Community Participation

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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Every member will have their own motivation for joining and contributing to a virtual community and it is important that community leader(s) understand what that might be so that your community can grow quickly and flourish.

It has been recognized that the strength of community participation within a virtual community is in direct proportion to the size of the community so a new small community will have far less participation than a larger one. As the virtual community grows and members increase in numbers so will the desire to contribute and add content by members.

It is important that creators of networks recognise this slow growth because it can become very easy to feel disillusioned by the lack of participation and give up before the community has a real chance to grow. Comparing growth to the growth of a flower is a great analogy. When we plant a seed we wait patiently for the seed to sprout then nurture it to ensure it grows. At first the growth will look slow and then suddenly almost overnight it will seem as If the plant is now fully grown.
More participation begets more participation and the majority of this participation in the new days must come from the network creator.

In “The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace” Peter Kollock (1998) conducted research into what motivates someone to contribute to a virtual community and came up with three distinct motivations that fulfuill the “what’s in it for me” outlook of the large majority of contributors: they are anticipated reciprocity; increased recognition; and sense of efficacy.

Anticipated Reciprocity

A member will contribute to a network, provide valuable help and support, add their knowledge and expertise through blog post and continue to be a useful member of the community in the hope of gaining some reward. That reward will be different for each member. If the network is a business one they may work towards showing their expertise as a way of gaining new clients. They may also be hoping to get help in return so that when they ask a question they need answering other members will go out of their way to help.

Increased recognition

For some members being recognised for the contribution they make to a virtual community is extremely important, not only from other members but also from the community leaders. Other members in this category will be after the prestige of being recognised especially if the leader is a well respected authority or expert in their field. Being noticed by them because of their contribution will play a huge part in motivating and keeping them motivated.
A forum that highlights their most active participants will find that those motivated by recognition will spend more time adding and replying to posts just for the thrill of seeing their name as one of the top contributors.
Sense of efficacy

Members motivated by efficacy will contribute to a community by providing valuable and highly regarded information. They will be recognised for their contribution because what they add to a community has a positive impact on the whole network, which in turn supports their own self image as a effective and useful person.

For the majority of people their motivation for being in a virtual community will be as simple as enjoying a sense of community, leaving behind the feeling of loneliness for those at home alone or without active friendships.

Being able to create a profile as well as read the profile of other members, write interesting discussions and have other members leave a response. Respond to interesting discussions and enjoy the interaction that comes from taking part. Uploading photos and having other members comment on them. All of these factors contribute to creating a sense of community and will be a major motivating factor for many members.