28-10-2014, 14:49
(This post was last modified: 28-10-2014, 15:01 by Devongone.
Edit Reason: Edited in both New and Not 606
)
The Problem
New and Not606 were founded on a negative – not being 606 – and because they lacked anything beyond a written forum, they never progressed. Too few clubs, little cross-pollination, numbers began to dwindle and both sites and punters began to lose interest, until even New's physical maintenance declined.
Babble seemed to offer a way forward. It quickly duplicated everything New606 could do, seemed cared for and vibrant. Unfortunately it brought over only some members, isn’t yet gaining the interest required and like Not is limited to the forums we see before us, whose boundaries are tested by very few posters. If Babble is not to become just another decaying star we urgently need to move it forward. We need more members, more clubs, which without a celebrity/radio/tv/media link is difficult.
My Idea
Obviously we need something other sites aren’t doing. That something needs to grab punters, make them feel part of it, involve them with the club and game they love ….
Now this may or may not be practicable, but I propose creating a new section called Babblofile. This new section would contain fan-created, fan-maintained Wikipedia-ish profiles of clubs, players and statistics. To correct or enhance a club profile etc. people would need only to be Babblers, registered on the site.
To make it happen and increase membership would require initial work on our part. We’d have to create basic club profiles. They’d need to be accurate, without being complete to provide fans with the incentive to join and improve the listing. Once we had profiles we’d need to post them on the forums of each of the clubs involved together with an explanation of Babble and the community we hope to create. My expectation is that once people become involved with making their club’s area interesting, they’ll move on to players, statistics and forums …….. because they are already doing and expressing themselves and confident Babble is where they belong.
And if fans did a good enough job we would get visitors seeking information as well as discussion.
One More Observation
At the moment, like New and Not, Babble treats threads equally. They gain prominence by being returned to regularly and often die completely as new threads appear. And rarely do any of them look that inviting. Tabloid newspapers and big successful websites use HEADLINES, and occasional articles that will generate interest for all visitors. Why don’t we do that? “WHERE HAVE ALL THE KEEPERS GONE?” “RICHES TURN TO RAGS” “MANAGEMENT OR PERSONALITY CULT?” At the moment the site looks cool and organised, but there is nothing in particular to catch the passing eye, no big picture, nothing to make a visitor think, “Wow, this site could be so good.”
The thing is that this has to be something we participate in, rather than waiting for Stairs or someone like Amelia to make all OUR running. We have to do the Babbling. If this, or any other were the great suggestion we need, then it has to be pushed. Once it becomes popular it will develop both a force and direction of its own. But we do need something.
New and Not606 were founded on a negative – not being 606 – and because they lacked anything beyond a written forum, they never progressed. Too few clubs, little cross-pollination, numbers began to dwindle and both sites and punters began to lose interest, until even New's physical maintenance declined.
Babble seemed to offer a way forward. It quickly duplicated everything New606 could do, seemed cared for and vibrant. Unfortunately it brought over only some members, isn’t yet gaining the interest required and like Not is limited to the forums we see before us, whose boundaries are tested by very few posters. If Babble is not to become just another decaying star we urgently need to move it forward. We need more members, more clubs, which without a celebrity/radio/tv/media link is difficult.
My Idea
Obviously we need something other sites aren’t doing. That something needs to grab punters, make them feel part of it, involve them with the club and game they love ….
Now this may or may not be practicable, but I propose creating a new section called Babblofile. This new section would contain fan-created, fan-maintained Wikipedia-ish profiles of clubs, players and statistics. To correct or enhance a club profile etc. people would need only to be Babblers, registered on the site.
To make it happen and increase membership would require initial work on our part. We’d have to create basic club profiles. They’d need to be accurate, without being complete to provide fans with the incentive to join and improve the listing. Once we had profiles we’d need to post them on the forums of each of the clubs involved together with an explanation of Babble and the community we hope to create. My expectation is that once people become involved with making their club’s area interesting, they’ll move on to players, statistics and forums …….. because they are already doing and expressing themselves and confident Babble is where they belong.
And if fans did a good enough job we would get visitors seeking information as well as discussion.
One More Observation
At the moment, like New and Not, Babble treats threads equally. They gain prominence by being returned to regularly and often die completely as new threads appear. And rarely do any of them look that inviting. Tabloid newspapers and big successful websites use HEADLINES, and occasional articles that will generate interest for all visitors. Why don’t we do that? “WHERE HAVE ALL THE KEEPERS GONE?” “RICHES TURN TO RAGS” “MANAGEMENT OR PERSONALITY CULT?” At the moment the site looks cool and organised, but there is nothing in particular to catch the passing eye, no big picture, nothing to make a visitor think, “Wow, this site could be so good.”
The thing is that this has to be something we participate in, rather than waiting for Stairs or someone like Amelia to make all OUR running. We have to do the Babbling. If this, or any other were the great suggestion we need, then it has to be pushed. Once it becomes popular it will develop both a force and direction of its own. But we do need something.