Editing Community Organizing (section)

=== Peripheral Barriers ===

A substantial proportion of Peripheral Participants are simply not aware that they can participate. Research has shown that lurkers in online communities often don’t contribute because they:
* Lack awareness that participation is possible
* Fear strong negative reactions from the community
* Don’t perceive clear value in increasing their effort to contribute
* Face high transaction costs to make initial contributions

Strategies to address Peripheral Barriers:
* Make participation opportunities more prominent and visible in the interface
* Create low-risk, lightweight contribution “tasks” as a “half-step” between consuming and producing
* Focus initial participation around the would be participants’ natural interests and concerns
* Give clear call to actions through all materials about what types of contributions are valued

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