Has the Fat Lady Sung?
- Thread starter NIKAL
- Start date
sand shark
Well-Known Member
Lack of new content, no race reports and no one seems interested in the site. I would come on here to check out the latest race news and now there is very little. I think the facebook pages have also slowed down forums.
They need to pump some life back into this place.
They need to pump some life back into this place.
Most of the forums are dead. Social media is king. Most people “myself included” don’t want to hit various platforms for content. Instagram and Facebook give me all I need. But sometimes is nice to read an in-depth article.
I think the content is still strong, the velocity of content has dropped off.
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I think the content is still strong, the velocity of content has dropped off.
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sand shark
Well-Known Member
There are several brand specific Facebook groups and Instagram. Many of the racers also have Facebook pages. Honestly the technical content is not on social media. The forums are still a better source for technical stuff.
It seems many of the users on this forum have moved elsewhere. I know that the brand specific forums are still active.
I don’t buy into the whole “Social Media” has hurt the forums. These forums are also a form of Social Media. In fact a report came out last year stating Facebook users are down 40% as of last March.
https://marketingland.com/pew-surve...n-facebook-user-engagement-since-march-247469
Look at Race Dezert, they have lots of new content everyday, and it’s not driven by the site or sponsors. When there is a race it increases even more. Lots of Dakar coverage this year. The Glamis Dunes site has slowed a bit, but still a bunch of content each day. I think their problem is more are getting away from buggy’s. So the buggy content is down, but General Chat is up, so seems the UTV section. All the other UTV forums like RZR, Wildcat seem busy too.
This is what I think killed this site. Joey D unfortunately killed this site. I get this was his creation and a business for him, but there are lines you do not cross to keep the site independent to the sport. He chose to cross those for personal gain, and I think that turned allot of users off. Examples were getting so imbedded with Polaris that we never got honest reviews of any other brand machines. Unless a company was paying Joey & Co. they did not get a product review. How honest of a product review are you going to write if your being paid to give that review? How honest was that to the readers?
Selling to Mad Media did not seem to help the site either. I’m sure for Joey & his family it was a good decision, and I don’t blame or begrudge him for doing it. Klaus did it with RDC and it worked out great from what I can tell. RDC continues to thrive.
The concept of putting good content on the site, is what would bring in the traffic, which then brings in the adds & sponsors. What looks to happen is you had to pay to have your content shown on the site. I know a team who was asked to do a photo shoot and to be featured. Then they were told it would cost them, and they explain how it would bring exposure to their team and maybe more sponsors. Trust me being shown on the front page of this site was not going to get you a sponsor!
I know of two companies who were either a site sponsor, or considered it, but it was not worth the price, vs other UTV spacific sites. The one company said they saw no return on their sponsorship, and the return was 10X’s on the other UTV sites.
I felt the site was really sold out and bled when Joey started using the site to promote companies, products & dealerships where he was able to barder deals for his personal vehicles & trailers. At that point you could see the writing on the wall that he was getting the last out of the site before moving on.
Why did all the racers quit coming on here? What drove them away from even chatting on here? Something happened? There were several top teams who were on here daily. Then Poof! They all quit. Why??
Now the only new content is posted by companies who are trying to promote a product.
If you don’t believe me, then look at the total views and comments on Joeys “Good By” post. This was the founder of this site and he was leaving it. Only 9 people posted comments!
If I’m wrong, please feel free to correct me & my opinion.
https://marketingland.com/pew-surve...n-facebook-user-engagement-since-march-247469
Look at Race Dezert, they have lots of new content everyday, and it’s not driven by the site or sponsors. When there is a race it increases even more. Lots of Dakar coverage this year. The Glamis Dunes site has slowed a bit, but still a bunch of content each day. I think their problem is more are getting away from buggy’s. So the buggy content is down, but General Chat is up, so seems the UTV section. All the other UTV forums like RZR, Wildcat seem busy too.
This is what I think killed this site. Joey D unfortunately killed this site. I get this was his creation and a business for him, but there are lines you do not cross to keep the site independent to the sport. He chose to cross those for personal gain, and I think that turned allot of users off. Examples were getting so imbedded with Polaris that we never got honest reviews of any other brand machines. Unless a company was paying Joey & Co. they did not get a product review. How honest of a product review are you going to write if your being paid to give that review? How honest was that to the readers?
