While there are a number of motivations for contributing to virtual communities there are also barriers to participation that mean some people will never evolve beyond visitor status, reading posts without the need for replying, maybe even looking through profiles if the network allows and others will join and never really become fully active.
Some of the reasons people visit but never join a network (also know as lurking) include:
Their concerns about the internet and sharing their information
Many people are still concerned about adding their name, photo and other personal information into a virtual community. They will be worried about identify theft and online security in particular the ability for someone to take their details and commit fraud.
Never having participated in a forum
For people who have never participated in a forum they may believe they have nothing of any value to contribute, they may be stopped by the closeness of a community if it has been running for some time or they will have some other limiting belief that makes them feel that contributing just isn’t something they can do.
They are gaining everything they need from visiting
If a potential member finds whatever information they need from what is available without joining then they will have no particular motivation to join and will continue to lurk – this happens in particular in forums.
Unfamiliarity with technology
There are still many people who have never used an online group or forum, will not know how to do things that more experienced members take for granted like uploading photos or writing a blog post and they will need support to become more active members.
Unfriendly group dynamics
When you bring a group of people together it is inevitable that there will be those people who do not get alone or who vary in their opinion on particular topics (religion, sex and politics being the biggest three!) and how this is handled by leaders will have an effect not only on those who are visiting but also new and more established members.
I belonged to a popular online business networking group and eventually became affected by some members who would add insulting comments on forum and blog posts. Eventually I made the decision to no longer contribute and eventually I left because I refuse to spend my time in a network where this behaviour is not managed. Potential visitors can decide not to join if they see other members being “attacked” for expressing their point of view or if they take a hard stance that a potential member does not like.
There may be other reasons that people choose not to actually join a virtual community but instead choose to remain outside as visitors but the above are five common ones that a virtual community will need to be aware of when they start.
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