Lurking About

Not cycling related but certainly blog related and something I feel needs to be said for all my fellow bloggers' out there.

Lurkers. Love 'em or hate 'em they are a fact of life, the naval fluff of the net - generally harmless* but serving no discernible purpose. We know you are there. We check our viewing stats and recognise the same IP addresses showing up again and again. Occasionally, you will meet a lurker in the flesh. The crossover from cyberspace to realspace can be a traumatic experience. They will make some comment that gives it away or someone else will tell you they read your blog. Some will be strange, some sad and lonely, some downright creepy but a fair few will just be nice, regular people. I met one of mine today. Luckily she falls very much into the latter category and it wasn't traumatic at all.

 

Lurkers are variously defined but essentially in the context of t'internet they read things on blogs/forums but never actually contribute anything. I actually like this slightly wider definition best:

A person who is just "there." Nobody really knows why, other than they show up and don't say a word. Possible reasons for this could be:
-They don't know what to say
-They are pretending to have friends
-They are trying to scare you
-They are there just to be seen with you, as if they have some kind of relationship with you.

Urban Dictionary: Lurker

Now, I've nothing personal against lurkers and this particular one is very nice. I know she isn't hanging around my blog pretending to be in some kind of relationship with me or kidding herself that we're best buddies and I'm quite sure she's not trying to scare me so it must be she doesn't know what to say. It's just when you take time to share your thoughts, experiences, feelings and adventures with people on a blog it's nice to get a little feedback every now and then. Not all the time but just on occasion. Consider it a bit like tipping the waiter for a free meal you've just been given!

And if this post doesn't get a reply or two I don't know what will!

*Clinical Review: Umbilical Lint ("BellyButton Fluff")