Audience and In-person Events –– On the Ninety-Nine-One

I've been thinking about this post for a little while now, and what the "90-9-1 Rule" means for our small community of Francophones and Francophiles. 

Recently, I came across this article from the Neilsen Norman Group: 

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/participation-inequality/ 

which is summarized as follows: 

"In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action."

Is this true? As sole organiser, I can attest, at least as far as the in-person meetings go, this is an accurate breakdown. Still, I would argue that the act of lurking is, in fact, just that, an action. And it is also a contribution, however intangible, as well as a declaration of intent and support - maybe remote, maybe imminent, maybe just hopeful. 

I am a member of several Meetup groups - some in other cities, that I have attended a few times, some that I hope one day to attend, and others in which I was formerly an active member, but am now too far away from to drop in. I'm also a member of a couple of groups at the suggestion of a friend, or perhaps groups that I think one of my friends might like to visit when they are in town. I still read the updates of my old groups, or maybe scroll through event pictures to see updates from faraway friends, and I think of the events and people I am missing. Hopefully one day I will get back to them.

Language groups are particularly a great place to connect with people when you are new in town, or are looking for an interesting hobby, and I have made a large number of friends and learned so much from each of the groups I have attended. Several years ago, I met one of my closest friends when his sister recommended the Lexington Francophones to him. Although she had signed up two years before, my friend's sister was never convinced that her French was good enough to come along (even though she had learned from her grandmother, who had taught high school French). Nonetheless, she immediately thought of the group when her brother, who had spent several years working in France, came to town for a visit. For me, this was definitely a great outcome!

In many ways, this blog is dedicated to the wider audience that the Lexington Francophones has generated, either from finding us online or from seeing us out at a café. Maybe one day you can join us in person. Until then, thanks much for your interest!