What's going on, Albuquerque?

The invisible readers of DCF

Our first week using a new system for Duke City Fix (yay, Ning) has certainly been interesting.

Overall site traffic has doubled.
The people formerly known as readers have created profiles, groups, and generally taken a more active role now that the technology enables it.

The most fascinating development to me is the difference between "members" (people who've created profiles) and anonymous "readers." As I watch members write blog posts, sometimes very personal ones, I wonder if they're aware of a significant disparity.

For every 1 site member, there are 50 anonymous readers.

In other words, in one week there are 50 times more people who just read Duke City Fix than who join the site (based on absolute unique visitors during our first week). These readers are invisible to everyone without access to the site's web statistics, so I wonder if our new member-bloggers know how potentially visible they are.

We launched during a holiday week, so the numbers may still be slightly inaccurate. When aggregated at the monthly level, we'll probably find a ratio closer to 100 readers for every 1 member. I'll wait a bit longer before talking about these findings in a more concrete way.

0 members like this

Comment by Benny the Icepick on November 26, 2007 at 11:23am

Comment by Benny the Icepick on November 26, 2007 at 11:27am: OK, OK, I know that's not what you're trying to say. I think it's fantastic that DCF is as popular as it is. (What's the rule of thumb, anyways? 15% of the people create 85% of the content?)

But people should be aware that anything they post can be seen by just about anyone. For moderate protection they can adjust their privacy settings here:
http://www.dukecityfix.com/profiles/profile/privacySettings

Comment by chantal on November 26, 2007 at 1:04pm: Benny, thanks for sharing. Would you be willing to post the link for privacy settings on the forums for everyone?

Comment by nmmtnmama on November 26, 2007 at 2:05pm: While I realize that many readers of DCF are lurkers or people passing through courtesy of a web search, I also wonder how many "invisible" readers are actually members who aren't signed in. I know I don't bother to sign in unless I want to make a comment or take care of other business. And several times I've accessed the site from other computers without signing in.

That said, I've always tried to operate under the assumption that anything I write online could be floating around in cyberspace forever. I am torn between admiration for those members who feel comfortable enough to bare their lives, and concern that one day they will wish they'd been more circumspect. Some members seem to think the use of a pseudonym is adequate protection, yet by reading profiles and following links to websites I believe I've found out more about some of my acquaintances than would make them comfortable.

Comment by Adelita on November 29, 2007 at 6:50am: Yeah, I've noticed a significant drop in comments for the regulars. Two thoughts on that. I have a few friends who used to comment regularly and now don't feel comfortable signing up. They now email comments to me instead. Also, several friends work at places where they can't comment during the day because this site is blocked at work. For some reason they were able to access the old site and comment and can't on the new one. Maybe that's part of why there are fewer comments. I'm just hoping that my stories haven't gotten boring!

There is so much to see, read and respond to in this new site. That's fine with me because I feel a new spirit of community and I've had some wonderful 'conversations' with readers. All in all, I like it!

Comment by Tom on November 29, 2007 at 8:20am: I occasionally read, but never signed up on the old DCF. The setup here was quite inviting, so I became a member. The sense of community is wonderful.

Comment by Amanda Redmond-Neal on November 30, 2007 at 12:55pm: huh, it doesn't seem to me like a mystery why there are fewer comments. you have to register for ning and become a member to comment -- that's enough of a hassle to make people think "eh, it wasn't that important."

Comment by chantal on November 30, 2007 at 1:05pm: Amanda's got a point. And there's also the fact that a not insignificant # of our previous commenters were the same person(s) with multiple identities ;-)

Comment by A Saucy Lass on December 2, 2007 at 11:07pm: so I wonder if our new member-bloggers know how potentially visible they are.

This is something I have been thinking about (and discussing online elsewhere) a lot recently; one's "online presence". What does it mean, how open or closed you should be, finding that balance between being involved in online communities/journals/blogs/forums/what have you that interest you, but not losing yourself in them...wanting to be open enough to engage and be real with people (so they will engage and be real back), but not, like...stupid about it.

Thinking about what nmmtnmama wrote above, I think I do lay bare my life, to some degree, while at the same time wondering if one day I'll wish I'd been more careful. I worry sometimes that I am being too open here, and elsewhere on the 'net, but I am still figuring it all out, I guess.