Blogs

In 2006, Jakob Neilsen wrote in Alertbox about the 90-9-1 rule...

"User participation often more or less follows a 90-9-1 rule:

• 90% of users are lurkers (i.e., read or observe, but don't contribute).
• 9% of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time.
• 1% of users participate a lot and account for most contributions: it can seem as if they don't have lives because they often post just minutes after whatever event they're commenting on occurs."

Another dimension of this phenomena is the degree to which potential community participants actively utilize the tools that are available.

Those of us who "do" a lot of public social networking often make the assumption that everyone else also does so. 

Not so fast.

Earlier this week, I surveyed 650 individuals from organizations that use our industry's technologies in some way, shape or form. Not exactly a technologically unsophisticated bunch. So how deeply has the use of major public social technology penetrated into this target population?

Not very.

I asked the group whether they had engaged in 11 difference social behaviors over the past 3 months. Of the 11, a majority of the group were active in only two relatively superficial social behaviors  -- 1) reading blog posts in a reader (vs. via email) -- 64%; and 2) posting something on Linked In about a business-related topic -- 59%.

Ever participated in a discussion group on a social site on a business topic? -- only 31% actively do so.

Ever commented on a blog post? -- only 29%.

When it comes to tweeting, only 19% have a Twitter account. Only 9% have re-tweeted a business-related posting.

We are clearly in the midst of a revolution. But we need to remember that it is one that is still in its early stages.

Here's the full list. Feel free to reuse the information; just link back here.