Selling to Mad Media did not seem to help the site either. I’m sure for Joey & his family it was a good decision, and I don’t blame or begrudge him for doing it. Klaus did it with RDC and it worked out great from what I can tell. RDC continues to thrive.
The concept of putting good content on the site, is what would bring in the traffic, which then brings in the adds & sponsors. What looks to happen is you had to pay to have your content shown on the site. I know a team who was asked to do a photo shoot and to be featured. Then they were told it would cost them, and they explain how it would bring exposure to their team and maybe more sponsors. Trust me being shown on the front page of this site was not going to get you a sponsor!
I know of two companies who were either a site sponsor, or considered it, but it was not worth the price, vs other UTV spacific sites. The one company said they saw no return on their sponsorship, and the return was 10X’s on the other UTV sites.
I felt the site was really sold out and bled when Joey started using the site to promote companies, products & dealerships where he was able to barder deals for his personal vehicles & trailers. At that point you could see the writing on the wall that he was getting the last out of the site before moving on.
Why did all the racers quit coming on here? What drove them away from even chatting on here? Something happened? There were several top teams who were on here daily. Then Poof! They all quit. Why??
Now the only new content is posted by companies who are trying to promote a product.
If you don’t believe me, then look at the total views and comments on Joeys “Good By” post. This was the founder of this site and he was leaving it. Only 9 people posted comments!
If I’m wrong, please feel free to correct me & my opinion.
sand shark
Well-Known Member
Winner winner chicken dinner!!!!
fortune46x
Member
Moderation is what makes or breaks forums IMO. You get someone with a bias whether it be oem brand or aftermarket brand that tries constantly discrediting your info you are sharing and it drives people away.
Not saying that moderation is the case here but it is with others. I've removed content, posts, info from the other forums because quite frankly I don't care to waste my time defending it , explaining it, or proving the nay-sayers wrong or even sharing information about products you know that are coming or helping those with potential issues and you get nonsense that isn't constructive and is off topic when people actually need help or are interested in the brand. It gets old and you hit a point where why would anyone waste their time for such a small audience and half of which has no interest.
I can say on the wildcat riders group on facebook there is over 11k members and a constant flood of info , tech help, and other sneak peaks (not to mention a ton of factory engineers that go and contribute) The downside is the thread setup sucks and its difficult to navigate.
We raced loors all year in the midwest and the last two rounds out west (Won in Arizona even) with a first year car - when asked about where to post the content and the info from the series/season the marketing folks said social media - when asked about forums they said don't even bother the traffic isn't there for the effort.
Not saying that moderation is the case here but it is with others. I've removed content, posts, info from the other forums because quite frankly I don't care to waste my time defending it , explaining it, or proving the nay-sayers wrong or even sharing information about products you know that are coming or helping those with potential issues and you get nonsense that isn't constructive and is off topic when people actually need help or are interested in the brand. It gets old and you hit a point where why would anyone waste their time for such a small audience and half of which has no interest.
I can say on the wildcat riders group on facebook there is over 11k members and a constant flood of info , tech help, and other sneak peaks (not to mention a ton of factory engineers that go and contribute) The downside is the thread setup sucks and its difficult to navigate.
We raced loors all year in the midwest and the last two rounds out west (Won in Arizona even) with a first year car - when asked about where to post the content and the info from the series/season the marketing folks said social media - when asked about forums they said don't even bother the traffic isn't there for the effort.
If it was desert racing then race-dezert forum is very popular, short course not so much. It is the only one I frequent on a regular basis.
desertwheeler
Extra Crispy
Yeah this site never really has been as full of tech as say the rzr forums to me anyways. Seemed like a lot less traffic. I enjoyed the reviews and stuff but just not the same anymore.
We can always do better on content .. but the idea of a forum is so everybody can contribute.
desertwheeler
Extra Crispy
True but it takes both I think. I try to post my stuff but you don’t always get feedback or enough. But I would love to see reviews of products more too, even from individuals too.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Totally open to contribution.
desertwheeler
Extra Crispy
I have seen it in other forums too. Truck forums used to be pretty big with lots of activity and now they have dwindled compared to 10-15 years ago. Just gotta figure out how to draw the members from the brand specific forums somehow.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Honestly - I think social media has hurt forums short term - but this is still where you get meaningful information and find it a month later.
desertwheeler
Extra Crispy
True I hate trying to look through someone’s feed to find something they posted a while before haha.
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