How many of you run forums for a "living"? and how many do it for the "love"?

Those guys are a different type of webmaster who focus on selling information products to each other, sort of like Amway, you get others to sell it for you as an affiliate downline and that is the secret of "how to make money on the web".
Sounds more like a Ponzi scheme to me.
 
This is how it has been done before the internet was invented, in the old days you would buy a book via mail order from a slick sales letter printed on paper and sent by snail mail, then read the book, at the end of the book it would tell you how to get rich "selling the book" using the same technique.
 
This is how it has been done before the internet was invented, in the old days you would buy a book via mail order from a slick sales letter printed on paper and sent by snail mail, then read the book, at the end of the book it would tell you how to get rich "selling the book" using the same technique.
Some of us know better than to waste our money like that.
 
Living + Loving + Hating :)
Started for the love of designing, turned into living, made me hate it at times.. but overall loving it while making a living out it :)
 
We shouldn't be surprised to know that like life itself, online websites endure the same "survival of the fittest" rule.
Or like financial market, the weakest will be eliminated.

Many people have jumped into this forum scene thinking "if you build it, they will come". What they don't understand is that because the entry barrier is SO LOW, anyone can get a host, use a free forum script, etc for a few bucks a month. This increases the quantity tremendously.

At the same time, crowded space like computing, gaming, general chat is a done and over market. There are pockets of niche markets for people to discover.

It takes a certain personality to run a successful online community. You have to be in it 110%. Most successful sites started years ago and get a critical mass. You will see newbies coming into this game every day but sadly, most of them will be left with a dying forum several years from now.

My advice: don't leave your day job. If you are really passionate about this space, expect to pay out of your time and money. And provide something unique for your members. If you can, they will go to somewhere else where they figure out the game.
 
So true, I have seen many forum owners put up a forum thinking they were going to make a living at it right away and I always tell them it is a long term project and it must be a labor of love, because you don't get paid for fighting spambots 24/7/365.
 
At the same time, crowded space like computing, gaming, general chat is a done and over market. There are pockets of niche markets for people to discover.

Problem here is unless you go in all guns blazing, there is probably already a forum for that niche. I mentioned it in another thread, I am setting up a new forum in a very niche, but highly expensive market.

There are several largeish forums in this market, but they are all regional, not one that is worldwide.

I am intending to make that first worldwide forum, and to kick start it off will be offering up a free all expenses paid trip to Japan to do so
 
If you don't mind me asking Slavik, what are your niches?
It's also worth saying that just because you identify a lucrative niche, you will do well in it. It would take a lot of expertise to make a name.
Even if I know your niche, I probably will not compete because I don't know anything about it, the people, the players, the audience.
This comes back to the original point, do this if you can provide extra benefit over others, be it information, guidance, etc.
 
The biggest one is paintball. Do a search for paintball forum, paintball forums, paintball community ect ect... most likely the top results will be a site owned by me :) The forum im entering soon, you'll understand if I don't mention what that is ;)
 
Slavik, certainly a person who has technical expertise in a craft is going to have a huge advantage, you are not going to do very well running electrical engineering forums without a degree, so you are certainly right about vertical forums, it does take the right group of admin's to succeed for sure.

I know nothing about paintball, coins, guns and so on, so I have a snowball chance in hell running any of those forums.
 
Slavik, certainly a person who has technical expertise in a craft is going to have a huge advantage, you are not going to do very well running electrical engineering forums without a degree, so you are certainly right about vertical forums, it does take the right group of admin's to succeed for sure.

I know nothing about paintball, coins, guns and so on, so I have a snowball chance in hell running any of those forums.

Oh definately, im not just going to choose a market and go for it. This new forum has been in the planning for months. I have been in contact with people all over the industry lining up their support. I am also looking at if the forums work out, to set up an online store linked to the forums (a magento xenforo bridge is already in the planning ;)) with direct to manufacturer sales.
 
For me it is just another venue for speech no more no less.

What I feel about the forum itself is incidental to the greatness of the possible messages carried within. A city without walls and no border patrol, or a module for everyone visiting to interface with. As technology advances and makes us "smarter" we are in fact losing base with what the point of everyday things are. In the case of community/forum software the primary functionality basis is communication.

Without communication you have nothing to unite in a community and by transitive properties no community either. I don't care if it's arts and crafts, political or anything in between. The purpose of a forum is communication on all levels available. If you don't worry about things like that, in my opinion you have no business running a forum as you are contributing to misinforming the world.
( take the paintball forums
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE and does not reflect on anyone personally nor is it based on evidential fact ;
if the site owner infact couldn't tell you what PSI is then chances are they would be bs-ing you every time they typed and/or could not contribute to helping make sure any facts posted are relayed properly, a sub example of this...telling someone to release a co2 cartridge while still half charged from a cartridge based paintball marker could kill someone, someone unfamiliar with the sport should not be running a site like that)
I'm not saying you have to be a professional anything to run a forum about it, someone who has love for a topic has a better chance of helping the under-educated in any arena over someone querying facts and posting them under multiple make believe user IDs If you want to argue that, I am a highschool dropout and think I should start a site on emergency amputations. Any questions? Yes that is extreme ( and a lie) but it's intent is to make an example. To further that if you setup a forum and still have yet to decide what your forum should be about, you have failed.

One must be familiar with what they are preaching and practicing alike.

This would be summed up as, the love for doing it would be a prerequisite for creating any community based site, money being secondary, otherwise your just another internet spam artist with nothing better to do than try to make an easy buck. For you people I say go get a job.

A forum is a family it's webmaster the nurturer and all the members it's offspring. You need to observe what makes a positive environment so you can guarantee the product of that environment to be of a quality that you would be proud of, no different than giving your offspring a solid surrounding to ensure that they get the best of what the world has to offer them.

Closing: I love QUALITY communication and don't think everything needs a label. Under these two premises, I can say for me that the love for meaningful dialog is my ONLY reason to support forums including one I would or would not create myself. The environment the forum is based on is topically speaking regardless to the value of a person cognitively conveying their thoughts and ideas they way they were intended to be perceived...the true value of society.
 
Sounds more like a Ponzi scheme to me.
You mean a Fonzie scheme, don't you?

sbn-fonzie2-239x300.webp
 
Well Guys.. If you look further down in the thread... You'll notice that there are some top members of that site that back me up...

Sounds more like a Ponzi scheme to me
Since I'm not a liar.. I'll admit this flat up. Half the things you see on the WF, and on Clickbank are scams and don't work. My products aren't the same. I only started creating products because I was flaming mad at all the bs that is out there. I wanted to help people learn how to actually make money instead of being another ponzi scheme.​
I don't agree or disagree with comments made in this thread. I'm a legit-businessman, and not a scammer. I don't speak for others in my field.​
Caleb​
 
Well Guys.. If you look further down in the thread... You'll notice that there are some top members of that site that back me up...

Since I'm not a liar.. I'll admit this flat up. Half the things you see on the WF, and on Clickbank are scams and don't work. My products aren't the same. I only started creating products because I was flaming mad at all the bs that is out there. I wanted to help people learn how to actually make money instead of being another ponzi scheme.
I don't agree or disagree with comments made in this thread. I'm a legit-businessman, and not a scammer. I don't speak for others in my field.
Caleb


Caleb, done right, I realize it can be legit and a real money making adventure but a vast majority of them aren't...and the ponzi schemes far outweight the legit ones. So you have to be aware and have your eyes open and a lock on your wallet before going into something like that. Just being aware and careful helps avoid most of them.
 
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