The Journey from Lurker to Contributor

In the years BI (Before Internet) it was nearly impossible to be anonymous, let alone be a lurker, at least in the sense that we mean it today. You were either present or you weren’t. While Victorian literature is rife with stories of secret admirers and anonymous messages, the truth usually would out because communities were small and fairly transparent. 

The internet is full of lurkers, people who visit sites, blogs, chatrooms, Facebook, and read or view but never contribute or add any comments. Even Facebook which is participatory by nature encourages lurking. I am confident that there are people who view my photos, see my status updates, my “Facebook Likes” and never comment or add anything to the conversation. I am certain the same occurs with this blog, I have six followers and yet over 50 views a week, so there are at least 44 lurkers on this blog (You know who you are!). 

But this is not meant to judge lurking, I am self-confessed lurker, I have been lurking on the web for years and continue to do so especially on Facebook, but with this blog and writing a few restaurant reviews on YELP in the last few weeks (You can read them here) I have been making the transition from lurker to participator in the modern digital dialogue. 

My first attempts at participation were somewhat furtive and led to disappointing results. I had decided to make use of the comments section on the Globe and Mail’s website and write something that while maybe not intelligent at least thought provoking. The response was, rather than creating any meaningful dialogue, was a barrage of insults and character assassinations.  I never bothered posting again, it seemed the anonymity of the comments section rather than forcing people to think about and stand by their ideas and opinions, was nothing more than an outlet for bias and prejudice, today, I don’t even read them, the comments are usual banal and childish. 

It seems that the anonymity of the internet has made people forget their manners. If only people would heed their mother’s advice that if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it. There is a great quote in Tempest Tost, by Robertson Davies, “ that a true gentleman was a man who even used a butter knife when alone”. Literally I am not sure if using a butter knife makes a man a gentleman but figuratively I think there is a valid point here; that a true gentleman is a man who behaves morally even when anonymous.  This meaning has taken on new life in the post Internet years, where being anonymous is both possible and almost encouraged by the medium.

One of the consequence of this lurking is that it can create an imbalance in what we know about people. As an example I have been lurking on another blog for a few weeks and I feel like I know this person far too well, and I actually know him in person. Now when I speak to him I feel like I know him, but I don’t really and unless he is also lurking on my blog he knows even less about me. It’s created a weird sort of dynamic and makes me feel slightly awkward when I am in person with him. I have even noticed the same awkwardness in other people who I know in person who read my blog, but don’t want to talk to me about in person. 

The reverse of lurker can be even worse. People who participate for the sake of participating. I mean if you don’t have anything to say, don’t say it. Mindless participation is the death knell of chatrooms and newspaper comment sections. 

Saying that, I hope I have something to say, I guess this blog is a test of that. Which brings me back to my main point which was about my own journey from lurker to contributor. To be a contributor is extremely risky especially in the age of the internet and especially when eschewing anonymity. I am exposing myself to ridicule for my ideas, some of them may be crazy, some of my personal revelation that comes out, exposes me on a deeply personal level, and on top of that because the of the nature of the internet it is all saved for posterity. I can never destroy all the copies of what I have written. I can never deny what I have put out there for the world to see. 

Being a writer has always been a risky proposition, it has always been to expose oneself. And when it comes to writing everyone is a critic. I think it’s possible that the internet has potentially made this a riskier proposition but at the same time it presents an interesting opportunity, never before would it have been possible to do what I am doing here. I would have had to seek out a publisher and beg a newspaper or journal to print my musings so there is perhaps a double edged sword here. 

Anyway, for all of you lurkers out there, lurk away, it’s not a bad thing, and when, if ever, you feel like commenting rest assured, I appreciate the inner challenge that that participation represents.