How to motivate people?

A lot of theories about motivating people are out there. A lot.

Let me first start with a vlog (video blog) from YouTube I absolutely love:



If you look at the vlog really carefully, you'll see the content is not really special, nor the camera techniques. Yes, it's funny, but not too much. Why then is this girl from Australia the most subscribed ever?

I think it's got to do everything with the interaction she has with her audience. What she does is actually dropping a topic, discussing it, joking about it, visualizing it and then comes the important part. She asks the audience to discuss it themselves, share their experiences, jokes, visuals. And that's not all. In her next vlog, she gives feedback on the best comments.

Let's go back to motivation theories to place this vlog in a framework. According to Peter Collock there are four overlapping motives for people to participate in a online community. These are:

1. Anticipated reciprocity: People expect something in return for their contribution/participation. This something could be information, a reply or subscribers.
2. Increased recognition: People want their contributions to be recognized. They want to have a reputation/ particular identity. They want people to acknowledge their level of participation.
3. Sense of efficacy. People need to have the sense they do have impact on their environment.
4. Sense of community: The whole interaction needs to feel like a real human community. For example: You put something online, you get a response. Other people rate those responses. Again others are influenced by the ratings and responding.. and so on...

So why does Nataly have almost half a million subscribers? Nataly is a leader (or a so-called YouTube celebrity) that keeps participating without monetary gain. Let's go back to the motives.

1. Expected reciprocity. She's getting a lot of comments/video comments in return. People are suggesting new topics, asking her advice, subscribing and linking things to her.
2. Increased recognition. Nataly is the most subscribed of all in Australia. She's a celebrity in real life already (notice the pictures with fans at the end of the vlog).
3. Sense of efficacy. She definitely has the sense she's having impact on her environment. She's letting others rethink their experience and comment/vlog on her. In a former post she calls upon everybody to be at a certain point in Sidney and a lot of people do.
4. Sense of community. I don't think I even have to explain this one. People are commenting a lot, but she only submits comments in her next vlog that are worth it. So people are participating in a community that she created just to fit in. Later they will also receive responses, get recognized and at last as well feel a sense of efficacy and community. And so the circle goes round.

Putting YouTube aside, it should be noted that the vlog of Nataly has very low barriers. Although she does have a particular crowd, the crowd hasn't been selected by herself, but by the people in the crowd themselves. So if you make a website and you start implementing restrictions, people will browse away. If you do your thing, let the whole community to be open, people interested (the best crowd you can have) will feel the need to participate.