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Will forums eventually be replaced by social media?

I have to say I am seeing more and more of a trend toward social media groups over hard forums like VMPF and APF.  

What do you think is driving this trend?  

My gut reaction is convienence.  For one I have about 20 pictures of posters on my phone that I could have posted anytime on fb... To post them on here takes a 3 or 4 step process.  There is also the immediate reaction factor with likes and comments etc. which we have but this is an isolated place and doesn’t flow into our other social interactions. I’m not sure how recordable or searchable social media will be so IMO most of it is fleeting - until fb pops it back up in a memory or something. 

is there anything VMPF can do?
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Comments

  • agree on all counts. 

    my thoughts are for members to advertise/mention/provide the link to the forum on FB and other social media; post the threads/content/information that will lead them back to this forum. 
  • Why not consider going the other way and simply convert this forum into a Facebook group?

    You could surely soon have thousands of members, and lots who actually post!

    What would be the downside of that?




    Here is a handy checklist to help tell eMoviePoster.com apart from all other major auctions!
    HAS lifetime guarantees on every item - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS unrestored and unenhanced images - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS 100% honest condition descriptions - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS auctions where the winner is the higher of two real bidders - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "buyers premiums" - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "reserves or starts over $1 - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS hidden bidder IDs - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS no customer service to speak of - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "nosebleed" shipping charges - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS inadequate packaging - NOT eMoviePoster.com

  • Bruce said:
    Why not consider going the other way and simply convert this forum into a Facebook group?

    You could surely soon have thousands of members, and lots who actually post!

    What would be the downside of that?
    depends.  In other facebook groups, opening it up seems to go hand in hand with dumbing it down.  Not only that, but without strict moderation, it ends up becoming another screaming match.
  • And how does one search for content on a FB site? Spend time
    scrolling through the entire history? 
  • jayn_j said:
      In other facebook groups, opening it up seems to go hand in hand with dumbing it down. 
    And how does one search for content on a FB site? Spend time scrolling through the entire history? 

    Agree on both counts. A forum does allows one to categorise and layout for easy access, FB is whatever is posted is the current topic. How many topics would be lost to scrolling - here, the first page of discussions has still 'live' and active topics dating back to 2015. 
  • Actually, you CAN search FB groups. Put the exact name of the group in the search bar, followed by an exact word or phrase you are looking for, and it finds posts from that group with that word or phrase, and sometimes going back years. It also works on your own page.

    I just notice that try as they might, groups like this end up with a dozen or so regular posters, and a few visitors who rarely stay long.

    And as far as "without strict moderation, it ends up becoming another screaming match." goes, I have only found that to be true on groups that tolerate trolls (or where the moderator is a troll).

    Is THIS group "strictly moderated"?







    Here is a handy checklist to help tell eMoviePoster.com apart from all other major auctions!
    HAS lifetime guarantees on every item - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS unrestored and unenhanced images - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS 100% honest condition descriptions - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS auctions where the winner is the higher of two real bidders - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "buyers premiums" - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "reserves or starts over $1 - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS hidden bidder IDs - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS no customer service to speak of - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "nosebleed" shipping charges - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS inadequate packaging - NOT eMoviePoster.com

  • edited February 2018
    Bruce said:
    Actually, you CAN search FB groups. Put the exact name of the group in the search bar, followed by an exact word or phrase you are looking for, and it finds posts from that group with that word or phrase, and sometimes going back years. It also works on your own page.

    I just notice that try as they might, groups like this end up with a dozen or so regular posters, and a few visitors who rarely stay long.

    Yes most regular uses of FB will know how to search, the issue is twofold
    1. if the search phrases or word is not used so you will never find it.
    2. In FB there is zero category/thread conjunction (for want of a better word), that is where all the majority of the topic discussions are threaded together (or in the same category). Here if you go to the Restoration category you can not only find the majority of discussions on the subject but you can post a question to the same people who are interested.
    Bruce said:

    And as far as "without strict moderation, it ends up becoming another screaming match." goes, I have only found that to be true on groups that tolerate trolls (or where the moderator is a troll).

    Is THIS group "strictly moderated"?
    Better than most.
  • I prefer forums. I'm old.
  • I prefer forums, as it's all easy to follow, and check back through, but I've used facetube lately as it's easier to post pics, and theres more British stuff on which I relate to.  I'm sure there's a balance between the two...
  • Well I mostly use Reddit, which has many millions of users but is pretty primitive, can't insert images into comments, etc. Threads are not organized at all.

