Why no fresh meat around here?

MBannon · Jan 24, 2012

I don't hang out in the other KR forums, is the problem the same across the board or specific to the multi-sport forum? Is KR not showing up in Google searches? Is it the new platform? I highly doubt it is an actual decline in interest in the sport, USAT membership is as strong as ever. Maybe it's just a lack of "spark" now that many/most of us have grown up together and don't have a lot of new questions...Lack of activity = lack of new members = lack of activity?
 
Anyone lurk/post over at BT? Is there a similar decline in new forum members? This slooooow death is painful to watch!

TriBob · Jan 24, 2012

Most forums are dying. Some that have new social functions have not taken off either. Not sure what the next big thing will be.

MBannon · Jan 24, 2012

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by TriBob <a href="/t/76208/why-no-fresh-meat-around-here#post_2026703"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> Most forums are dying. Some that have new social functions have not taken off either. Not sure what the next big thing will be. 
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 Hopefully something, and hopefully soon. Because websites like Facebook, Reddit, etc. are all well and good, but they are very impersonal and don't foster the "family" feeling that a forum can.
 
Or maybe I'm just becoming a grumpy old man, finally. It was bound to happen.

LeftRightRepeat · Jan 24, 2012

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by MBannon <a href="/t/76208/why-no-fresh-meat-around-here#post_2026707"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> 
Because websites like Facebook, Reddit, etc. are all well and good, but they are very impersonal and don't foster the "family" feeling that a forum can.</div>
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 Disagree. I think the forum, like the BBS before it, is doomed.

donskiman · Jan 24, 2012

I post on both BT & ST and both are very active with a continuous influx of new people. It's not uncommon on both for threads to run multiple pages in one day. There appears to be no signs of slowing down on either.

Muffin Queen · Jan 24, 2012

I was wondering the same thing Bannon. I however have no insight. I do read another forum that was always very active but has become less so lately and the regular posters are all asking the same questions. Maybe it is just the ebb and flow of life and this will cycle through.

MBannon · Jan 24, 2012

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by LeftRightRepeat <a href="/t/76208/why-no-fresh-meat-around-here#post_2026713"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> Disagree. I think the forum, like the BBS before it, is doomed.
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 I fear that is the case, but curious why you disagree about the impersonal nature of the new breed of social sites. I find it much harder to make meaningful connections, it's more like a sea of responses from random people. Maybe that's just the natural evolution of the internet, though.

AdCo · Jan 24, 2012

I think people don'g go looking for sites for questions and answers anymore, unless they have something else to offer? Beginner triathlete offers a LOT of other information AND has a forum. This place doesn't really offer much more, no real "content" etc. Also, people go to a team's FB page or group FB page instead of digging for different forums.

LeftRightRepeat · Jan 24, 2012

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by MBannon <a href="/t/76208/why-no-fresh-meat-around-here#post_2026760"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> I fear that is the case, but curious why you disagree about the impersonal nature of the new breed of social sites. I find it much harder to make meaningful connections, it's more like a sea of responses from random people. Maybe that's just the natural evolution of the internet, though.
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You can have a "group" within the social network - a circle on Google+ a Facebook Group on Facebook, etc. This can be invitation only or open and are more intimate.

MBannon · Jan 24, 2012

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by LeftRightRepeat <a href="/t/76208/why-no-fresh-meat-around-here#post_2026808"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> 
You can have a "group" within the social network - a circle on Google+ a Facebook Group on Facebook, etc. This can be invitation only or open and are more intimate.
 
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But what you can't have, at least not very easily, are big long thoughtful posts. It's all about quick questions and quicker replies. Imagine trying to describe a complicated swim workout and the logic behind it in a Facebook post. <shudder>
 
The other problem is that search engines don't index FB pages/clubs/groups. I know Google+ is partly in answer to this issue, but that's like tossing a pebble in a river to stop the flood. Too little, too late. When is the last time the Team LIT FB page attracted a new member?

4boysmom · Jan 24, 2012

I post mostly in Finishline daily thread and lurk here. We're down to mostly about ten regular posters, no fresh meat. Some people have had trouble posting, then get out of the habit. Another forum I used to post on folded last year. I'm wondering if forums are just starting to die out.

Tri-Tammy · Jan 25, 2012

I read BT and ST and they seem to be extremely active. New threads with multiple pages everyday. It appears that they both have fb sites and that many of them all know eachother- race/train together. So that still Ieads me to believe that the lack of activity here (old or new) has much to do with how slowly the pages load and that many of us cannot post off of our androids, blackberries, etc.
 
