IP.Board & The Forum Will Be Dead Within 5 Years

[Tom_F]

Google+ will have such domination that I might actually see new posts on my feed that aren't from 2011 ?

The message board was going to be dead with the advancement of HTML, PHP and other technologies about 10 years ago. I remember almost similar threads.

All I can see from you post is you want the board hacked so it shows how many people have liked stuff? If you are struggling to get members then might I suggest that its because you are focusing too much on social media integration and not on making your board busy, interesting with a good fix of daily content. It's easy for me to say that with a board that's been running since 1997 you might argue but actually it's because the board is well run, fast, well moderated and busy with 1000-1500 users on-line at any point. More members, more content, the more they'll return. It's a simple, effective, rule that's worked from a time when comic sans was trendy.

Social media sites and fads come and go (as mentioned, myspace) - message boards have and always will have their place on-line, they will always evolve. Just go and compare IPB 1.3 to 3.3.. http://www.dutchforc...forum/index.php

[Matt]

I honestly don't see the need for large share buttons.

When I read an article that I want to share, I'll happily scan the page for the share icons. If I didn't want to share the page, then I wouldn't even if the icons were 500x500.

[Rimi]

I honestly don't see the need for large share buttons.

When I read an article that I want to share, I'll happily scan the page for the share icons. If I didn't want to share the page, then I wouldn't even if the icons were 500x500.

Its different with different people. Those of us with shorter attention spans (me) are attracted to big colorful objects and are enticed to click on them.

[Jeffrey Roberts]

I apologize, I haven't read all 6 pages of postings made here.

I personally do agree that IP.Board will be dead within some period of time. I actually give it 2 years.

For me, this isn't about Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Rather, it is about the App. The web as we know it is dying, a very very quick death. Google knows and and so does Facebook, ie: spending $1B on Instagram is proof that the $$ is in the App business.

I have been running forums since 1996 and I have seen lots of ups and downs. This time is very different. Yes, I am getting very good traffic today. Yes, I am making very good revenue. But, that's going to change rather quickly.

Unless IP.Board can become a *real* App where we can monetize our forums, we're doomed. Plain and simple. The end is near. Using a browser on a computer or tablet is no longer enough.

I'm personally continuing to pay my IP.Board renewal license fees and trusting that the good folks at IPS are using the income they make from me to come up with a solution. Otherwise, In my humble opinion, theirs and our livelihoods are doomed.

[Lase]

Dated today :
Google+ Gets A New Look With Interactive Navigation & “Timeline-esque” Profiles

Big changes are waiting for you the next time you log into your Google+ page. Today Google’s social network launched a total refresh of the look, making images and videos larger and navigation customizable. The design fits very well with the new streamlined Google look and helps to draw more attention to the content that users are sharing:

[TracyIsland]

I apologize, I haven't read all 6 pages of postings made here.

I personally do agree that IP.Board will be dead within some period of time. I actually give it 2 years.

For me, this isn't about Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Rather, it is about the App. The web as we know it is dying, a very very quick death. Google knows and and so does Facebook, ie: spending $1B on Instagram is proof that the $$ is in the App business.

I have been running forums since 1996 and I have seen lots of ups and downs. This time is very different. Yes, I am getting very good traffic today. Yes, I am making very good revenue. But, that's going to change rather quickly.

Unless IP.Board can become a *real* App where we can monetize our forums, we're doomed. Plain and simple. The end is near. Using a browser on a computer or tablet is no longer enough.

I'm personally continuing to pay my IP.Board renewal license fees and trusting that the good folks at IPS are using the income they make from me to come up with a solution. Otherwise, In my humble opinion, theirs and our livelihoods are doomed.

I completely disagree with you and I will cite two examples that flourish as community forums:

vwvortex

and

bodybuilding.com

Both of these sites have active and engaged users who help others with either their car issues or chat about new car issues, or talk about body building programs, routines, new supplements, and give advice.

Unless you show me a specific app that google or facebook will design, there is no way that either of these two community forums will be "dead" or even one bit less busy in two years.

[Michael R]

Why is FB popular? Because it takes minimal effort -- or should I say, thought -- to "post" something. Enter your cursor in the field, type a couple of words and hit return. Done. Or see something of interest somewhere else and click on a share button. Done. It literally takes seconds. People do it from work in between meetings or after getting a cup of coffee. Its quick and easy. People don't have to "think" about writing something. This is why the focus is on image sharing of late.

