I know right? It's pretty silly but I'm mostly done with fbook anyway I rarely give it much though. What will be amusing is when fbook releases their new A.I. which will 'know' what you like and then 'auto like' and 'auto comment' on your content. It might even auto upload content from your camera, etc. By 2025 facebook will be an A.I. social network managing a billion accounts talking to itself.
The future of forums (vs social media)
- Thread starter drastic
- Start date
teletubbi
Well-known member
The difference is why we run a forum.
With your target to get the younger i assume you want to make a living from it.
My target is to give people of all age, confession and gender a platform where they can find useful information, share their experience, express themselves (what they do if they write a story about their journey), come together in real life(i guess nearly the half of our users know each other in real life over the years) or just having fun. Nearly all use also social media. But they always keep coming back to us.
I am not in a position where i need to make a living from that. We only have some advertising from people who participated on the forum, some money come in from people who like the project and want to help.
So the cost for all come in. We could make much more out of it. But we don't want.
And the people recognize this.
It is also a question how you run a forum.
Only set up a forum from the technical side or be part of the community.
Be part of it means to spend much more time with it as only looking for the tech side.
So both kind have different demands and can't compared to each other.
There will never be a way to satisfy everybody. This is impossible because of human nature.
I think is mentioned already above. What i like to see is to make pictures out of the editor if you are on mobile. Like you can do at WhatsApp for example.
This will be an great advantage for life storys even if the users use the existing possibility we have now at xf.
Beg your pardon for my english. It is not easy at all for me to express my thinking as i could do in my native language. But i hope it will be understandable.
Floyd R Turbo
Well-known member
Forums will always be forums at some root level. But somehow melding the benefits of the social media tools with the baseline idea of the forum platform could start to bridge the gap.
Forums will always be forums at some root level. But somehow melding the benefits of the social media tools with the
Forums will always be forums at some root level. But somehow melding the benefits of the social media tools with the
Point taken. I think I was just venting that no one specifically has said "yes we are working on this" but I guess I can see why maybe on one would go this far. Either 1) not let the cat out of the bag or 2) not say they might be able to do something that thye might not be able to pull off.
Martok
Well-known member
You should know by now that the developers never say what they are working on until it's actually ready to show to customers in the Have You Seen..? forum. They only say if they won't be doing something (and mark as not planned). So you'll have to wait and see what XenForo 2.0 brings.
drastic
Well-known member
surfsup
Well-known member
I seriously have to disagree with you on that its only linked to friends and close family, we even started a group and competitors did to with thousands of members - its almost like a complete forum, and they just gave us new options of 'closing' threads instead of just deleting. The only thing they will do next is create group sections and then thats all she wrote - Only Facebook (mark) can monetize Facebook groups and not Admins like on forums. Google+ communities is already structered like a forum, Facebook will be next. FB has killed off different forums out there, not ours tho as we still have over 2K+ posts a day but the fb group has grown into a beast.
These members are ages 35+ as its for professionals, not younger ones.
Times are changing, lets just hope Xenforo doesnt stay behind times - kinda like Nintendo, great company but always a couple steps behind times.
Max
Well-known member
If you check app store stats people only use top 1% of all the apps in the market. They don't install/use apps unless they have really big need for that. They are too lazy to go through all the trouble to try an app from a new site.So, in summary, we need an XF App?
We need a proper easy to use web UI to work in mobile/desktop browser.
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Max
Well-known member
check this out
http://try.discourse.org/
http://try.discourse.org/
Mr Lucky
Well-known member
But isn't that up to you, the site owner, to customise and style how you want it.
I f you want something you find attractive, then just make it attractive. No forum software will be able to please everyone "out of the box", hence we do some customising to fit in with our own idea of attractive.
sbj
Well-known member
I totally agree with all what you said but specially this one line.
No offense but even that Xenforo is the best forum software in the market, it is still waaay behind for the needs of todays people.
As all people already mentioned, if you want to chit-chat or be social, you have the social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Whatsapp etc.)
If you want to get quick information, you have Wikipedia.
So for what do people need forums? This is the question all forum owners and forum software engineers must think of. And I don't think that Xenforo or any other forum software concentrates on this particular question.
The only reason why I visit forums are because they deliver information AND I can exchange the information with people interactively at the same time. For example everybody can read an article about computer virus on Wikipedia, but Wikipedia won't be able to help me when my PC is infected by a virus. So I visit a forum and ask for help and/or seek for information while I talk to other people. But the problem here is, because of lack of the forum software, it is very hard to gather information on forums.
Sorry but the search system is very inaccurate for me most of the time. And because there is no native built-in "information-saver" by the forum software, all information are hidden deep in some threads people hardly can find.
So in my opinion all forum software must make a biiig step by solving this problem cause this is the only valid reason (for me) why forums have a legit reason to exist. Cause this fills a gap which social media or normal websites can't do.
