Normally I lurk but it seemed appropriate to post since wee both read that same NYTimes article.

Posted by JoeG on 4 December 2007 @ 2pm

That’s what makes me so crazy about arguments like this. There’s an embedded assumption that there are only two roles - creator and consumer - and that the goal is to convert consumers into creators. But that’s not the case: there are different kinds of consuming (active, passive) and many flavors or creating: making a post, a comment, a bookmark, a link, a tag. The binary state of defining people as creators or consumers is a vestige of gatekept media. Now we’re all somewhere in between.

Plus, the subtext of the argument is that “lurkers” have no value, which is clearly not true. Without all those readers, why should the writers write? On the web, it’s the audience that makes the band.

Posted by Derek Powazek on 4 December 2007 @ 2pm

You’re comment was right on Derek.

Social content creation has been a hot topic for some time now and what’s finally becoming apparent to many people is that much of the content that is created is of very low quality and may even hinder the sites natural growth. Posts that ignite a firestorm of comments might not have much value if the generated content is not relevant to the topic or might be characterized as chatter for the sake of chatter.

I find it interesting how some people, marketers in particular, only think of a sites visitors as being valuable if those visitors make a purchase or generate additional content. They are blind to everything else that you mentioned.

The goal should be to make every visitor contribute in some fashion and if the content is compelling it’s generally not very difficult. Links, bookmarks, tagging, and even the more difficult to track offline activities are all part of how you want a site to grow.

I particularly like the offline surprises. A few weeks ago I saw a dramatic spike in traffic to one of my sites but there was no referrer data to support the boost. I then noticed that several people had emailed to let me know that the site had been featured on some morning news shows. The following weeks yielded hundreds of fantastic quality links to the site. A perfect example of word of mouth advertising that brought in a large number of visitors will each fill a role in growing the site further.

Posted by JoeG on 5 December 2007 @ 10am

I don’t know…I thought the rocket lift-off pictures were appropriate.

I’m guessing a leaked copy of the “guinea pig” videotape would get more circulation than a leaked Pamela or Paris video.

Posted by Nate on 15 December 2007 @ 2pm