This is not a reflection on IPS. It's a commentary on how lazy people are now.

Content is what makes a site successful. Unfortunately for me, most of my users have a hard enough time figuring out how to post -- never mind what to post. So they spend more and more time on FB. Many of my members have created FB pages to discuss the same topics posted on my site. It bugs the crap out of me but what can I do?

I still have pretty good traffic considering how niche my site is; but it's only because I personally spend a lot of time on the site starting and continuing discussions. I find that contests and other "fun" activities are one thing that keeps members engaged. But I can't compete with Farmville or whatever the heck its called.

So anything IPS or developers can do to make it easier for me to run and manage "fun" activities or spur discussion would be greatly appreciated.

[stoo2000]

I honestly don't see the need for large share buttons.

When I read an article that I want to share, I'll happily scan the page for the share icons. If I didn't want to share the page, then I wouldn't even if the icons were 500x500.

Didn't you know, size matters!

I think I might make a page with a single Like button on it, that's 100% width, 100% height..

[CheersnGears]

I'm not feeling any "pinch" from twitter or facebook at all. I use both to drive even more traffic to my site. I don't mind people commenting on posts on facebook because it keeps it active in their timeline and their friends timeline and their friend's friend's timeline....

I post something controversial/newsmaking with a link to the original article on my site, cross post a snippet to Facebook and I can watch the traffic spike up rapidly on Google Analytics Live. I take part in twitter tag discussions and traffic will roughly double during that time even though I'm not posting links. Get a single tweet re-tweeted by someone with 500k followers (it's happened to me) and you have a whoooooole bunch of people suddenly clicking on your twitter profile... which hopefully is set up to tell people about you and your site. I've been re-tweeted by Dr. Pepper, President Bartlett, Jalopnik, Ford, Honda, Nissan, and General Motors with their multiple brands multiple times. Each time traffic goes through the roof.

In short, don't shun social media... engage and embrace it.... but most of all be social with it.

[CheersnGears]

Another reason forums won't die... ownership. I own my board but it belongs to my members. I have members who have been around 10 years. My board is "their" place to hang out. They all know each other. As long as I do my job of providing fresh content, they aren't going anywhere facebook or not. My board has a "timeline" of my members going back to a year before Mark Zuckerberg enrolled in Harvard.

[Jeffrey Roberts]

There will undoubtably be exceptions in the prevailing winds.

I wasn't referring to Google or Facebook apps. I meant Apps in general that you might find in the Apple or Google stores by a 3rd party. Something that you run on your smart phone or tablet.

I completely disagree with you and I will cite two examples that flourish as community forums:

vwvortex

and

bodybuilding.com

Both of these sites have active and engaged users who help others with either their car issues or chat about new car issues, or talk about body building programs, routines, new supplements, and give advice.

Unless you show me a specific app that google or facebook will design, there is no way that either of these two community forums will be "dead" or even one bit less busy in two years.

[CheersnGears]

I just need invision to finish the android and iPhone apps so I can buy the custom branded versions to deploy.

[Cyrem]

IP.Board won't be dead in 1, 2 or even 5 years unless IPS decided to scrap it.

Forums are different to FB and such sites like it. FB or other social sites will never replace forum communities, they play two different roles. Other than that there are people who hate social sites like FB, G+ etc and will not hand over their lives to them.

FB will not be around forever... like MySpace, it will eventually be overshadowed by some other site eventually.

[SubStrider]

Unless IP.Board can become a *real* App where we can monetize our forums, we're doomed. Plain and simple. The end is near. Using a browser on a computer or tablet is no longer enough.

I like that thought but I wouldn't say this would be critical for survival. However the platform which can provide the richest app experience for both publisher and consumer will surely come out on top.

I post something controversial/newsmaking with a link to the original article on my site, cross post a snippet to Facebook and I can watch the traffic spike up rapidly on Google Analytics Live. I take part in twitter tag discussions and traffic will roughly double during that time even though I'm not posting links. Get a single tweet re-tweeted by someone with 500k followers (it's happened to me) and you have a whoooooole bunch of people suddenly clicking on your twitter profile... which hopefully is set up to tell people about you and your site. I've been re-tweeted by Dr. Pepper, President Bartlett, Jalopnik, Ford, Honda, Nissan, and General Motors with their multiple brands multiple times. Each time traffic goes through the roof.

