Are forums a dying breed?

This has come up as a discussion on another forum.

Is the internet forum a dying breed. Seems that where have typically got my information is on a bit of downturn. I see post counts down everywhere. Facebook/google+ probably taking away the market share.

What say the GRM hive mind?

Somewhat related, I see that automotive related events are getting to a critical mass. People have access to so much stuff these days, its hard for some folks to try to "do it all".

I hope not. I don't ever plan on using the social media things- the sites are quite specific to what I want to read about, and don't require me to be naccisistic.

I'm no longer interested in posting a reply.

sachilles wrote: Somewhat related, I see that automotive related events are getting to a critical mass. People have access to so much stuff these days, its hard for some folks to try to "do it all".

IT is not that forums are dying.. it's that they are proliferating. It's hard to "keep a post count up" when you are reading many different forums on any given day.

Myself for instance.

I am on a fiat forum, a Saab Forum, Just got off of a Volvo forum, two sailing forums, and just joined a forum for my LandRover. There are only so many hours in the day and we do need to sleep, work, and play with SWMBO and look after our toys

I'm not so sure. I don't spend a lot of time on FB, but I don't see the type of activity on the group pages I follow(automotive or otherwise) that I do on forums.

Time + money have always been universal constraints on people, which seem to get worse as people have families and/or get serious about their careers, then often those conditions improve about 15-20 years later.

I think we're just in a cycle where the people who are most active are short on time and/or money.

Forums are dying mostly from being either too specific, started by people who have no business being on the 'net in the first place, or not having the the latest or greatest looking site out there compared to others. Content be damned.

Everybody is looking for a buck with their own spin on things.... Pretty soon you will see who is better then the others.

Of course they are dying.....I like this place, and I'm a luddite. If I like something, it cannot be hip/cool/trendy

alfadriver wrote: I hope not. I don't ever plan on using the social media things- the sites are quite specific to what I want to read about, and don't require me to be naccisistic.

Amen!

Dying...I'm not sure but slowed growth likely. The younger set preferres social media. I think they are not being lured in by forums.

I hate facebook. This is the only forum I 'hang out' on. The others I use are for information only.

A lot of us are into cars that were still in production around decade ago. Back then, they were getting a lot of aftermarket support, and therefore, a lot of communication on what mods or maintenance was best or biggest bang for the buck. Now, its only the diehards that are still actively modifying and hooning a 1992 Whateveryoudrive. You dont have the user base now that you did then, simply by attrition. Im still active on a G20 forum that only sees a few dozen new threads a week, but at one time had thousands online at any given time. Its because there are less and less enthusiasts to that specific nameplate...a microcosm that serves as a working example of the larger issue.

Thats my spin on the state of automotive forums. Just one persons opinion, on one subgroup within the forum universe.

Maybe corporate firewalls have gotten really good now?

alfadriver wrote: I hope not. I don't ever plan on using the social media things- the sites are quite specific to what I want to read about, and don't require me to be naccisistic.

You do know it's possible to be a "read only" member of Facebook/Twitter/etc? For the most part, that's what I do, I just read what other people post.

I think those kind of things are better for reaching the general public, whereas forums are better for reaching people with specific interests. It's easier to stumble upon a FB page if you are already there than it is to find a forum, since most of them serve a fairly narrow niche. But I still see a good amount of activity on the 3 forums I'm active on and the 3-4 others that I follow more casually (check in once or twice a week).

In other words, there's plenty of internet for both.

I believe there's a place for the social media and the forums.

I am on multiple forums so the count on each is lower than when I was on just 1-2.

I'd be interested in seeing WHY someone believes forums are dead. I'm betting it's a very narrow statistic from a limited or specialized source.

slefain wrote: Maybe corporate firewalls have gotten really good now?

I doubt it. In fact I think many companies are now disseminating between discussion forums, work related social media like Linkedin, and personal Facebook, blog, twitter. I know many marketing departments and customer service departments wants customers and employees alike to be on those forums of social media to foster better feedback.

I know quite a few professional in my industry who wouldn't have solved very complex problems if not for the help of software specific discussion forums.

Doesn't seem to me that forums are dying, though individuals ones are. Replacements ones pop up, become very popular, and then they to wain.

Information itself though is seems to be getting harder to find. There are a number of technical things I've seen or printed out that I can no longer locate. Many of them car related. Drawings of engine adapter plates, structural tests of vehicle frames, etc. This stuff seems to be disapearing.

If it wasn't for this forum, I wouldn't know the true meaning of Bob Costas or berkeley.

JoeyM wrote: Of course they are dying.....I like this place, and I'm a luddite. If I like something, it cannot be hip/cool/trendy

Funny response, but somewhat true. I have noticed this in my local (VW) forums as well.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Dying...I'm not sure but slowed growth likely. The younger set preferres social media. I think they are not being lured in by forums.

I think the 2nd part of this that hasn't been brought up yet is... the proliferation of smartphones as the user base of the internet.

Forums are great when seated at a computer with a keyboard. They're clunky otherwise to post in, upload photos too, and type out a post in from a smartphone. More smartphones = less forum usage..

Smartphone + social media = snap pic, share, witty comment, done.

It used to be forums were the breaking point for new exciting projects, build threads, updates, etc. Now alot of that (with the younger set) is done via smartphone and often via social media.

Forums will still exist, but their content is changing. I love this site because it is more "old school" with people actually sharing knowledge, taking time to write out thought out responses, and actively participating in ongoing build threads and the like.

slefain wrote: Maybe corporate firewalls have gotten really good now?

Not that I can see....

google+????

I know Twitter has taken a huge chunk of stuff as has Facebook

But Google+???

Tom_Spangler wrote:

alfadriver wrote: I hope not. I don't ever plan on using the social media things- the sites are quite specific to what I want to read about, and don't require me to be naccisistic.

You do know it's possible to be a "read only" member of Facebook/Twitter/etc?

And I honestly don't care. I just don't see the benefit of FB, moreso Twitter. Reading message boards are fine with me. Just like real web pages are.

For the social media sites- if they really make as much money as we are lead to believe, then they sell massive amounts of advertising and information. Becuase outside of that, they add nothing to a society with free membership.

In reply to alfadriver:

You miss stuff if you refuse to use something a large chunk of the world is using to disseminate information. We are all going to end up like our grandparents with a house full of clocks blinking 12:00 is we don't quit being such grumps.

In reply to MrJoshua:

Nobody has missed anything of importance by skipping twitter.

I would argue that the more unpopular forums get, the more people will like them.

Also, forums are not dying. Maybe very specific ones get smaller as the ownership reduces (like say, a forum on 1G Protege's only). The forums that stay the most active are either more diverse (GRM, Pelican), or deal with a whole range of vehicles (Mazda247, etc), or are of a very large and enthusiastic model that is still being produced (Mustang, Corvette, etc).

Other forums have survived by expanding and letting in new members. I'm in a Grand Prix club. Originally it was W-Body GP's only. Then we let in all W-Body's (Impala, Regal, etc), then older GP's (back to the original 70 model), then new G8's (spiritual successor), then all Pontiac's when GM killed it. Now we take in the new spiritual successors (Caprice, SS, Regal, etc).