But again, forums are sooo bad-organized (naturely because of the software), that information is not easy accessible. This is a big turn-off for most of the people. Because today you want everything as quick as possible, as good as possible and on your damn smartphone.
Honestly, I don't think that xf2 will be much different than xf1 regarding this issue. Of course it will be better coded, will offer much more stuff for coders/owners, etc. but I don't think they will introduce new architecture for making it easier to gather information.
surfsup
Well-known member
erich37
Well-known member
All I can say is:
"Bookmarking"
https://xenforo.com/community/threads/kam-please-revisit-the-past.48273/page-2#post-518459
https://xenforo.com/community/threads/organizational-needs-structure-bookmarking-collections.48370/
https://xenforo.com/community/threads/bookmark-posts-for-future-reference-bookmark-center.1472/
Max
Well-known member
I am not saying apps are unnecessary, but its not an priority. 1st priority should be a easy to use fast web interface which works with mobiles/desktop browsers.
Users might switch to an app after they like the site and content. They will not install apps from an unknown site, first we have to attract visitor and make them love the site before all those app installs.
Check this out
https://moz.com/blog/mobile-web-mobile-apps-invest-marketing-whiteboard-friday
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sbj
Well-known member
All I can say is:
"Bookmarking"
Sorry but you miss the point.
I know bookmarking abilities, but I was talking about the software which lacks a kind of "bookmarking" in automatical way.
Cause the solution you are linking are done manually, manually by people. Good luck in "bookmarking" every thread in your forum manually by reading post by post.
snoopy5
Well-known member
Great thread!
What I have learned so far (and agree with it):
- Everybody agrees that we (as admins of different forums) need to do something to get better growth in our forums.
- Most of you think, that the solution is software/template/usability based
- Most of you think, that all forums are too complicated to use, once you have made the usability experience of the social Media platforms.
I totally agree with that statement. I could not have expressed it better. I would add: With a focus on UX with mobile devices.
- Some of you reported, that it is impossible to “transfer” FB-Groups to a forum
My view on this: It seems that the FB-Groups typical target group does not want to get deeper in a subject, more “serious”. Same as there are million internet users out there, who buy the products your forum is about, but will never be interested in talking about it on the internet, even not doing a search about it on the internet, although they use the internet for other stuff/searches/communities/FB. This does not mean that your forum is bad. Those people simply have a different attitude how they want to spend their free time for THAT subject. Different tools for different needs.
IMHO we are talking here about users, we would have neither reached even if Facebook would never have existed. This is not a forum problem, although it appears like that. We just see now millions of people via FB, Twitter etc., we would have never seen 15 years ago, because they would not have been interested in being visible on the net or to use forum.
I do not think it is a good strategy to try to force users to do something, they are simply not interested in.
I do think we should focus on attracting people in all age-segments, who appreciate the searchable content, more in depth information plus the ability to interact with others. Of course the usability has to be improved and be on par with the “social media easy way of doing it” as described above.
Percentage wise, I do think that the more the people grow up, the more they appreciate forums vs. social media discussion groups. A 20 year old man might use FB now, once he is over thirty, he will be less interested in FB and more interest in using his time more efficiently on the net, if at all.
There will be always exceptions and there are already 20 year old people who appreciate forums, but percentage wise this is a minority IMHO.
I totally agree. The average user does not want to read 30 minutes to get a problem solved. That is really a big problem. Additionally: if XF would offer a better search functionality (also on shared servers), people would stay longer on my site. As long as Google shows better results of my XF forum than the internal search engine of XF, I am loosing users.
This sums it up pretty nicely. This is our long-term problem.
Everything else is “easy”. Everything else is “window dressing”. This can be done. UX etc. al la FB, new structures to find information is just a question of programming something, change a template etc. This is something XF can do for us and/or addon-developpers.
But AFTER that, the problem is still there. This alone will not bring new users. It is a mandatory requirement to survive as a forum. But not more. So for what do people need forums nowadays? And why should they come back to your forum?
At the moment I think forums need to focus on filling the gap between Wikipedia on one side of the extreme Scala and Facebook, Twitter etc. on the other side, mixed with UX of social media.
The person who is looking purely for information without losing time will use Wikipedia.
The person who wants to chat superficially will use Facebook etc.
We need to focus on the person, who is looking for a mixture between information and community. Not too cold and abstract like Wikipedia and not too superficial and big like Facebook. But this is nothing XF can do for us. We have to do it.
This target group comes first because of the content in our forum, but it stays and comes back because of the people in the forum, the community, the same interest and “wavelength”.
What I have learned so far (and agree with it):
- Everybody agrees that we (as admins of different forums) need to do something to get better growth in our forums.
- Most of you think, that the solution is software/template/usability based
- Most of you think, that all forums are too complicated to use, once you have made the usability experience of the social Media platforms.
I totally agree with that statement. I could not have expressed it better. I would add: With a focus on UX with mobile devices.