    I noted on APF that current release MPs get an INSANE amount of likes/comments on Reddit, Twitter, etc.



    35K comments in two days!

    But Dale ironically tells me current release sales are significantly down from a few years ago, but the top 20 still sell well.
  • I think Reddit like all other social media platforms is al about the instant gratification and although it can't replace the 'discussion' style of a forum is likely the reality of the world going forward. Doubt you will find very many millenials hanging around places like this...
  • Been like this from time immemorial. Remember the once infamous/now forgotten Carson? He was always complaining that the flood of new members on MPF never contributed/quickly disappeared.

    But I do think APF/VMPF would get a few more quality contributors if EMP/HA regularly promoted them. But they haven't and won't since there's no upside, exposure to competitors, criticism (ex. HA systematically saturates its images, EMP is "enjoying record-low sales"), etc.

    Finally, it is disappointing that potential superstars quickly go up in a puff of smoke. Remember the dude here who posted pics of his 50+ frames? Long gone....

  • The starkest example I've seen is on the Expresso Beans forum - it used to be very busy, but they had some site issues and lots of downtime and lots of people seem to have moved to Facebook (the database is still very valuable and well used/maintained, but the forums are much quieter). 

    If you go into one of the Facebook groups (e.g. 'Mondo Trader'), there's 5k+ members and lots of activity. 

    Maybe it's a demographic thing - print collectors tend to be younger and use social media more perhaps? The Facebook groups I'm in for original posters seem quieter. 

    I much prefer forums though for reasons mentioned above, specifically that important information is categorized and archived. Facebook posts are full of glib jokes/gifs and finding an old or specific thread regarding a topic is very hard to find. Hopefully the upgrades to the EB site will bring users back...
  • Good stuff, Tob. 
  • Time marches on. Movie Collectors World used to be the "Bible" of the hobby, and now it is gone.

    MoPo used to be the #1 online forum.

    What will the future hold? Hard to say!




    Here is a handy checklist to help tell eMoviePoster.com apart from all other major auctions!
    HAS lifetime guarantees on every item - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS unrestored and unenhanced images - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS 100% honest condition descriptions - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS auctions where the winner is the higher of two real bidders - IS eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "buyers premiums" - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "reserves or starts over $1 - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS hidden bidder IDs - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS no customer service to speak of - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS "nosebleed" shipping charges - NOT eMoviePoster.com
    HAS inadequate packaging - NOT eMoviePoster.com

  • The older you get the more things appear to change.
  • I agree time marches on, but you need to preserve what is good while adopting what is better.

    I can see how a social media focus is good for a dealer like Bruce.  The stuff he posts is immediate advertising and last week is not really important. Same is probably true for the monthly bragging posts, and even the quizzes.
    I am concerned that there is an equal amount of what I would call resource posts.  Questions on a general nature, about topics like framing, shipping, backing, restoration, etc.  We go back and reference these all the time.  My concern in going to something without history is that we will see more of the same questions being asked repeatedly and knowledge being lost.

    Has anyone seen a SUCCESFUL melding of the two with a conversational social media focus, but a usable and easy to follow archive of the important stuff?  Such a system needs to be easy to manage as well, without adding significant load to the moderators.
  • jayn_j said:

    Has anyone seen a SUCCESFUL melding of the two with a conversational social media focus, but a usable and easy to follow archive of the important stuff?  
    Nope
  • Isn't a forum such as VMPF just an alternate form of social media?
  • Isn't a forum such as VMPF just an alternate form of social media?
    Social Media is an alternate of a forum.

    Back in the day....

    ...around 1993/4 all you had were Message Boards, basically a place where you dialed up, read a screen full of messages and then left a single line message or comment - no such thing as posting images.

    Then about a year later when the internet was really exploding (when the internet was dial up and you got excited because you could order a pizza online) you had IRC (Internet Relay Chat) - aka Chat Rooms; you'd find groups of like-minded people and discussed, shared and so on. Firefox was called Netscape Navigator and your internet was served by a dial-up modem and hi-res websites didn't exist because internet speeds were a blistering 14.4kb/s (you spent six months saving your money for the next release high speed modem...

