They don’t Like. They don’t Retweet. They don’t do nothing. They just.. keep… rolling alonggggg…

They are not doing what you had hoped they would do, which is Like your darned social media post!

Wikipedia says:

“In Internet culture, a lurker is typically a member of an online community…who observes, but does not participate.”

Tom Stier

Lurkers avoid the tools they are supposed to use to let you know their reaction to what you are spending a not inconsiderable amount of time to put out.

Is a Like too much to ask?

They stare at your post. They might cringe. They might laugh. They might get mad at what you are saying.

But in the end, they just scroll or swipe away to the next bright shiny posting.

Come On, Do The Lurk

Why do Lurkers Lurk?

For some Lurkers I know personally, they simply don’t trust anything online.

That is a valid point in this age of privacy concerns.

Some think any action they take will put them immediately on the radar of a Government Agency.

Or worse, somebody they had a grudge with in High School!

The 90-9-1 Lurkers Rule

This article by Jakob Nielsen,  from the Internet of 2006, is still relevant to social media today.

“In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.”

As this graphic pointedly shows, those at the top are tiny with pointed heads.

What Do Lurkers Mean To My Business
Or
When A Tree Falls In The Forest Does It Land On A Lurker?

Lurkers are still a good thing for your business social media campaigns.

If the Lurker clicks through to your website from a Facebook or Twitter post, your website Analytics will pick them up in a way that lets you know where they came from. (Don’t have Analytics on your website? Contact Me).

Since Lurkers represent the largest demographic (90%) you will definitely want to keep posting on social media to connect with them.

Even if the relationship is very similar to Unrequited Love. If you are persistent, it might someday get upgraded to Pen Pal!

Measuring The Lurk

Social media platforms can now tell you through Analytics or Insights the likely quantity of Lurkers you are attracting.

For most of your postings it will be a much larger amount than Likes.

But even if you have not yet attained that level, consistency will continue to be your best ally, so keep right on posting.

If you keep up with your social postings on your chosen platform, you will someday Convert a Lurker with that Irresistible Post!

The post Lurkers Rule! appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

Recently, a friend wrote to ask me what she should do with her old record collection. Since it’s OK with the management if this blog is used to discuss topics that might only be tangentially related to web design, promotion or hosting, I have decided to share. Here is my slightly abridged answer:

First, we really should discuss this somewhere privately, like on Facebook or Google+/-

The RIAA actively seeks out people who engage in the HIGHLY illegal act of selling or, heaven forbid, SHARING, of purchased LPs with friends or STRANGERS. Allowing your LPs to circulate means one more person might not purchase that LP or 8Track and, it is KILLING MUSIC.

Look at what NAPSTER did to sales of Compact Cassettes! Perfect Sound FOREVER, wiped out completely!

Still, the practice is becoming popular among many folks nearing retirement age that have been fired after their 30 or 40 years at the company. They set up a little blog where they post their Loverboy or Metallica LPs for $10 or $20. Whoops did I say METALLICA! Watch out, they filed a lawsuit against sharing of their demos! OOPs too late, here comes that RIAA demand for $3500 to avoid litigation! Best to sell those puppies in a dark alley, somewhere in South America.

Seriously though, as someone who has a barn-full of legally purchased LPs, who innocently tried to sell used LPs by mail order in the 80’s, I have been meaning to look into this.

My best guess is most LPs are so worthless, it is not even worth the effort to look at them, except:

To hoarders, and young folk who are going retro phase and have a Minny Mouse Record Player and some Go-Go boots.

Some LPs are rare because, perhaps 100 copies used a rejected cover photo of the drummer beginning to explode.

Some nuts like looking at a decent sized image of the recording artist and reading text that is not 2pt sized. What nuts!

Salvation Army, Hadassah and Goodwill stores are almost completely staffed with undercover RIAA agents, so that is OUT.

I’m also pretty sure that researching, googling, Goldmine Magazining, music blogs, forums etc for each disc and then looking into the sales channels, and then grading, organizing the stock and then packing and taking those rare trips to the Post Office….. WHOOPS where did my Post Office go, it was here yesterday!...and then avoiding the wrath of the RIAA……… it’s probably safest……easiest……and bestest to just………

keep them forever!

Note: Since I have a lot of old records, I certainly don’t consider them worthless! This post is meant to be totally tongue-in-cheek! I take certain liberties in describing events in piracy issues also!

The post What Should I Do With My Old Record Albums? appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.

We told our caller the facts of life in this hyper-connected world. Without access to the site folder and files of this other website, it was not possible to remove the offending material. It is possible to request Google remove items from their search results, but it  can be a continuing process and take some time.

New design for Editorial Service Site

The best thing for him to do, we said, is to take charge of his online presence by reinvigorating his own website, adding positive material on a regular basis to his site, and participating on professional social media sites. Accentuate the positive.

By doing this, internet searches on his name will lead to more outside references verifying his good qualities. The unhelpful mentions will be competing with this more positive material, and gradually will fade down from the search results on his name.

Unfortunately, this all seemed overwhelming to our potential client. He thanked us for our time, restated again that he just wanted the other mentions removed, and that he was mostly concerned with this intrusion into his privacy.

Presumably, he called the next name on his list until he found the ‘web guy’ who would take his money and remove all mention of him from the web, possibly using a magic spell.

This made me think about how the web has changed our concept of privacy in many ways.

People need privacy. They really do not want government or corporations knowing too much about their private lives. On the other hand, the upcoming generation seems comfortable revealing intimate details of their lives on Facebook or other networks that are easily monitored by complete strangers.

After all, by participating in FaceBook or LinkedIn even in a limited manner, people reveal personal information that is sold. That’s the business model.

This brought to mind how my parent’s generation would have looked askance at this. In the culture I grew up in, talking about one’s work was simply not done. You shared private issues or opinions only with close, personal friends. And it was definitely not considered good form to toot one’s own horn.

But nowadays, as the concept of work continues to tilt more and more toward entrepreneurship and creating one’s own business, tooting one’s own horn – or ‘accentuating the positive,’ as I call it – is an essential. Thankfully we have many opportunities to do this via the internet. This idea made our caller uncomfortable, and I don’t blame him. But if you have a web presence at all, it’s an essential practice.

You don’t have to let anyone else control the way you are perceived, no matter what shows up when you google your name. By creating your own web presence, you can control your privacy, and encourage people to see only what you want them to see about you.

The post Privacy on the Web appeared first on Tom Stier-Promote Globally.