Social Media Killed Forums?

[Forces of Steel]

Let's look at the fact that we have "posting packages" and "member exchanges" on this very forum. If this was still 2005, then getting a community started would've been much easier, since forums were the height of communication. Most of our online relationships now take place on social media. Why post on a forum when you could just troll on places with no sort of moderation? Most of the people who could've been potential forum members aren't convinced at all to join your forum, because they'd join the most popular one related to your interest.

I'm sorry to all the youngsters out there who just started exploring the world of forums since a few years ago. You should've been there to see how thriving lots of forums were in the early 2000s, because you'd see a new post every minute or two. Those were great times, even if we had to put up with lots of trolls. Eh, it happens with popular communities. Honestly, I'm fully aware that social media killed off most forums. Again, if not for that fact, most of us wouldn't be here, struggling to get even just one actual user.

 

[Cyber]

I don't think social media was a major factor but I do believe you have to go and get activity as 90% of the time you can't sit there with no money and expect to get somewhere as a forum owner.

In my opinion owning a forum is not a job but a business, you invest money into it you receive activity, members and sometimes money to (hopefully) invest back into it.

 

[Forces of Steel]

I don't think social media was a major factor but I do believe you have to go and get activity as 90% of the time you can't sit there with no money and expect to get somewhere as a forum owner.

In my opinion owning a forum is not a job but a business, you invest money into it you receive activity, members and sometimes money to (hopefully) invest back into it.

This was all different back then. Getting members to join was no big deal. Even traffic was much easier to attract. Forums were king during those times. It's all different now, and things just got harder. Money or no money, you won't get by without any effort of your own.

 

[Cyber]

I don't think social media was a major factor but I do believe you have to go and get activity as 90% of the time you can't sit there with no money and expect to get somewhere as a forum owner.

In my opinion owning a forum is not a job but a business, you invest money into it you receive activity, members and sometimes money to (hopefully) invest back into it.

This was all different back then. Getting members to join was no big deal. Even traffic was much easier to attract. Forums were king during those times. It's all different now, and things just got harder. Money or no money, you won't get by without any effort of your own.

This also most likely is because everyone and their cousins own a forum anymore.

 

[Forces of Steel]

I think you're missing the point. Even back then with so many forums, people still joined and made their posts. The difference now is that people COULD join your community, but why should they? What will they get out of it? They have their buddies all on their social media profiles to give them the daily ego boost that they seek. It takes zero effort to get anything in return anymore. We live in an age of consumerism, which explains why we're seeing more people lurking than posting. Also, the fact that most people are simply obsessed with their smartphones is quite telling of the fact that forums will soon be on their way out.

 

[Gizmo]

People who lack the experience and just have a default theme and empty forums on their board are the ones that destroyed forums 🙂

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Social media will only 'kill' the forums of forum owners that let social media 'kill' them...if that makes any sense.

Social media for me has been an excellent tool for converting social guests to forum members. The trick is simply spending more time on social media for promoting your forum than you normally would do.

Creating a page on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and so on and just expecting people to find it and then join your forum isn't enough. You need to be using all the promotion tactics you are using for your forum on social media as well as if it was another version of your forum itself. The creators of social media are not creating these sites to cater to other communities, they are catering to their own community so that is an important note to understand when using social media as a promotion tool for online communities.

 

[Cosmic]

Social networks and forums are different, with their own advantages and disadvantages, at least in my opinion. While social networks offer a great deal of freedom, they also have a lot more spam than forums. It's also a lot harder to have a meaningful conversation on a social network. Forums are losing ground, but I don't think they'll go away completely.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Social networks and forums are different, with their own advantages and disadvantages, at least in my opinion. While social networks offer a great deal of freedom, they also have a lot more spam than forums. It's also a lot harder to have a meaningful conversation on a social network. Forums are losing ground, but I don't think they'll go away completely.

I think there are plenty of us old school forumers who still realize the value of the forum, but the next generations might differ. When I need an answer about a question, I usually turn to forums for it. Social media, my friends and family, if I need to ask them for the answer, I'll text or ask them in person not on the profile page. A forum though, I can find a forum with experts concerning my question and ask them for the answer while on social media, I might or might not get lucky...