This is a good take away from this thread for me. Lets see how well we can implement it. :)

[rbiss]

Mobile devices are ok and convenient but they are light years away from the abilities of a desktop.

[Frontpage]

You really don't know how to compare sites do you....

You got me.

I have a hard time comparing a forum site with declining visits only measuring in the thousands over a span of time versus a social media site with hundreds of millions of visits that are increasing in the same period.

A better example would be if we collected all the forums on the internet and measured their popularity over the same period.

My post reflects that interest in Invision as seen by participation in its own forums is waning over time. Not a good sign.

[connorhawke]

Many realize that Facebook possibly (probably) has partly caused a change in forum activity. But that's different from announcing that forums will be dead in 5 years. I don't think that Facebook is such big competition that forums will effectively come to their apocalyptic end in the near future.

[Lindy]

I'm not feeling any "pinch" from twitter or facebook at all. I use both to drive even more traffic to my site. I don't mind people commenting on posts on facebook because it keeps it active in their timeline and their friends timeline and their friend's friend's timeline....

I post something controversial/newsmaking with a link to the original article on my site, cross post a snippet to Facebook and I can watch the traffic spike up rapidly on Google Analytics Live. I take part in twitter tag discussions and traffic will roughly double during that time even though I'm not posting links. Get a single tweet re-tweeted by someone with 500k followers (it's happened to me) and you have a whoooooole bunch of people suddenly clicking on your twitter profile... which hopefully is set up to tell people about you and your site. I've been re-tweeted by Dr. Pepper, President Bartlett, Jalopnik, Ford, Honda, Nissan, and General Motors with their multiple brands multiple times. Each time traffic goes through the roof.

In short, don't shun social media... engage and embrace it.... but most of all be social with it.

And that's the key point. Your site (being a die hard car fanatic with long ties to GM, I've visited your site too) is heavily subject driven, as is the case with most communities. There will always be a need for content driven sites and communities.

Those who are experiencing a dropoff believed to be caused by Facebook likely have general discussion or generic communities -- those that are setup to talk to friends, etc. Facebook has impacted such communities. Unfortunately, you need a niche or something somewhat unique if you want the results being spoken of in this topic.

[Taylor J]

You got me.

I have a hard time comparing a forum site with declining visits only measuring in the thousands over a span of time versus a social media site with hundreds of millions of visits that are increasing in the same period.

A better example would be if we collected all the forums on the internet and measured their popularity over the same period.

My post reflects that interest in Invision as seen by participation in its own forums is waning over time. Not a good sign.

Comparing two completely different sites will give you results that don't matter at all.

[Dmacleo]

try fitting just that one initial post on twitter and see how well it does.

[Enkidu]

This very topic has come up every 6 months or so since Facebook gained traction in 2006. Here we are, many years later and our business is still growing (and those stats from compare.com are way off the mark).

but Matt there is a big difference between saying the interest in forum software is growing and saying that forum based websites are declining. If your business looks healthy that doesn't ensure that website xyz who uses IPB will continue growing forever.

During my stay here I've seen many members, and forums, come and go. Many websites have closed. Facebook is a single website that is growing and comparing that to the concept of forums is not fair. Any webmaster is feeling the bitter of FB taking over that has nothing to do with IPB being popular.

[connorhawke]

Boom!

[Sire]

I've only read page 1 of this topic so if this has already been mentioned forgive me? :)

I think the real strengths of the social networks are you can customize your information experience with the personal newsfeed (Twitter, or your Facebook default page). Only people, pages, news that you've selected appear but you still have the freedom to browse around anywhere if you'd like.

[Sire]

Dated today :

Google+ Gets A New Look With Interactive Navigation & “Timeline-esque” Profiles

That's very sexy! Most of the suggestions in this topic seem to be skin-related really. IP.Board already supports most of these features, as long as you skin it that way to my understanding.

[Cheapy]

i disagree that Facebook or Twitter will kill forums, but I do agree that the share buttons should be more visilbe and located at the top of the page.