The admin blog on the newly minted eLearning Council site recently urged members to get active, stating:

Usability and Design Expert Jakob Nielsen states that in large online communities 90% of the users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of the users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the actions.

As the site gets developed, contributions from membership are vital. But that's true in any organization.  I have to wonder how much those statistics vary in any community, like a non-profit organization, or teams. 

Is it just me, or does it seem that many times people need to be prodded, cajoled, or deftly influenced into taking action, sharing their expertise, or doing anything but being a passive member of a group?

I know we all get busy, and have our own more immediate goals to fulfill, but sometimes it just gets frustrating to try to stir up interest and action and it's always that same select few doing the bulk of the work. 

When every contributes, even just a little bit, the synergy can be incredible.  The ideas start bouncing around, and it seems that the cumulative IQ of the room rises (the opposite of mob mentality).

I need more of that in my life.