I also wonder- if you do a google search of tri forums- how far up this one comes? We are embedded in a running website....

AdCo · Jan 25, 2012

Also, let's face it.. When this site doesn't offer much "content." we provide our own. If I do a search on HR training in Traithlon, i get links to BT, couch 2 5k, No Kick, etc.. PLUS, as most of us know, posting from most devices is a pain! I Don't even try from my blackberry anymore.

jenotter · Jan 25, 2012

I feel like this site goes through low times periodically...maybe this is one of those times? I don't go to any other MS or running forums - just this one since it's where I feel comfortable. For "content" i occasionally hit BT, but I always end up coming back here to get questions answered.
 
I do try to "recruit" friends to this forum who are new to MS, or just looking for a place to join a community, but I'm not sure it's working.

pcsronbo · Jan 26, 2012

my big limiter is no mobility option. plain and simple. It majorly reduces my ability to access site.

LeftRightRepeat · Jan 26, 2012

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by MBannon <a href="/t/76208/why-no-fresh-meat-around-here#post_2026826"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> But what you can't have, at least not very easily, are big long thoughtful posts.
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Oh sure... You can link your blog, post a "note", share a document...

TriBob · Jan 26, 2012

I recon'd RunningFourms. My ID still works but they have not had a post in 2 days. So we are on a very active forum.

Yo Sake · Jan 26, 2012

I don't go other running/triathlon forums, so I don't know if this slow traffic is just here or general trend. I used to read ST time to time, but I didn't often like the 'tone' of some of the people. 
 
I don't know what has changed here that has contributed to the slow traffic, or not attracting new comers. I still come here quite often to see how everybody is doing. Like Jen, I feel comfortable here.

Thor · Jan 27, 2012

Good question. It's something I've thought about for a few years now with respect to our happy place here.
 
The more thought I give it, the more I think that it has nothing to do with forums of these sort a dying breed, even if it were true, but more about the people here as compared to other boards. We're more like a family rather than a know-it-all and share-proactively-what-we-know. I think the we-are-family aspect actually hurts us in a way of growing more, and it probably does for a lot of reasons. First is the obvious, that it is harder to join something when everyone knows each other so well; and second, often when you have more "personalities" or at least a few people to stir the pot, it makes for better reading, and better reading pulls in the masses.
 
The other part where we fail is in how we aren't exactly sharing proactively our knowledge in clear and concise formats. For example, we don't have anyone to take the reigns on writing articles/information pieces on a variety of subjects, such as Training with Power, Heartrate monitor Training, Nutrition for Training, In-Race Nutrition, etc. I think if we did, and if we kept at it, we'd have more folks come and stay. Most of us have learned already what we need, but what's interesting is that most of us aren't exactly experts but rather we can talk more about what works for us individually.
 
So I think what keeps the regulars returning, what keeps us all bonded as friends rather than competitors, is probably one of the things that also keeps our growth steady state. And there are many, many more reasons, I'm guessing, that I haven't listed.
 
how to change? Maybe start with more interesting threads... or even just open discussions on interesting topics... but not just have one thread to kick it off, have two or three per day so that the information is fresh, constantly changing. When the daily bread thread, something that not everyone cares about, is the only thing changing, we have a problem when it comes to attracting new. Part of the problem also is that since we are all friends and most of us have met each other many times, we are already getting out of the site what we want -- and so we have little motivation to be more active.

donskiman · Jan 28, 2012

I just did a couple searches. Putting "triathlon forums" did not bring up any hits for this place. It wasn't listed on the first 10 pages. When I used "multi-sport forums" this place came up in the number one position. The problem is that most people don't search for multi-sport, but rather triathlon. So either the head people here at Kick need to find a way for this place to be listed as a triathlon forum, or the name needs to be changed from Multi-Sport Forum to Triathlon Forum. It seems now the only way people find their way here is by accidently stumbling their way in. Not going to get many new people that way. BT & ST show up at the top 2 when searching for triathlon forums and it's no surprise they have a continuous influx of new people.
 
I've been posting on ST almost since it first started and there are a bunch of regulars just like here. BT has lots of regulars too. I've met people from all these places at various races around the country. All really good people. Each forum has a different feel to it. Some prefer one or another. I just like mingling so I don't pick only one.
 
So IMO the way to get people here is to make this place show up near the top when people search for triathlon forums. Then it's up to us to welcome new people, answer their newbie questions if applicable or accept their seasoned advice if applicable.

Why no fresh meat around here?

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