Four Levels of Engagement in the Blogosphere

I used this device in a presentation last week to frame how you can have different levels of participation in the online world these days. The four levels are:

0: Unengaged
1: Listening
2: Commenting and Connecting
3: Fully Engaged

Let’s tackle them one by one.

0: Unengaged

This one might also be called “Blogowhat?” You aren’t listening to what people are saying online and have no idea what people are saying about your company, ideas, products, employees, you name it. You are not plugged into the online conversation.

1: Listening

At this level, you are regularly reading key blogs in your field or industry. You have subscribed to relevant keyword alerts on Google and Technorati. You search Wikipedia for articles that are relevant to your issues and analyze how well they do or do not represent them. You share what you hear and learn throughout your company so that others are more aware of what is going on. This is still largely passive but at least you are following along.

2: Commenting and Connecting

This level includes all of 1 plus actively commenting on relevant blog posts, adding comments to a Wikipedia discussion page, contacting bloggers directly to share your side of the story, etc. It also includes making connections with groups and individuals using social networking tools, such as LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace. You are going beyond listening by reaching out to those who are leading the online conversation.

3: Fully Engaged

Finally, you are publishing your own blog, podcast, vidcast, etc., putting out your own story. You link to others talking about issues you care about, giving your perspective. You have a full presence in the online conversation.

Moving from 0 to 1 is a huge leap and requires learning a lot of skills and knowledge about the online world. Moving from 1 to 2 is much easier to do, although developing an effective tone for interaction may take some experimentation. Finally, moving to 3 is a bit of a leap but should be pretty smooth if you have been commenting actively for a while first.

What do you think?

Update: Added Connecting to level two. Thanks to Kathryn Lagden for the suggestion in the comments!

Comments

Fred Simmons
Seems pretty accurate. Though, using RSS and social bookmarking tools might present another level of participation above “Listening”. Maybe?

February 8th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
David
I would consider those are part of the listening process. Or tools by which you can easily monitor lots of sources. Good point though, that they are key elements to it.

February 8th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Kathryn Lagden
Seems like a logical progression to me. I might suggest ‘Commenting and Connecting’ as the 3rd category. To include people who use flickr, social bookmarking, linked in, etc. as tools to connect with others.

February 13th, 2007 at 1:56 am
David
Good point on connecting, Kathryn. That pulls in the whole LinkedIn/Facebook/Etc. world of activities as well.

February 22nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Nomadic Learner - » Levels of Engagement
[...] After seeing a number of other association-related bloggers reference Dave Gammel’s posting on the 4 Levels of Engagement in the Blogosphere, and then coming across a link to Dave’s site on Ben Martins blog, I decided that I needed to check it out for myself. [...]

February 22nd, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Levels of Engagement : Associated Knowledge
[...] After seeing a number of other association-related bloggers reference Dave Gammel’s posting on the 4 Levels of Engagement in the Blogosphere, and then coming across a link to Dave’s site on Ben Martins blog, I decided that I needed to check it out for myself. [...]

April 2nd, 2007 at 12:57 am
World Bank 2.0: The BuzzMonitor | C. David Gammel, High Context Consulting: Unleashing the strategic potential of the Web.
[...] Sounds like a great tool for raising awareness of how issues important to the Bank are evolving online. I recommend listening to the online conversation as a key activity for any organization and this looks like a great tool for assisting in that. I have downloaded the application and will give it a try this week. [...]

July 31st, 2007 at 9:06 am
Public Relations and Social Media | High Context Consulting
[...] I have written a framing device that you can use for yourself, team, or even your Board to discuss at what level your organization wants to and should be engaged in online conversations: Four Levels of Engagement in the Blogosphere. [...]

August 29th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Blogger Buzz on Associations, Conversations and Managing People « opensource.association
[...] David Gammel at High Context Consulting has developed a useful “conversation participation” measure for organizations to assess themselves. Given the advent of the previous McKinsey Study postings this week, don’t be left out of the conversation with your public. [...]

September 1st, 2007 at 10:27 am
B2B Marketing Blog » Blog Archive » Is there such thing as bloggers block?
[...] I thought back to one of my earlier posts in which I analyzed David Gammel’s four levels of engagement in the blogosphere. At the time, I strongly agreed with the hierarchical value of moving from 0: unengaged to 4: fully [...]

February 13th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
B2B Marketing Blog » Blog Archive » The slightly modified “B2B” blogosphere
[...] across an interesting measuring tool for social media involvement by David Gammel. He identified four levels of engagement in the blogosphere. According to David, blog participation is ranked from 0 to 3, Unengaged to Fully Engaged. On [...]

October 8th, 2008 at 9:22 am