I've already written about what inspires engagement, it's about time that I bother to define it. And how is engagement different from lurking, interaction, and participation?

Yesterday, I wrote about our increased ability to be part of niche communities. And Bud raised an excellent question:

What really is a connection? Clicking "I'm a fan" or "Join"? Is that really joining a community? The internet has improved our ability to be a lurker, that's for sure.

So where do we draw the lines between lurking, interaction, engagement, and participation? These are the core behaviors of new media communications; and they're the heart of David Armano's essential Marketing Spiral. These are the first steps to fostering community in a digital environment.

Lurking
The most passive level of interested behavior. Our curiosity has led us to the source, a conversation. It could be a blog or blog post, a message board thread, a Facebook group, a group of Twitter users. We read the content, we listen to the podcast, we watch the presentation on slideshare, we watch the videos on Youtube. But, we don't make choices, we don't actively seek out specific content, and we don't contribute any thoughts or content ourselves. The evidence of our curiosity is limited to an impression, a recorded "view," or a "unique visit" in a site's visitor stats.

Interaction
This is the first step that requires some kind of action, albeit minimal. Interaction is how we begin to explore. We make choices and we click on links to take us from one part of the discussion to another. We choose to seek out new information by clicking next and play. And we are interacting because we are deliberately revealing pieces of a story to ourselves. These pieces of the story are events, thoughts, and people—evidence of the community. Interaction rarely leaves a mark, but it is essential to finding your way into a community.

Engagement
This is the gateway drug. This is where we begin to transition from passive observer to active community member. The dictionary defines the act of engaging as occupying the attention or efforts of, securing for aid, employment, use, and attracting or pleasing. These are all helpful concepts for our definition. In the world of online communities, engagement means that we are invested in the growth and the development of the community. During lurking and interaction we may have just watched, but now we care about what happens. And because we care, we can be called upon to take action. It may be a small action, e.g. make $25 donation to a political campaign, take this survey to make the blog better, Digg this site. And more importantly than any direct action we may or may not take when called upon, we contribute to the future of the community through indirect action, e.g. sharing links through social bookmarking sites and social networks, submitting tips and suggestions, introducing individuals within the community to each other, rating and favoriting specific work. These actions are small, and require little time or effort, but they are the foundation of a vibrant online community.

Participation
Participation is the step when we choose to take on an active role in shaping the future of the community. This is the crucial step where we begin to share our thoughts and ideas. We create content and make it public. We express our opinions about what is most important, and we attempt to convince others to join our cause. We write blog posts, we make videos and post them to Youtube, we take photos and post them to Flickr.

(I realize again, now, how elemental Armano's Marketing Spiral is. Look for my definitions of Conversations and Affinity tomorrow.)

It's clearer to me now why engagement has become such a buzzword in our industry. This is our mission. After impressions and clicks comes engagement; and engagement is when curious observers become fans.