is part of the silent majority of members who consume content, but who do not contribute to the community in any meaningful way. Lurkers consume content created by others, but don’t contribute any new content to the community.

There are a few reasons why the majority of community members are lurkers:

  • Browing is enough: For many website users, especially users of websites which provide technical information, just browsing the site is enough. Users who fit this profile may not have any interest in contributing or they may lack the technical expertise necessary to contribute in a meaningful way.
  • Lurking to learn: New community members often spend time lurking before contributing in order to learn about the community. New community members, or newbies, are prone to making mistakes. Lurking is one way new members can learn the culture and norms of a community before getting too involved.
  • A different motivation: Lurkers are typically motivated by a desire to find information. Contributors, on the other hand, are typically motivated either by duty or a desire to gain a sense of belonging within a particular community.

Online attitudes toward lurkers are mixed. In some communities, lurkers are viewed negatively, and may be referred to as free-riders who take community resources without contributing. However, most webmasters and internet marketers view lurkers favorably, because lurkers make up the majority of the digital audience which can serve as a basis for generating revenue for the website.

In some communities, lurking is encouraged as a way to learn about the community before contributing and to avoid duplicating community content. For example, communities which provide question-and-answer style conversations, such as StackOverflow, actively discourage posting of new questions without first using the search feature to see if the question has already been addressed. In this case, users are encouraged to lurk as opposed to creating duplicate content.

Also See: Newbie

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any negative consequences to lurking?

Depending on the community, lurking may be associated with loneliness and rejection.

Lurking has been found to be associated with loneliness in communities that foster social interaction, and on social media websites in particular. Lurkers on these types of platforms observe interaction between other community members without participating themselves, and may feel isolated from the community as a result.

In addition, on some platforms where lurkers are easy to spot, they are actively rejected. This is particularly true of platforms where interaction is expected such as chat rooms. In a chat room setting in which all users can see which users are logged into the chat room, members who fail to contribute and simply observe interaction may be removed from the discussion.


Glossary Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Latest Posts

Hosting

Black Friday 2023: Website Builder & Web Hosting Deals For Webmasters [Updated]

Uncategorized

Why WebsiteBuilders.com Got Hacked (Yes, You Can Blame Social Warfare)

E-mail Internet

E-Mail Etiquette: 12 Basic Rules For Politely Using E-Mail

Marketing social networking

Live Chat Software: Should You Invest In It? (It’s Easier Than You Think)

Computer Science

Never Heard Of Algorithmic Warfare? Then You’d Better Read This

Marketing

How To Successfully Promote Your Pet Business Online With Minimum Effort

Most Popular Reviews

  • Website Builder Reviews
  • Wix
  • Weebly
  • Squarespace
  • GoDaddy Website Builder
  • Shopify

Recent Posts

  • Black Friday 2023: Website Builder & Web Hosting Deals For Webmasters [Updated] November 5, 2019
  • Why WebsiteBuilders.com Got Hacked (Yes, You Can Blame Social Warfare) March 23, 2019
  • E-Mail Etiquette: 12 Basic Rules For Politely Using E-Mail November 15, 2017

About WebsiteBuilders.com

Everything you need to know about the WebsiteBuilders.com team.

About Us

Our Team

How The Website Is Funded

Privacy Policy

© 2017-2022 Website Builders.com | Sitemap