Here's A Business Idea with Proposal!

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by theGypsy

am lost a tad.... so we're talking about creating a; 'How to start a forum; foru business of fun' - kind of guide?

That's my thought, Gypsy. The idea is a "How To on starting and running a forum whether for fun only or for profit" product.

Originally Posted by theGypsy

While it might make some reasonable link bait (if given away for free) - I am not so sure there would be much of a market for it really....Is that the concept? Or am I spaced out once more?

It would likely be for those who already have a website business whether for interest or for profit. The advantage to the web owner is the opportunity to build the affinity bond--the relationship--with the visitors/contributors/customers.

The value of a forum? Look at how similar venues have grown in the 2.0 world, e.g., Twitter, Facebook, SBF, etc.

Just a thought about a need that seems in need of being met.

Paul

[theGypsy]

Well there's the rub... this is old hat my good man... social networking 1.0

Being a bit of a forum hound myself, old dog..old tricks, I have noticed most of the boards across the web are slower than they used to be. Sure, the top dogs in certain niches are still surviving, but IMO forum use in general is down. Surely the rise and lure of social networking 2.0 has something to do with it...

Once more, I am a fan of boards... just not sure there is a market as much as there would be for things such as 'Social Networking for Business' 'Blogging for Customer relations' etc... those kind of things are in... Forums? Not so sure if that angle would really play.

Sure, dress anything up and it'll sell, just not sure there is a mainstream popularity for peeps setting up forums..... I know a lot of peeps that have tried getting boards to fly the last few years... harder and harder all the time.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by theGypsy

Well there's the rub... this is old hat my good man... social networking 1.0

Perhaps it is for net hounds.

I'm talking about a niche that uses the Internet, which has a specialized interest, but generally no interest in other elements of the net.

Relationship building has no cycle.

There may not be a sufficient market for it. It's something I would find very useful and figure there are other people who would also.

Paul

[billbenson]

Strikes me that blogging and other social media is:

Article
Opinion

A forum is:

Question:
Answers.

Those are pretty different animals, although there is a ton of overlap. Many forums have blog sections as well. I've never run any type of social media site, I have used forums extensively, and occasionally look at a couple of blogs. Most of the blogs I look at were probably posted on webmaster forums.

Given the back and forth that is possible on a forum, a forum has more credibility. I'm talking in general, not Matt Cutts blog which obviously has credibility.

IMO this forum ramped up for a couple of reasons. A big one was people were just plain pissed (excuse the French) that the old forum was allowed to self destruct and Vangogh was left with all the responsibility and no authority. The good thing is it wasn't just the web people who followed. There are a number of people that followed even though the moderators expertise is on the web side primarily. There are some people here with good legal, accounting, and business background including retail.

While a blog does have commentary, it doesn't allow for question and answer. I suspect, for a forum to succeed, it needs to allow for a quality back and forth exchange of information, which the other mediums just don't have.

[vangogh]

Just thought I'd give a quick reply, mostly to subscribe myself to the thread, say a quick thanks for all the compliments, and to let everyone know I'm still connected to the internet if not maintaining a big presence for a day or two.

I'll respond a little more to the initial idea tomorrow. Hope you don't mind the wait.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by billbenson

While a blog does have commentary, it doesn't allow for question and answer. I suspect, for a forum to succeed, it needs to allow for a quality back and forth exchange of information, which the other mediums just don't have.

I think this is a very good analysis of the motivational qualitative differences between the 2.

To explain a little further--

The forum will be for a large specialty cooking group. Not simply cooks and recipe exchangers, but people with specialty cooking as a serious avocation who spend multiple thousands of dollars annually on courses, equipment, and cooking related travel, as well as professional chefs.

A forum will allow several subsets of this niche to share ideas, experiences, techniques, etc., as well as recipes. Many of the techniques are best shown to others using videos.

The profile of these people shows that they have this passionate interest and the income to support it. They use the Internet primarily for email, research, and feeding this cooking interest.

The owner of this business has a list of thousands built over a number of years. He produces some well-known, high-end cooking schools, cooking travel expeditions, and online cooking schools.

He has had a number of requests for more things that would allow his followers to connect with one another and with him. Yep, it's a ready-made bird's nest on the ground. BUT he has spent many years working to build it. It's now becoming a family business.

It's really not an issue of whether or not the forum will succeed, it's just a matter of doing it properly to fill the need. It will be to develop the community into a more cohesive group who give and take with more direction to the momentum.

