Who is going to forumcon 2012?

[Samir]

Important considerations BUT.......

Running profitable forums can be somewhat like playing music (your nightclub example) or even playing sports "in the zone". That is, if you played bass each night and though "How much am I gonna get paid for each note" or ran a marathon and thought about how much per mile you were gonna make...you'd probably fail.

What I am getting at is that trying too hard to make money...can often work against you!

I have found this true in physical businesses as well as consulting and web site operation....

A perfect example is IB themselves. When Forums are reduced to being vehicles for profit, they suffer. I think this is what you are getting at with your nightclub analogy.

The biggest secret to success, which includes making money, is not to take advantage of people and always give them what they have paid for and more! In addition to that, never burn any bridges nor react angrily to clients or potential clients - even if and when they rip you off! I've had clients stiff me and go bankrupt...only to resurface with a new company a couple years later and place more ads!

When I first started my site in 1995 the idea was to do it the best that I could - to share as much of what I know (and others know) in order that people could be educated about the subject(s). Maybe a more apt comparison is being a neurosurgeon. Do you think a good NS has to consider how he or she is going to monetize their practice? I'd say, in most cases, no. It just happens.

I completely agree with what you're saying about milking the cash cow dry. IB and the other forum networks are definitely doing that, but that's what happens when forums are taken seriously as a big business rather than the small businesses they are. And big businesses have all that overhead that someone has to pay for...

But thinking that the best revenue will just come to you when you have a great product or service is a bit ludicrous, in any business moreless a forum. It still takes connecting with the right people and approaching it as a business. Yes, you can't leave your core behind. But you can't just work on your core and think the money will come in. If that was the case, I should have advertisers beating down my door instead of me having to network to get them. It's great if you're in the situation that they're beating down your door, but I'm hazarding a guess that that's the exception more than the rule.

 

[Samir]

Never said that making money is a bad thing, I'm a capitalist.

This.

Once your primary focus is just to see how much money you can squeeze out of it, depending on your community they'll notice and it'll most likely work against you. So now you're community starts falling apart, which in turn means less pageviews/revenue.

Oh, I totally agree with you here, and everyone at ForumCon believes in this hardcore. You can't monetize traffic if you have no traffic. You can't have traffic if you aren't making a good community, period. It all starts with the community and the users. No users, no traffic; no traffic, no money.

 

[DBA]

Oh, I totally agree with you here, and everyone at ForumCon believes in this hardcore. You can't monetize traffic if you have no traffic. You can't have traffic if you aren't making a good community, period. It all starts with the community and the users. No users, no traffic; no traffic, no money.

That's what I was originally referring to, glad you finally get what I meant. Yes I agree that you should make [a lot of] money off of your forum, however once that becomes your driving force.....it'll be a slippery slope.

It all starts with the community and the users. No users, no traffic; no traffic, no money.

Very well said.

 

[Samir]

Yeah, that's what usually happens in forums, right? We all say the same thing different ways until we agree they're the same things, lol.

So coming back to the topic, imagine this type of 'everyone thinking the same way coming from different points of view' energy times 200+ people in the same room--that's ForumCon. You learn so much just by talking with others. I mean, if you and I met in person there our conversation on this topic would have been just 5 minutes. Imagine what happens in 8hrs.

 

[craigiri]

Yeah, that's what usually happens in forums, right? We all say the same thing different ways until we agree they're the same things, lol.

So coming back to the topic, imagine this type of 'everyone thinking the same way coming from different points of view' energy times 200+ people in the same room--that's ForumCon. You learn so much just by talking with others. I mean, if you and I met in person there our conversation on this topic would have been just 5 minutes. Imagine what happens in 8hrs.

I''m ADD.
Anything longer than 20 minutes and I'm cooked.......

I once went to "Adsense in your City" a full day seminar put on by google for just this purpose - making money from your small site. They didn't have any presentation longer than 20 minutes and no more than two in a row. In fact, I think in the whole day they only had 4 of them. The rest of the time you got to network and hang with them and also have an individual consult.

I do agree that networking can be a good thing! I have a daughter who lives in the Bay Area and would consider the excuse of going to a conference for just that reason (a visit). But, otherwise, I'll hang with the local groups here in the east! Meetup, btw, often has some decent local groups.....although not quite as specialized as "forums only".

 

[BGL]

So coming back to the topic, imagine this type of 'everyone thinking the same way coming from different points of view' energy times 200+ people in the same room--that's ForumCon. You learn so much just by talking with others. I mean, if you and I met in person there our conversation on this topic would have been just 5 minutes. Imagine what happens in 8hrs.

The single biggest takeway from ForumCon.com was the need to have a mobile interface from a user standpoint and from an advertising software standpoint. 50% of our members are going to be coming from mobile.