- Some of you reported, that it is impossible to “transfer” FB-Groups to a forum
My view on this: It seems that the FB-Groups typical target group does not want to get deeper in a subject, more “serious”. Same as there are million internet users out there, who buy the products your forum is about, but will never be interested in talking about it on the internet, even not doing a search about it on the internet, although they use the internet for other stuff/searches/communities/FB. This does not mean that your forum is bad. Those people simply have a different attitude how they want to spend their free time for THAT subject. Different tools for different needs.
IMHO we are talking here about users, we would have neither reached even if Facebook would never have existed. This is not a forum problem, although it appears like that. We just see now millions of people via FB, Twitter etc., we would have never seen 15 years ago, because they would not have been interested in being visible on the net or to use forum.
I do not think it is a good strategy to try to force users to do something, they are simply not interested in.
I do think we should focus on attracting people in all age-segments, who appreciate the searchable content, more in depth information plus the ability to interact with others. Of course the usability has to be improved and be on par with the “social media easy way of doing it” as described above.
Percentage wise, I do think that the more the people grow up, the more they appreciate forums vs. social media discussion groups. A 20 year old man might use FB now, once he is over thirty, he will be less interested in FB and more interest in using his time more efficiently on the net, if at all.
There will be always exceptions and there are already 20 year old people who appreciate forums, but percentage wise this is a minority IMHO.
I totally agree. The average user does not want to read 30 minutes to get a problem solved. That is really a big problem. Additionally: if XF would offer a better search functionality (also on shared servers), people would stay longer on my site. As long as Google shows better results of my XF forum than the internal search engine of XF, I am loosing users.
This sums it up pretty nicely. This is our long-term problem.
Everything else is “easy”. Everything else is “window dressing”. This can be done. UX etc. al la FB, new structures to find information is just a question of programming something, change a template etc. This is something XF can do for us and/or addon-developpers.
But AFTER that, the problem is still there. This alone will not bring new users. It is a mandatory requirement to survive as a forum. But not more. So for what do people need forums nowadays? And why should they come back to your forum?
At the moment I think forums need to focus on filling the gap between Wikipedia on one side of the extreme Scala and Facebook, Twitter etc. on the other side, mixed with UX of social media.
The person who is looking purely for information without losing time will use Wikipedia.
The person who wants to chat superficially will use Facebook etc.
We need to focus on the person, who is looking for a mixture between information and community. Not too cold and abstract like Wikipedia and not too superficial and big like Facebook. But this is nothing XF can do for us. We have to do it.
This target group comes first because of the content in our forum, but it stays and comes back because of the people in the forum, the community, the same interest and “wavelength”.
drastic
Well-known member
The only forums I go to are webmaster forums. Anything else, I Google or ask a Facebook group.
I don't really have a need for forums myself, plus the alternative is easier.
Facebook is easier to use, I'm already signed up, can join small groups and get a decent reply, etc.
Google has a wealth of info, and only once in a while do I see forums in the search results. When I do, they're at least 10 years old and very technical forums.
We need an easier/faster interface for users and a little more focus on SEO just to give newer forums a slight chance to reach the se ranks.
If we appear more often in searches and are easy to use, then we may see an increase in registrations from Google and social media.
One problem I see with XF and Facebook is that when I post a link to a cool thread on my forum, it appears horribly on Facebook with those media or attach tags (I forget what it says, I stopped sharing links because they look unattractive to surfers). Just show my picture or video. If I share a link to my WordPress site, a really nice picture preview appears with the title and description. Why can't we look like that? There's no reason we shouldn't look that attractive to prospective users.
So....easier to use (mobile/web), focus on SEO, and more attractive when shared on social media could be a huge step in the right direction.
I'd love to see a hybrid between XF and WP. Give us the user features of XF with the SEO and content delivery of WP and you'll have the best thing since sliced bread.
I don't really have a need for forums myself, plus the alternative is easier.
Facebook is easier to use, I'm already signed up, can join small groups and get a decent reply, etc.
Google has a wealth of info, and only once in a while do I see forums in the search results. When I do, they're at least 10 years old and very technical forums.
We need an easier/faster interface for users and a little more focus on SEO just to give newer forums a slight chance to reach the se ranks.
If we appear more often in searches and are easy to use, then we may see an increase in registrations from Google and social media.
One problem I see with XF and Facebook is that when I post a link to a cool thread on my forum, it appears horribly on Facebook with those media or attach tags (I forget what it says, I stopped sharing links because they look unattractive to surfers). Just show my picture or video. If I share a link to my WordPress site, a really nice picture preview appears with the title and description. Why can't we look like that? There's no reason we shouldn't look that attractive to prospective users.
So....easier to use (mobile/web), focus on SEO, and more attractive when shared on social media could be a huge step in the right direction.
I'd love to see a hybrid between XF and WP. Give us the user features of XF with the SEO and content delivery of WP and you'll have the best thing since sliced bread.