Menu



error This forum is not active, and new posts may not be made in it.
Re: Syndication????
2/18/2006 11:37:28 AM
Winston, Two very good questions. How big a list? Huge massive or enough people that are willing to interact and add a new quality that would enhance the website. The actual size of the list doesn't really matter as most mailing list numbers are usually not as accurate. As an example we do not see over 25,000 people interacting here at Adlands but the number of registered users is over 25,000. In almost any forum here there are only a handfull of participants. What makes the difference as you know is the quality of the posts and quality of the interaction. Next subject the effect on sales. It can easily go either way. If all people ever do is bookmark the forum and visit that page then it will kill sales. Most participants might not even know about the rest of the site. How you use the forum to direct traffic to other areas of the website makes a difference here. If your forum builds up the products for sale and directs people to them then it can very well enhance sales. An example and I am sure this is not new to you is to link words to sections or products that meet the topic being discussed. Let us assume we are talking about the properties of soy wax candles vs parafin and the toxins associated to them. The links drive the traffic that can equal the sale. In operating a forum one also needs to be sure that they ubderstand the script being used to generate the forum and how they can and cannot interact with it. THis can get in depth but it isn't rocket science. The script we use for forums is a popular and powerful one.
+0
Winston Scoville

477
536 Posts
536
Invite Me as a Friend
Re: Syndication????
2/18/2006 1:46:17 PM
=========================================== In operating a forum one also needs to be sure that they ubderstand the script being used to generate the forum and how they can and cannot interact with it. THis can get in depth but it isn't rocket science. =========================================== Definitely a point I was concerned about as eventually I plan on adding a forum to this project as I can see a very valuable use for it. Thus one of the main reasons I was asking about forums. Being able to get input on what's available and what to look for is very important. Any recommendations on what to look for? -- P.S. Site looks great!
+0
Re: Syndication????
2/18/2006 2:29:56 PM
I would suggest that you look at PHPBB. It has a lot of features and allows you complete control over posts and memberships.
+0
Cheri Merz

492
1258 Posts
1258
Invite Me as a Friend
Person Of The Week
Re: Operating a Forum
2/18/2006 10:45:18 PM
Winston, Now this question I can relate to, and thank you for asking it. I wouldn't have thought of the aspects that Peter brought up, either. Peter, thanks for answering so clearly and completely. I had thought to include a forum, but will now confine reader interaction to some kind of ask the editor feature in the newsletter until the list is built up. Linda also pointed out to me that it's easy for such a thing to degenerate into a gigantic spam machine like some people try to do with Adland. Good point about the number of people registered at Adland vs. active forum users. I had noticed there were never that many at a time online, but assumed more were active than you indicated...and that I just hadn't met them all. A fairly new user, Mike King?, is compiling a directory of active users, if anyone is interested. I think he is emailing everyone individually...gargantuan task but could be a really useful project. Cheri
+0
Winston Scoville

477
536 Posts
536
Invite Me as a Friend
Re: Operating a Forum
2/19/2006 6:52:39 AM
Cheri, ------------------------------------ it's easy for such a thing to degenerate into a gigantic spam machine ------------------------------------ That was also a major concern of mine. And I think it probably should be expected that that would happen. At least during the start up. Which brings up another point. Is the time and effort required to maintain a forum worth it? Any suggestions on how to help cut down on this possible problem of spam? One that I had thought of was to make it an invitation only forum. For example, website customers and people you know.
+0


facebook
Like us on Facebook!