I would also like to share my PoV and model on “How Crowds Work” which is based on my experiences and research work within online community. I hope it will add some value for you?

This is how I would like to describe the participants in the crowd:
http://twitpic.com/rp533/full

(differs a bit from Forrester, and yours but includes categorization of the most popular, common names used to describe the participants)

And here is an overview of the content generation process:
http://twitpic.com/t1um7/full

1) New content is added by contributor (bear in mind that some people like to bring something to the “table”, others like to make critics (only) and most people just like to consume great content, inactive may be influenced to join)

2) Critics interact with new content (the like or dislike it)

3) Creators become visable (most positive critics/ratings earned by critics)

4) Consumers will consume great content (top rated, relevant and most otstanding content)

5) The crowd start to share great content with the world (WOMM)

6) More people will join the crowd

It is all about engagement and great content is king! Never forget!

I enjoyed this post of yours – thanks for the shout out on Williams-Sonoma: http://www.decheser.net/site/comments/differentiating_online_retail_experiences/

Also, we need to talk about music.

You are absolutely correct that what matters to a brand is not how many of its people are participating, but how they participate in the discussion about that brand or activity.

In that sense our surveys give you a start — they tell you what’s possible. If few of your users are on social networks, don’t go there to engage them. If many are . . . well, they still might not want to engage with you, but it’s at least worth considering.

As I have used the ladder with so many clients in the last 12 months its been very useful to give them a bead on their customers’ behavior. (We do the ladder for their client base, which is essential.) It helps them get started. To take it from there, it’s entirely possible they’ll have to work with somebody like you.

One little caveat. Since the categories overlap, you can’t just add Collectors and Joiners together — your number will be too high. Gotta be careful when riffing off an idea — survey numbers represent something real.

http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/parent.php?pattern=reputation

First, Being Interesting. Companies often are clumsy, and feel as though they need to mention themselves or their products incessantly…they want to capture too widely, and thus, capture no one.

Next, Being Present. This isn’t something that runs itself. To be engaged on a topic, one has to, well…be engaged. Reputation must be earned, relationships must be created, and conversations must be…*gulp* enabled? In any case, social is a personal place…when companies are in the space, they often live up to their common diagnosis as sociopaths.

Lastly, Being Honest. Honestly interested and engaged in the conversations they wish to have. Honestly participating in these spaces. Honestly contributing to the conversation, with value.

Yes. My aim is to describe the crowd dynamics from outside the lens of the b-word. Next up, maybe a study of sub-culture-to-pop-culture journeys? Independent Trucks? Dr. Maartens?