Groundswell – the Forrester Research social media blog — has produced an update to its engagement ladder diagram:
The diagram was changed to add in users of Twitter and other ‘status-update’ applications, most notably Facebook. Author Josh Bernoff notes that this group has a different demographic make-up to others:
Conversationalists intrigue me. They’re 56% female, more than any other group in the ladder. While they’re among the youngest of the groups, 70% are still 30 and up.
He also explains that people don’t just belong in one category. That’s why the percentages don’t add up to 100 — people take on a variety of roles at different times — the rungs are behaviours rather than groups. I’d argue that all of us are Spectators at least some of the time — people who continually contribute tend to be a bit annnoying, to say the least.
It’s clearly appropriate that Tweeters be included, and understandable that they weren’t perceived as a meaningful description two-and-a-half years ago when the chart was first published. But why are they placed higher than Joiners, Collectors and Critics? It surely doesn’t take any more commitment or engagement to publish an update than it does to join the site in the first place?
I guess the problem is that Twitterers are a broad church. Some people are using it as a microblog or lifestream; some use it to share or republish cool links; some just offer a daily ‘I’m doing this today’; some have conversations.
This was a problem with the ladder analogy in the first place: it’s a little too coarse. Owning a blog doesn’t necessarily mean you’re more ‘engaged’ or ‘participatory’ than someone who doesn’t.
picture credit: Anne Oedolfhirsch
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