I’m a lurker.
According to the Forbes “Think Social, Act Personal” reading, “lurkers” are those who are not “vocal in your social media audiences”. Prior to this class, I primarily only used Facebook. I rarely post anything, but I do look at my newsfeed a couple of times a day to catch up on what other people are doing. I’ve read tweets, I’ve seen Instagram pictures (although I’m still trying to figure out the point of making pictures of your dinner look vintage ), I’ve pinned some images and articles, and I’ve even checked-in to save a couple bucks. However, I’ve never been a Mayor, I’ve never blogged, and the number and quality of followers on my personal Twitter account is pretty pathetic.
So why am I here?
I understand the importance for businesses and brands to connect to consumers, employees and others through technology. I work at a consumer insights company called Communispace. We use private online communities to help brands connect to consumers. Having 300 of your consumers providing candid feedback 24/7 about everything and anything is so valuable. These consumers not only have a 2-way dialog with the brand, but they also connect with each other through their common interests.
I’m a hypocrite, I know. I work with social networks all day long, yet I don’t consider myself a strong participator outside of work.
Communispace communities are private though, and the feedback these members provide isn’t broadcasted publically for the world to see. They have an intimate setting where they feel comfortable engaging with the brand and other consumers. That’s why I’m a lurker – everything is too public. I think there’s a time and place for both private and public communities and I’m excited to learn more in this class about connecting publically. I want to be better informed when I’m helping my clients with their social media strategies and help answer the question: how can brands engage consumers through public social media outlets?
While I’ll be using Twitter for the next few months and blogging every other week, it’s yet to be determined whether or not connecting to others this way is for me personally or if it’s too far outside my comfort zone.
I love the title of this post. I feel that alot of people can relate to your perspective as a ‘lurker’. I am not a very public person either and don’t feel comfortable with certain aspects of social media. I don’t want random people that I don’t know to know everything about my life. I am paranoid after hearing horror stories of people finding other people on the internet. The good thing about social media is the privacy settings that you can set. It is ultimately your decision on how public you want to be. I have my facebook set to where only a handful of people that I select can see my photos and posts. That way I can stay connected with who I want to and don’t have to worry about the rest of the world.
First, very effective image use. Creeped me out a bit, to be honest.
Second, you do know Jen Reddy is a guest speaker in the class later in the semester, right? I’ve had a great relationship with Communispace ever since I did a panel with Diane Hessan a few years ago in NYC (2008 maybe?). I actually did a guest lecture at Communispace (back in Watertown, were you an employee then?) and have had a guest speaker from there for every version of MI621 I’ve taught.
The long and short of it, I think it’s a great company, and I’ll be interested to hear your perspective as class develops. Tell everyone I said hello.
I did know that! A few fellow MBA students told me they read the Communispace case study in MI621 and that’s what first sparked my interest in taking this class. I’m looking forward to Jen facilitating that discussion. I’ve been at Communispace for 2 years and although I started in the Watertown office, I guess I wasn’t there yet for your guest lecture.
I liked this blog very much, and the title caught my attention. I am absolutely a lurker. I cannot remember the last time I posted a status on Facebook, and up until last week I didn’t even have a twitter. Like Megan said, I am also a very private person and don’t really want to share my every thought and picture with people following me. Social media makes everyone a little too public in my opinion. I value the privacy settings that we can choose on social media sites. I have nothing to hide, but I would just prefer for only a handful of people to be able to see them. That being said, I understand the importance of social media for business and building my brand, so I need to embrace it too. It looks like many of us will be coming out of our comfort zones this semester!
What really caught my attention in your post was when you said, or rather implied, that social media can be too public. I agree with this somewhat. When someone is spamming my twitter feed with vintage pictures of their meals, I definitely think that twitter is too public. But when someone is tweeting about an exciting new company or an interesting news article, then I think, the more public the better! As I stated in my blog post for this week, social media can be used for fun or for more serious purposes. Just like my “fun” twitter account is private, I think that the fun side of social media should sometimes be privatized. But when it comes to spreading knowledge through the more academic and serious side of social media, I think being public only enhances social media. This is why my academic twitter is public.