    But even then those discussions on those types of places was in the moment, 24 hours later it was gone and sure you could find it but you had to sift through mountains of other conversations, then forums came along...

    ...yet we've come full circle. Seems it's all about posting the message and not about the information (from a resarch point of view).
  • Damn. That walk through technology makes me feel old as I remember placing the trim line phone on the modem, and waiting for the connection. 

    But so true. Social media is short quick jabs of comments and very little depth or permanence. 


  • edited February 2018
    Ralph Deluca once - and probably still does -obnoxiously and ridiculously used the hashtag #RalphDelucaMoviePosterCollection  :o



    But now I've surpassed him:



    3 likes in the middle of the night so far, really the first time I've ever used hashtags....
  • edited February 2018
    We’re all 40-something Stone Agers,I made 2-3 GIFs 15 years ago and forgot all about them. Had no idea about Instagram until recently, Apparently FB is for old people. What is Snapchat? PayPal is ancient, everybody uses paymethods I’ve never heard of....




  • #firstworldproblems
  • edited March 2018
    For the last six months, for the first time ever I've been spending many hours in the world of social media, particularly FB/Reddit. My perhaps useful insights:

    1) Start a freaking FB "page" already! The best MP decision I ever made was ditching www.posternirvana.com ($10 month) in June 2014 for https://www.facebook.com/pg/MoviePosterCollectors/photos/?tab=albums, which has been totally free and VASTLY superior to a webpage. Unlimited photo albums/photos to organize/showcase your collection, easy interaction with visitors/followers via comments/page posts/likes, page is 100% independent of your personal FB space, etc. I have 300 followers so far, although they rarely interact with me/page:



    *****

    How to start a FB page:

    https://www.facebook.com/help/104002523024878?helpref=about_content

    *****

    2) The most devoted/knowledgable MP collectors are ALREADY here or on MOPO/APF or MPC FB groups like:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintagemoviepostercollectorsclub/

    They're very rare on Reddit, which has many millions of users but 50% under 30.

    The "gold standard" hobby website is www.expressobeans.com, which I very rarely visit. They just REALLY REALLY slobber-love commercial art prints.

    *****

    3) My personal FB gameplan sux. I have only 39 friends and almost all of my posts bomb. "Sad!" I've pretty much given up and have nothing useful to say. Tears....

    *****



    *****

    4) There is a subreddit devoted to every subject, popular or esoteric, under the sun. Just Google "subreddit [ex. sports cars]" and you'll be thrilled to interact with other slavish devotees of that subject.

    RIGHT NOW download the Reddit or Apollo app and DAILY check the "most popular posts." (The non-app website reddit.com is abysmal). Insanely great and they change hourly. Yesterday's highlights:

    Nature




    Funny



    Drug lord employee



    Flash eyes, no Pshopping






    Most beautiful soccer field



















  • I don't mess with Twitter but current release movie posters are DELIRIOUSLY popular there:

    30K loves, 9.3K re-tweeets (which broadcasts poster pic to the hordes of followers of the retweeters) ... 2 days!




  • Finally if you like discussing movies, the movies subreddit is your new home, 17 million subscribers, bazillions of threads/comments, all ranked by popularity:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/



  • Will forums eventually be replaced by social media?

    Well, it depends on the moderators. They will have to work much harder to keep interest because there are so many social media platforms and websites out there. It's easier for people to post to their own pages rather than to forums. Ultimately, it might just come down to whether the moderators have the time or inclination to spend on promotion. Another consideration is that the forums cant control image hosting. The issues with photobucket have hit forums pretty hard but other image services will also cause problems when people decide to close their accounts and move elsewhere.
  • John said:
    Will forums eventually be replaced by social media?

    Well, it depends on the moderators. They will have to work much harder to keep interest because there are so many social media platforms and websites out there. It's easier for people to post to their own pages rather than to forums. Ultimately, it might just come down to whether the moderators have the time or inclination to spend on promotion. Another consideration is that the forums cant control image hosting. The issues with photobucket have hit forums pretty hard but other image services will also cause problems when people decide to close their accounts and move elsewhere.
    Agree with this. 
  • I guess it looks like APF is flagging, as Jeff has been all over Facetube, advertising for new members...

    The photo bucket thing really put me off forums, and if you post from tube, they only stay up for a few days, whats the point...
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