Paul

[billbenson]

Are you a chef Paul, or well studied enough to moderate or manage such a forum? Liking to cook, that is the sort of forum that I would lurk on given some qualified posters.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by billbenson

Are you a chef Paul, or well studied enough to moderate or manage such a forum? Liking to cook, that is the sort of forum that I would lurk on given some qualified posters.

No, Bill, I'm not a chef. I do love to cook and have done a fair amount. I understand some of the chemistry of cooking and baking, the use of spices and seasonings, textures, healthy eating, and how to wash the dishes.

I'm helping with the company's marketing and managing the development of programs in different areas than those they've previously gone.

My approach is to mine a company's existing assets. I usually focus on their lists: work to activate the members, give them something, and involve them giving reasons to get involved. This is a gift, since company has already had a number of requests from customers for such an opportunity as a forum.

Yes, I will be lurking on other similar forums to learn those ropes.

My first job will be working with their IT people to get the software selected, installed, and configured. In this territory I don't need to know how to do it, but I will need to be a devil's advocate long enough to know whether it's been done correctly. I will not only need to know what features are needed but what NOT to do.

The major categories for discussion will be estabished by the owner. We will pick some of the leaders in his organization and in his groups. Then, we'll have to seed the forum sections, develop the buzz, and manage the day-to-day process.

At least initially it will not be open to people other than his established customers. It will gradually be opened to others as a part of his marketing net.

I clearly understand there are things I haven't thought of. We'll run into things we hadn't expected, etc., etc. I've simply got to plan, organize, launch, and manage it until it develops enough momentum. I'll need to sheperd the process and moderators to ensure that things remain helpful, productive, and vibrant, while pruning any tendencies to wander, argue, flame, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts and all the others that have been contributed.

Perhaps there isn't a sufficient market for such a "hot to" product. One thing that will work fortuatively for this company is the shift to online classes, services, products, and other Internet-based features as people travel less and want to do more from home or their places of business.

My sense is that businesses with changes in customer patterns, such as this business, will need to add a forum to their marketing mix. This is outside the realm of current forum usage and users.

Paul

[vangogh]

Paul, I'm not sure how much of a market their would be for a 'how to build a forum book' right now and I know I wouldn't have the time to work on one, but I'm still happy to share some thoughts.

Obviously there's the technical side, which is about finding the write forum software for your needs or developing the software on your own. Before setting up the forum here, I tested out a handful of different forum applications. I joined a few forums just to see what they were like on the inside and installed a couple to play around with. In the end I came back to vBulletin. At the moment it really does offer the most in terms of what your forum can do.

Along with the choosing the software there's understanding how it works and how to set up. I've been moderating and admining forums for awhile now so was able to use what I'd learned, but mostly I just went through every option on the admin side one by one and decided what I thought was the best set up.

The technical stuff is one thing. Ultimately what makes a forum successful is the community formed by the people who visit. One of the hardest things to do when starting a forum is attract the initial group of people who will help form your community. In our case we were a bit lucky since the community already existed and simply needed a home.

Forum leaders (admins, moderators, and key members) help guide and shape the direction of the forum, by example. Staff naturally deletes spam, but part of that is defining what is and isn't spam. Sometimes it's not very clear cut.

Forum leaders have a goal of nurturing the community as well. I think many forums miss this and see moderating as all about spam, but in truth forum leaders are there to help the community grow to its potential. I've seen many forum owners spend little time on their own forums, which I think is a mistake. I think they start to see their forum as something that mostly runs itself, which in a sense it does, but still there are issues the owners need to deal with. I can tell you that it's frustrating for forum staff when owners don't check in and no one can really make a decision. Owners don't need to be the most active members, but they do need to check in weekly.

You have the same issues marketing a forum as you do most any site. You're probably a little more concerned with people sticking around and interacting with a forum than you might be with a static site. A big part of convincing people to join and participate is the quality of the discussion already taking place.

In a nutshell you need someone to set up the technical, build an initial community of active members, and then nurture that community and help guide and shape the discussion. Add the usual marketing you do for any site, add water, and grow.

[Paul Elliott]

VG, thank you very much for your thoughts, experience, and observations. I will put many of these in my Letter of Agreement with the owner.

Even there is already a large list of interested members developing and growing the relationships will be paramount. I understand this and will be working diligently on it. It's one of those long-haul elements of the project.

I'm sure I'll be picking your brain as I get the project started.

Thanks, again.

Paul