Are forums appropriate for new group owners?

[JoelR]

Are independent forums - out of all options on the modern web - are appropriate or even good for users new to community building or who don't have a group yet? 

I'm starting to think that forums are no longer starter projects, but fairly advanced in the group-building cycle once you have an established (or can tap in to an established) audience.  You probably want to start with a blog or a resource site, and then add on forums once you've built up enough followers or users.  

[Chris Anderson]

People may have free time but be short on money, or have money but no free time, it's rare to find someone with both at the same time with an interest in starting a new forum.

I think recent retirees are a potential untapped market as they don't like all the shenanigans that takes place on the big social media sites. But they likely won't have a light bulb moment that they could host their own forum. 

Some outreach might change that, barring that happening I'm afraid you are right small forums are quickly dying out, which is a shame as I don't believe social media is an adequate replacement for true community building at a small scale. 

Maybe if all the past and present community leaders came together as forum evangelists and mentors they could collectively inspire a modest resurgence.  Know anyone that might be interested in leading such a charge?

 

 

 

[JoelR]

On 8/26/2024 at 12:09 AM, Chris Anderson said:

Maybe if all the past and present community leaders came together as forum evangelists and mentors they could collectively inspire a modest resurgence.  Know anyone that might be interested in leading such a charge?

Certainly in professional community management, there are several voices that offer their advice and thought leadership.  These are people like Jono Bacon, Richard Millington, Rosie, etc.  But they're not targeted to IPS (or the other legacy forum developers).