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December 08, 2008

Taking advantage of participation inequality in social media

Community-participation-pyramid

In 2006, well-known Web usability expert Jakob Neilsen, developed the Community Participation Pyramid, otherwise known as the 90-9-1 principle, which states...

  • 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.  
I fall into that 1 percent bracket and tend to think everyone else either does (or should) as well. They don't and, according to Neilsen (assuming his findings are still valid), they won't.

Rather than be dismayed at the lack of participation, perhaps those of us who are assiduous creators of content should view this as a blessing in disguise, in that it gives us the opportunity to be all the more influential. 

Personally, I didn't get into blogging and social media just to have a bully pulpit. I mean, it's not like anything I have to say is all that outstanding or original. And while I enjoy sharing my points of view, my goal has always been to start conversations. 

I've long held the view espoused by Internet pioneer Dave Winer, who once said that comments left by readers are often more insightful than the post itself. True conversational marketing "nirvana" is when conversations within the comments thread take on a life of their own. The original post becomes nothing more than a firestarter.

Still, in spite of the promise social media holds for everyone to be pro-active contributors, what Forrester refers to in their social technographics ladder as Creators, the fact is, most won't. 

What are the implications of this trend as it pertains to content creators?

We have the opportunity to become centers of influence. Being a member of the one percenter club means there are 99% that we have the ability to influence.  

Being a center of influence is easier now than ever. Perhaps the real promise of social media is not that everyone participates equally, but that those who choose to take up the mantle of "one percentership" have the opportunity to do so with fewer obstacles. We can become tribal leaders.

As Seth says in his new book, "There's an explosion of new tools available to help lead the tribes we're forming... There are literally thousands of ways to coordinate and connect groups of people that just didn't exist a generation ago. All of it is worthless if you don't decide to lead."

With influence comes responsibility
. We cannot take this issue of leadership lightly. We have a responsiblity to use our influence not for selfish motives, but to benefit the community as a whole. Those who take this responsibility seriously will be rewarded by the community. 

Express servant leadership. Lead by example and have a "do unto others..." attitude. That's the mindset I believe an influencer needs to have. In other words, be a mentor and a mensch. 

Provide valuable content. "Value" is subjective of course. One person's trash is another one's treasure. Nonetheless, I think there are some common sense principles which can be applied to content creation:

Think in terms of what will benefit the community. Face it, most people don't really care what you or I have to say unless it benefits them in some way. You have to win the right to be heard. Think of the example of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Only when he had met his followers "felt" needs could he go on to meet their real ones. (think Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs

I don't mean to imply that people are selfish by nature, but one thing is for sure, we are strapped for time. We only have time to consume the information that will provide the most benefit. If you're aim is to become an influencer, be the person that serves that function.

Don't take it personally. While social media is a personal medium, people will tend to value your content before they value you. For example, if I'm in the market to purchase a home, I'm probably going to search for properties before I search for a Realtor.   

One of the people who best exemplifies the highest and best of the leadership ethic is Chris Brogan. But even he said via a that sometimes he feels "more like a service than a human." It goes with the territory and is one of the hazards of the job. 

Research, research, research. There was a time when blogging was much easier than it is now. I could spout off, go on a rant or diatribe (still do from time to time) and be done with it. Blogging back in the day was much more anecdotal and off-the-cuff. I called it a "shoot from the hip, speak from the heart" means of communicating. It's less so these days. 

On average a given blog post may take me as much as two hours to write. (Two hours! And some take much longer than that believe it or not.) That may be in part because I'm getting older and not as fast on my feet as I used to be, but I think largely its due to the fact I try to substantiate my commentary with appropriate documentation and cite a number of other resources. 

There is more I could say about this, but you get the point. Bottom line: If Neilsen's numbers are still valid a great opportunity lays at your feet -- to become an influencer, the leader of a tribe. 

In fact, let me invite you to express some of that "one percent" influencer mentality here and now by leaving a comment. I'd love to know what you think. 

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