I’m glad Alan talked about the terminology because every time I used that word this week, I cringed at myself. The term “lurker” IS loaded and that rhetoric is mostly negative to me, and here I have gone and extended that negativity with my own posts, mostly as a way to spark conversations. We need a new language. And Alan is right … you can’t take me seriously in that role as passive participant — I am unable to resist a conversation about learning — still, I was trying to get some ideas down about the folks who watch and learn outside our field of vision, and thinking about how to value their participation.
Your point about “likes” reminds of a very deep discussion at CLMOOC about this issue, as Terry ranted (a bit) about the narrow nature of the “like” button, and how it impeded deeper connections. It’s so easy to click the “like” that we lose track of the connection and content itself. Or something along those lines.
Great conversation here …..
As always, your friend in the wires.
Kevin