Forum & Community use up 8% in 4 years
- Thread starter Murder he Wrote
- Start date
I agree with the article for sure. Forums need to start becoming closer to social networks. That's why forums die. When people feel they can't communicate effectively then it just doesn't work anymore. That's the problem with old sites like these.
It's interesting that they say forum use has increase. (A nice change from people claiming forums are dying.)
However I disagree with the idea that they have to have real name attachments. Sometimes it's better not to have those real life cues at all. Consider it this way: online you can befriend anyone even if you might not be among the same social circles. So a scientist, a garbage collector, a surgeon and a professional gamer could all end up friends because the stigma is removed. They're friends because they're judging off personality rather than how much money one makes or their contributions to society.
Forums and social networks fill 2 different roles. Social networks allow you to easily connect with people you already know. Forums allow you to connect with those you don't know.
Forums allow more privacy and anonymity while social networks often want everything from name, location, age, gender, school, job, etc...
Forums also can be more specialized than social networks. I mean that you can join a forum just for talking about games where joining a social network is much of a larger and more general thing.
However I disagree with the idea that they have to have real name attachments. Sometimes it's better not to have those real life cues at all. Consider it this way: online you can befriend anyone even if you might not be among the same social circles. So a scientist, a garbage collector, a surgeon and a professional gamer could all end up friends because the stigma is removed. They're friends because they're judging off personality rather than how much money one makes or their contributions to society.
Forums and social networks fill 2 different roles. Social networks allow you to easily connect with people you already know. Forums allow you to connect with those you don't know.
Forums allow more privacy and anonymity while social networks often want everything from name, location, age, gender, school, job, etc...
Forums also can be more specialized than social networks. I mean that you can join a forum just for talking about games where joining a social network is much of a larger and more general thing.
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