Overall Is The Industry Embracing..

[Lee]

More general resource orientated sites as much as they used to or, are you of the opinion that the community / forum type sites are now the big thing so far as resources go?

I have to admit it seems like pretty much everyone has their own board now and the last 12-18 months certainly saw a huge increase in the amount of new boards that appeared in the industry but, at the same time, it also saw a huge increase in boards that filed within the first 3 months of launch because they tried to fullfill everyone at the same time instead of focusing on the specifics and growing from there.

I remember 3 or 4 years ago when webmasters went to resources for the listings and tutorials but now it would seem that they go to increase post counts and whore out their sigs.

So anyone know what made this change happen and, more importantly, do you think this will be a long term thing or, will we see a regression back to the favoritism of more community orientated complete 'resources'?

Regards,

Lee

[Daymare]

I think boards will stick around for a long time cause you can participate in conversations and not have to 'be there' all the time. It's like icq; and the great part is that you can search a lot of the boards for old posts or topics that have already been answered rather than trying to find an article buried at a resource site. Threaded boards are the way to go

[AusCoding Allan]

Whilst the industry is changing I believe that there will always be a place for boards and forums like GWW. A community that plays and works together to acheive the best that they can has untold value that can never be expressed in words or dollar terms and as for the fly-by-night boards that come and go - nothing can match what we have here on GWW.

Just my 0.02

Allan

[DigitalJay]

Lee - some posts, and even some replies to this thread make me think that regulars sometimes end up forgetting that there even is more to this site than a forum.

I think installing something like phpnuke or sidekick and having more than just a small bar of links on the front page might help. a full on portal where the first page is covered in news/stories from the newsletter, links from the directory, most recent posts from the forum, login box for the entire site including the forum etc would make a HUGE difference in bringing out every aspect of a resource site like this one.

Look at http://www.flyguylive.com to get an idea what I'm talking about.

[Lee]

Originally posted by DigitalJay
a full on portal where the first page is covered in news/stories from the newsletter, links from the directory, most recent posts from the forum

Oh absolutely, 'content' is definately king when it comes to a resource site however, at the same time, we musnt confuse what we want from a 'surfers' perspective with what is NEEDED from a webmasters point of view.

Ultimately, so long as the information can be accessed easily without a heap of confusing 'content' getting in the way that will make a site successfull in the long-term.

Over the last 5 years, we have found that the way a site is navigatable (is that a word? ) ultimately doesnt bear any significance on whether a site is or, isnt a success. What makes a site a success from a webmasters perspective, is the content on the site and, how different that content is to the hundreds of other sites sharing pretty much, that same content. A good example of this are sites that have articles on them, for the most part, many sites keep re-writing the same tired information over and over again but they spruce it up to fit with the latst industry crazes without putting that information / knowledge into practise, articles on topics such as tgping, basic seo, copy writing are slew across the resource side of the net however, tutorials on marketing techniques, programming, technical knowledge and product reviews, arent.

Of course, with the recent boom in industry forums lately, the one thing that has surprised me is that other than Netpond and us, nobody else has incorporated a full resource in to a community forum layout, giving the sites end users the best of both worlds, a place to network with industry friends, colleagues and peers on one forum as well as a place to find sponsor programs, hosts, content providers all listed with descriptions on another forum on the same board and, i truely beleive we will see many more companies adopting this business practise over the coming months / years.

Regards,

Lee

[LAJ]

Anybody can put up a webmaster board... boards come and go in this biz weekly it seems. It's the best and most profitible ones that stick around for more than a few years. Chat boards and resource sites both have their place in this biz tho IMO.

The vast majority of webmasters out there never post. And looking at the big picture, only a small percentage go for post counts and sig whoring.

[Chilihost]

IMHO its all about the almighty $$$

In this last year, we have seen some pretty substantial changes in forum mentality, namely signature sales, signature trade systems, board advertising, board full sponsorship, etc. All these things lead people to immediately think they can get more $$$ by opening up their own board and either getting sponsorship or by using a sig trade system and posting like mad on their own board.

Of course there are some good reasons for board growth as well, like that its a great way to keep in touch with people in your niche or people with your same interests. Plus affiliate's boards are good for keeping people up to date and getting their opinions on things.

But more likely than not, its all about $$$!!!

cheers,
Luke

[JustMe]

Greetings:

Well, I see most of these webforums failing, including some of the largest ones out there. Chili's post explicitly explains it.

signature sales, signature trade systems, board advertising, board full sponsorship

The main reason people visit industry forums is to exchange advice and insight with other industry professionals. As such, it stands to reason, that the more intelligent, insightful posts from successful individuals in the industry a forum has, the more popular it will become, and the better chance it has for long-term viability.

Now, take that sentiment, and apply it towards forums that allow for these ridiculous signature sales, signature trading, theology. The goal of the forum, is to increase posts by providing an incentive to individuals to do so.

However, one must wonder, what type of individual are you coaxing to post? The type that's doing it for the sole reason of profiting off of his signatures? Exactly what type of person is that? A well seasoned professional with a specific expertise to share, or one of these bottom feeders that's looking for beer money who has very little to offer in way of expertise?

By the very nature of the business model, they're going to attract the type of people that are the exact opposite of what is needed to sustain a true industry forum.

I think if you look at sites like GoFuckYourself, you'll see exactly what I mean. It's quickly becoming something that's far less about industry, and far more like your typical AOL chatroom. Advertisers will eventually find that spending money to be seen in front of those sorts of eyes, isn't cost effective.