That fact and those stats were repeated again and again in the presentations.

It made ForumCon.com worth it to me.

I had come to hear and talk to Winter Wong as having a Tapatalk or native mobile interface was my main focus and the stats and comments at ForumCon.com confirmed it.

That XenForo had a Mobile Style as definitely being in the June 2012 beta is encouraging. If that happens, life will be good.

 

[petertdavis]

But, otherwise, I'll hang with the local groups here in the east! Meetup, btw, often has some decent local groups.....although not quite as specialized as "forums only".

I'm working on getting something like that going, but not necessarily on the meetup.com platform. Anyone else in the northeast interested, get in touch with me.

 

[Joeychgo]

Am I the only one that feels like the forum industry isn't even a big enough "industry" to have it's own convention?

I think that perception is why none of the other conventions discuss forums. Things are somewhat different for a forum then for a blog or a eCommerce site. SEO, marketing, user management, server needs, ad sales, etc. Its all a bit different. There are several hundered thousand forums out there and nobody is talking about their needs.

 

[craigiri]

The single biggest takeway from ForumCon.com was the need to have a mobile interface from a user standpoint and from an advertising software standpoint. 50% of our members are going to be coming from mobile.

That XenForo had a Mobile Style as definitely being in the June 2012 beta is encouraging. If that happens, life will be good.

I agree to a certain extent. However, the fact is that even FB (and many others) have been unable to properly monetize their mobile presence. It's one thing to have a nice mobile style, skin or app - quite another to get the same value from ads on it.

This is a problem we will all face in the coming years. I don't know the solution yet.....but would love to brainstorm on it sometime!

 

[BGL]

I agree to a certain extent. However, the fact is that even FB (and many others) have been unable to properly monetize their mobile presence. It's one thing to have a nice mobile style, skin or app - quite another to get the same value from ads on it.

First step. Get a mobile interface or you are not in the game. 50% of your forum members will be logging on somewhere else because you are not accessible. XenForo stated this is a priority item that will be in 1.2 update, beta due in two weeks. Desktop, iPad, iPhone interfaces are the key. Android phone and tablet after that. Based on market share.

As far as advertising, on the iPad, no different, the banners ads etc. work fine in that space. On the iPhone, ads embedded in content (Intext, Viglink, PostRelease) are the answer vs. ads outside the content.

 

[craigiri]

I can't imagine ever doing viglink and stuff like that.....especially since navigation to other sites takes longer and is more of a PITA on a small mobile device.

I can imagine doing text boxes with text ads in them......like every "X" posts......this at least lets the reader know what is being advertised and sold.

I think it depends on the forum subject. If a forum was about food, for instance, mobile ads would be great if tuned into local deals near where the customer is at the time.

But most of us don't have that type of product. I also think most small screen mobile users don't do as much surfing as those on larger screens - that is, they get the info they are looking for and then move on!

In terms of forums, that may be mostly the "addicts" of the forum who like to see what is happening all day long.....my thinking is that the "new researchers", who often represent the most valuable customer, is going to do things on an pad or a laptop/desktop.

I think we have to, as always, look carefully at this stuff as it matures and fit our offerings to the audience and their behavior. I can even imagine giant splash screens which the user has to easily dismiss....ever 10 pages loaded...would be somewhat effective for mobile.

Lots to think about. Hopefully goog will come up with some stuff also...(adsense).

 

[BGL]

I can't imagine ever doing viglink and stuff like that.....

Start imagining. "Do In Text Ads Work iPhone".

I think it depends on the forum subject.

All good ads depend on the forum subject. Google and web advertising is built on context sensitive advertising.

If a forum was about food, for instance, mobile ads would be great if tuned into local deals near where the customer is at the time.

Yes use of location services would a great bonus for intext mobile ads.

 

[DBA]

First step. Get a mobile interface or you are not in the game. 50% of your forum members will be logging on somewhere else because you are not accessible.

This "50%" number isn't an end all number, it'll depend on your niche. For example 25% of all visits to my site this year were from a mobile device. However a "techy" forum while probably be closer to the "100%" side of the spectrum.

 

[craigiri]

20% of my visits this year were from mobile devices OTHER than ipad.

 

[Joeychgo]

This "50%" number isn't an end all number, it'll depend on your niche. For example 25% of all visits to my site this year were from a mobile device. However a "techy" forum while probably be closer to the "100%" side of the spectrum.

Exactly true. Dont forget too, as you get older, it isnt so easy to communicate on a phone, things are just too small for older eyes and fingers.

 

[Samir]

Exactly true. Dont forget too, as you get older, it isnt so easy to communicate on a phone, things are just too small for older eyes and fingers.

Very true! It seems only about 10% of my traffic is coming from mobile, and that's just my younger users. The older guys are not even registered because they can't do anything more than email, lol.