Is this place

[Trevor]

dying a slow death?

It is days between posts

[FTe217]

Trev the answer from some is forums are too hard to deal with compared to insta/FB etc........
Hard work logging on it seems for the modern world types.

[Donut King]

Yep, it's difficult to establish a active forum not directly on a social media platform these days. Especially for a relatively narrow niche.

Bigger communities established before the rise of FB groups and Pages seem to do ok based on momentum, smaller or more recently established places are about as active as the whims of the small number of devotees they attract.

Once to be big on the internet it took daily content updates.
Then to be big on the internet you needed an active forum attached to your site.
Now to be big you need a small army of people to maintain a Facebook, twitter, tik tok and instagram presence, a team of 'influencers' and someone good at creating clickbait headlines.

And this is what we call progress

[FTe217]

yes progress, I hear this weekly today - makes me wonder where its taking us, doesn't look great lol....

[WASP]

There's a certain nuance to this place that I like, and enjoy. However, if the goal is to grow the community and increase engagement this platform, IMO is no longer the right mechanism.

A suggested alternative would be to create a private Facebook group for FENA. I'm aware there is a public group but I have no interest in this. Being private means we are only sharing our stories and content with like-minded Ford enthusiasts. FENA also gets to leverage the platform tools to make sharing content simple and convenient, plus benefits from cross-group sharing of content from other Ford-oriented groups.

FENA could also set up and operate spin-offs of the group if there is an appetite/demand for this. However, I wouldn't recommend it until the community has built some momentum.

And don't get me started on mobile. The free Tapatalk app is a complete fail. This problem would be resolved using the FB app which most have/use already.

Last, but not least, I wouldn't do any of this before determining and being able to articulate a clear point of difference for this community and a very relatable reason to join, for its target audience. Otherwise, the group is at risk of becoming yet another Ford enthusiast group. This requires us to really focus and niche down on what makes us different /brings us together.

For example, I'm on several FB groups for Mustangs. Some are super broad like Mustangs Australia or Mustangs Owners Group etc. However, a group that is really humming and relatable to me was the 'Vintage Mustang Restomods'.

I understand that here we like all sorts of topics and cars so narrowing things down to a specific era or model won't be suitable. However, with a greater focus on the enthusiast aspect we could position the group as a place to share stories, news, and our personal experiences as a Ford Community. This is also why it needs to remain a private group.

With this in mind, ChatGTP recommended the following group names for consideration. I think we can do better but this provides a starting point :

Aussie Ford Adventures
Down Under Blue Ovals
Ford Down Under Enthusiasts
Aussie Ford Cruisers
Ford Mates Down Under
Land Of Ford Lovers AU
Oz BlueOval Stories
Ford Fanatics Australia
Southern Hemisphere Fords
Australian Blue Oval Crew
Ford Down Under Stories
Aussie Blue Oval Passion
Blue Oval Down Under
Australian Ford Enthusiasts United
Ford Journeys Down Under
Southern Stars Blue Ovals
Aussie Ford Experience
Ford Thunder Down Under
Aussie Ford Enthusiasts Community
Ford Fans Unite (FFU)

[Randel]

There's a certain nuance to this place that I like, and enjoy.

See thats what I think - I really do liken it to Quality over Quantity!

However I am probably guilty of loggin in every day or so to read - but not posting enough....

But I do like the feel in here


Facebook is ok, however it really is a mish mash of groups and shit that facebook wants to throw at you.


I like the basic layout and ease of access with forums - easy to find threads etc, easy to see new posts - but I am more old school and hate some of techs changes for the sake of it

[Trevor]

I like Ford Mates Down Under

[HSE2]

Its just not been the same since local manufacturing ended.

Personally my situation has changed and I no longer sit in front of a pc for hours. It means most posts are made on a tiny phone screen with plenty of errors
Its also been hard to embrace certain Ford aspects and it could be argued political posts, stances have been damaging causing a loss of members and participation.

Its not just one answer to this one.

[FTe217]

Yes huge void since the local closure and mediums changing on and on….
People have less time patience and change at the touch of app for ease.
I’m at a loss tbh.
People have not much care anymore and loyalty - this is progress.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WASP]

Its just not been the same since local manufacturing ended.

Personally my situation has changed and I no longer sit in front of a pc for hours. It means most posts are made on a tiny phone screen with plenty of errors
Its also been hard to embrace certain Ford aspects and it could be argued political posts, stances have been damaging causing a loss of members and participation.

Its not just one answer to this one.

As I’ve expressed previously, I’ve never liked it when the platform gets used as a stage to express political or sensitive content. This has had an influenced my engagement on here and even impacted some relationships.

I can appreciate this occurs in the absence of alternative and relevant topics being discussed. The decline and loss of local car manufacturing has definitely played a major role. This has been the glue that brings us all together.

If there remains little interest in embracing Ford cars globally, and / or sharing of enthusiasts car stories, or even pivoting to something completely different entirely then I think we all need to ask ourselves if the forum and its small community has a viable future.

What is nice about communities such as this is our mutual interest in cars has always helped bridge divides and build tolerance and understanding when you have people from a diverse range of places and backgrounds all come together.

A greater dependence on mobile devices is also a factor. Our platform needs to better cater to this by provide the means for members to capture and share ‘in the moment’.