What's going on in this forum!

[Uncle Kevriano]

This is one reason I made this post, and is exactly what I'm getting at. If no one comments, likes or gives any feedback, then what's the point. There's a definite jealousy vibe with some people, no question, and there are others who try to be disruptive and actually quite disrespectful, but thankfully they don't post much.
I get that if you've not been out you have nothing to post maybe, but I had months of not going out and still stayed active.
I know not everyone has the time I sometimes do, but it only takes a couple of minutes to like something.

Also, I noticed there isn't as much interaction or feedback here as there used to be. So to be honest, even when I take pictures sometimes I feel like the there is not much point on posting them if they won't generate much interest.

 

[etiennescamera]

Perhaps one should look at people's expectations when joining a forum like this. Why did you join?

• To learn more about photography?
• To pick up some useful tips and tricks?
• To stay informed about Sony and related developments?
• To interact with like minded people?
• To showcase your own photos?
• Other?

Are your expectations being met and if not, what are you doing to change the situation?

Unfortunately it also seems to me that a few members who used to be very active, have left the forum, some because they no longer use Sony gear, but some also because there seemed to be personal clashes with other members and I am not too sure what happened behind the scenes in those cases.

As far as the competitions go, I will keep entering even if there is no financial incentive, simply because it is something I enjoy doing.

 

[Unframed Dave]

A couple of points kev, I don't follow posts that are aeons old, like your photo of the week, or post your bifs here. They just don't appeal to me, I like stuff that's happening now and as you know, my memory doesn't withstand for very long, so keeping up with long threads is an issue to me.

Then there are certain subjects, where I may appreciate the photography but have strong negative feelings about the subject, i.e. the recent graffiti thread. I can't really like it or comment positively as I dislike graffiti with a passion, no offence intended to the OP. I will comment where I can offer something.

Just as a comparison, the shooting site I help moderate has in the region of 40K members, I reckon less than 200 contribute regularly and the number of posts is dropping annually. Forums have probably had their day.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

A couple of points kev, I don't follow posts that are aeons old, like your photo of the week, or post your bifs here. They just don't appeal to me, I like stuff that's happening now and as you know, my memory doesn't withstand for very long, so keeping up with long threads is an issue to me.

Then there are certain subjects, where I may appreciate the photography but have strong negative feelings about the subject, i.e. the recent graffiti thread. I can't really like it or comment positively as I dislike graffiti with a passion, no offence intended to the OP. I will comment where I can offer something.

Just as a comparison, the shooting site I help moderate has in the region of 40K members, I reckon less than 200 contribute regularly and the number of posts is dropping annually. Forums have probably had their day.

Re Photo of the Week. No one seems to get involved generally, but when I posted and said I seemed to be the only one, loads of others decided to. Weird that. It's something Tim started and I posted every week in the first year, but we had more active members then, and I was more active in life too.
I certainly don't comment on everything, but I do on a lot, but sometimes, if I don't like the image or it's a bad photo for other reasons, I won't say anything or put a like on.
Forums probably have had their day, sadly, but it's still way better than the Facebook pages that are full of spammers, idiots and generally not nice people, which we don't get, or if we do are easily dealt with. This format is still the best place to get experienced advice.

 

[alexpler]

A couple of points kev, I don't follow posts that are aeons old, like your photo of the week, or post your bifs here. They just don't appeal to me, I like stuff that's happening now and as you know, my memory doesn't withstand for very long, so keeping up with long threads is an issue to me.

Then there are certain subjects, where I may appreciate the photography but have strong negative feelings about the subject, i.e. the recent graffiti thread. I can't really like it or comment positively as I dislike graffiti with a passion, no offence intended to the OP. I will comment where I can offer something.

Just as a comparison, the shooting site I help moderate has in the region of 40K members, I reckon less than 200 contribute regularly and the number of posts is dropping annually. Forums have probably had their day.

I feel the opposite. For me it's easier to keep up with themed threads than having to check many separate threads for just a picture. Easier and more convenient imo.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The New Posts Listing makes it easy to jump in at the latest post not seen yet, however long/old the thread is. That, or equivalent, is how I approach other forums too.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Here's a stat for you. Apart from my replies to things there has been 1 other post on the whole forum since 10:43pm last night.... ONE!

This is why it will die and why it's way down the list on Google.

Over the past week there have been 276 reactions, 219 posts and 22 new threads created. Looks like you created 3 threads and 31 posts Kev.

I think we all know that you are one of the most active members here, so I can understand your frustration with the pace of things right now.

There is no disputing that the figures are down compared to this time last year. Google hit the site in September and again in March, but it was the March core update which hit the traffic and new user registrations to the forum the hardest.

Here’s a look at the new registrations over the past 12 months.

They literally fell off the cliff when the March Google core update was released. This in turn has impacted new threads, posts and interactions heavily.

There was another update last month that seems to have favoured the site again a little more, but traffic is still far from where it used to be.

Even some of the main news sites (which I don’t think I’ve ever seen writing articles on Google updates before), decided to write about this one: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240524-how-googles-new-algorithm-will-shape-your-internet

The lack of interaction here has nothing to do with why the rankings are down, and besides 80 percent of forum sign-ups here come from all of the links I have over on the blog. Only 10 percent are coming from forum related search terms such as: Sony Camera Forum, Sony Alpha Forum, Sony A7III Forum etc..

We did used to rank first for all of the camera + forum terms, until we consolidated the forums. But I was expecting that drop as a result, and we are still usually in the top 5 for the new consolidated forums, and most people looking for forums will take a look at the first few results anyway.

Currently we rank 6th in Google in the US and 3rd in the UK for Sony Alpha Forum. Although results will vary between mobile, desktop and also different regions. Having personalised results turned on (normally default) can also deliver different results.

SonyAlphaForum ranks first when I check Google US and UK. But if Google ranked forums purely based on their level of engagement, then I’m not sure why that forum sits at the top (well, I do know but I won’t bore you with the technical details).

They have 4x the number of members that we have here (apparently), yet looking at the few posts a lot less engagement than here. Probably because of all the spam ad posts linking to Amazon from the admin there.

But it’s not only Google's manipulation of the search results for their financial benefit that is impacting activity here. There are many existing members who have been quieter recently as well.

Everyone has their own reasons, and personally I don’t mind in the slightest if people want to take a break from the forum.

Almost two years ago I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Whilst I was waiting for my scan results to see how far it had spread (three very long weeks), all I could think about was that there was a very real possibility that I wouldn’t be around to see and support my boys growing up. I reflected a lot on life during those weeks and never once did I wish that I’d spent more time on internet forums.

Thankfully it was just stage one, and had not spread any further. I was very fortunate and also avoided chemo, just 5 years of close observation.

I decided from that point on that I’d be spending a lot more time with my family making memories than I would on the Internet, especially as my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer around the same time, despite never smoking in her life.

That said, forums are unfortunately falling out of favour, especially with the younger generations.

We lost POTN last year and even DPReview came very close to shutting down. Other forum admins sold out because they were struggling to pay the bills or they’d simply had enough of forum management.

So you are probably right Kev. At some point this forum will most likely die, but it won’t be in 2024 unless WW3 breaks out.