Audience: Lurkers and Commenters

Increasingly, more businesses tune in to blog readers' online habits and experiences. To learn more, UC Irvine researchers' conducted a first-of-its-kind study that focuses on blog reading. They open new windows into ways readers identify their roles in social media. Many bloggers are interested in their audience since they seek interaction or wish to extend conversations.

Findings show some readers frequently post comments, while others "lurk" or visit without commenting...

What makes a blog a blog? Readers opinions vary. Academics commonly define blogs as frequently modified Web pages with dated entries listed in reverse chronological order. On the other hand, people participating in this research named RSS feeds, trackback links, social aspects, including conversation or personal content.

Bloggers might consider these findings when writing posts:

Regular blog reading often becomes more habitual and less content oriented. Similar to e-mail checking, blog reading can become ingrained into users' online routine. Sometimes, even the usefulness of the blog content itself can be less vital than the activity of reading or skimming the blog to fulfill a person's particular routine.

The timing of a blog post is not nearly as relevant to readers as its position among the other entries. Readers are more likely to read the most recent posts at the top of the screen, and are generally less concerned with the exact age of a post. A vast majority of participants said they were not bothered when they were not able to read each and every blog post, challenging a common theory that users tend to feel overwhelmed by the need to remain constantly up to date.

Blog readers feel a responsibility to make insightful contributions. While past research noted readers expect bloggers to deliver frequent, high-quality posts, the UCI study found readers also place pressure on themselves to produce coherent, worthwhile comments in response to good blog posts.

Lead researcher Eric Baumer contends, "Until the technology embraces the role of the audience, the full social potential of blogging remains untapped."

Positive comments that add to an article or encourage naturally increase a writer's serotonin level. Serotonin is a brain hormone that functions as part of a complex network of neurotransmitters that can boost your brainpower and provide well being. Additionally commenters provide rationale for bloggers to write more and raise the bar for quality.

Social Networking has changed the face of friendships. Do you tend to read posts by bloggers in your social network before venturing outside? I do. I'm also more likely to leave a comment. You? As I unearth gems in the blogosphere, I comment when I discover insights to mull over.

As a blogger, connecting to audience is all important for me and comments are like the rose colors in a sunset... since they show me some measure of success.

Thoughts?