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How do we get more of the region using this Forum

ORIGINAL: 968net

On a slightly different subject it would be nice if the monthly club meetings visited the north of the county every once in a while. [;)]
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Not an unreasonable request. Where would you suggest? (And do you mean North Bucks, North Beds or North Northants?)
 
ORIGINAL: 968net

North Northants. It's a bit of a trek to Stoke Bruerne.
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How about somewhere near Daventry? There are good pubs up the A5?

(Note: my journey time to Stoke B is 30+ miles; about 30-40 mins depending on traffic)

Mike
 
Perhaps if we mapped the geography of the R10 folks, we'd be able to chose another venue for the "plan B".... also, I'm very keenly aware, that for some folks (Brian M and indeed, the RO ) they are physically located in another region, so there is no doubting their commitment !...

I think (corny phrase) you get out, only what you put in to all these "socio / hobby" activities.
 
Forgive quoting your last comments Helen, but I'm getting a bit hacked off with this thread and the implication that people are not aware of the forum. I mention the forum in every monthly report in PP; at each Monthly Meeting AND highlight the forum to our new members in a welcome letter. We have had more posts and "hits" than most other Regions on the forum.

I'm not complacent (but probably getting tired). Like Mike Walsh, I believe many people choose to read, not post. There is no "evidence" that they have been there, but they still look. As long as useful info is posted, then it should help our members. If it turns into a "chat room" for non-porsche related matters or politics (such as this), then it risks putting people off visiting the site.
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In addition to what Mike said above, I'll add my thoughts as well. I post a lot of information about what's happening in the Region on the Forum. My members do know about the Forum, but in practice rely on Porsche Post, email and the club web site to find out what's happening in the region that directly affects them. A lot have accessed the forum, but very, very few have posted.

I know from the comments that I've received, that many find that the useful information contained within the forum is hidden away amongst the vagaries of a chat room. And this turns a lot of people off. And they don't bother to come back.

How do you change that? Well personally I don't have all the answers. Only a tiny minority of members actually use the forum (still less than 1% of the membership), but somehow you're going to have to separate the actual Porsche / Club / Region / Register information part from the incessant chat part (and like all forums this is often just meaningless rubbish to the casual observer) before more members participate and actually use it, and then for it to be used by RO's and RS's as one of the principle methods of disseminating information.
 
but it is seperated. all they have to do is come into the forum and click on the bit they want..eg their own region they can ignor the rest..
 
And that is the problem Helen, they don't ignore the rest! Being inquisitive, they'll have a look around whilst they're there. They'll probably go to the General Discussion area, and see some topics that might look interesting, so they'll go and have a look.

And that's where the problem starts, that something of interest often quickly turns into something that is totally irrelevant and the thread becomes meaningless and inane. Which is typical of so many forums.

That turns people off, and away they go! End of story.

I will never put information on the forum and expect most of my members to see it. They won't, simple as that. I put it on there as a matter of course, no more, no less.
 
The forum is fine. It's being used like any other forum I've ever used. Yes sometimes threads drift off topic but it's up to the admin person to police that.

Let's face it. If you think the 356 is the last word in technological advancement, an internet forum must seem pretty daunting.[;)]
 
ORIGINAL: Garry Steele

something of interest often quickly turns into something that is totally irrelevant and the thread becomes meaningless and inane
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That's rather negative isn't it Garry? I've worked in the motor trade for almost 20 years now and am fairly up on a lot of stuff, but I generally learn something new most days on the forum. Sure, sometimes a thread goes off-topic like any other conversation, but somewhere along the line it will either get back on topic or run it's course.

You may have had more feedback on this than myself, but the notion that would-be users will avoid the forum because threads get a bit hijacked every now and then seems to me to give very little credit to peoples intelligence. I don't read every thread and some of the things I do read are maybe not to my taste, but it takes all kinds to make a club and surely for many people the banter is part and parcel of joining the club in the first place?

Speaking personally, I joined the club to meet other Porsche owners and get into the social side of things. I'm not too interested in most of the rest of what the club does, so I find the forum to be the best part of membership. Sure, I could allow my membership to lapse and still use the forum, but I feel it's only fair to pay up to use the club's services and to continue to be an official part of R10, a great group of people.

For me, the original post in this thread was positive and upbeat, simply asking the question - 'how do we get more of the region using the forum?' That does not suggest that the RO or anyone else is not doing their best, quite the opposite. It says this is a great resource and something we really want more people to use.

I absolutely agree that this is a great resource and would love to see more people using it, members or not. I think anything that can bring more Porsche fans to the forum has to be a good thing and if there is anything extra that I can do to make that happen then I am up for it 100%.

Maybe we could one day have a regional meet in a Northants internet café where we can all sit down, swap links and help non-internet users or those watching from the sidelines to get online and have a go on the forum, who knows, I will look into it if anyone thinks that is a good idea. Maybe for the next open day at Cornbury House we could put four or five PC's somewhere and allow people to use an online 'test' section of the forum (similar to eBay's test section). Anything is possible with an open mind.

And for anyone who also feels that the 'useful information contained within the forum is hidden away amongst the vagaries of a chat room', as Dolly Parton said, If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain! [;)]
 
John, I'm not being negative, just a realist. And you've hit the "˜nail on the head' to much of this problem in your very first paragraph when you say"¦ ""¦but I generally learn something new most days on the forum."

Forget about the vagaries of modern technology and the Internet, and how all this opens up such a wide spectrum of instant, accessible information at the touch of a button. I've been in the computer business for over 30 years so I know exactly how this kind of medium can benefit people.

In the PCGB alone, most members wouldn't even contemplate accessing the forum every day, either during the day or during the evening. They lead normal busy lives and therefore don't or won't use the forum because they either:

a) have got more important things to do with their lives,
b) just haven't got either the time or the inclination to use it,
c) don't use it during their working day (unlike some people who are clearly on it all day long) because they are doing their normal job, and
d) won't sit for ages in front of a computer in the evenings or at the weekend.

Most people who have access to the Internet & email, will use these services to get information. If it's easily accessible from the club web site, or they know stuff will come directly to them via email, then that's fine. But the majority won't use the forum as a means of communication. Some might browse it once in a while to see what's being posted, but most wouldn't use it as their principle method of finding out what's going on in the Club. And they certainly wouldn't see the forum as being an important part of being a member.

The figures speak for themselves. The majority of forum users are those people who are on it 4 or 5 days a week, sometimes more. And the amount of hours can range from one or two hours a session to being on-line almost continuously during the day. Most people in the club wouldn't even remotely consider doing this.

Given that something like 80% of the membership haven't even registered to use the forum kind of speaks for itself, particularly when you could probably estimate that that same 80% of the membership do actually have access to email and the Internet.

And before I get shouted down once again, I'll just finish by saying that yes I do think the forum is a great resource, and I think it can have a great future, but it's how it's used that will decide how successful it will be.

I have used the forum quite a fair bit myself, and put lots of stuff on it, but I know of an awful lot of members who wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Converting close to 13,000 members into becoming forumites will be a tall order.

At the end of the day, people have choices and members can choose whether or not they use the forum, in the same way that they can choose whether to read the Porsche Post or not. The advantage the Club has is that at least the PP does come through 16,000 letterboxes every month.
 
Hi Garry, sorry hope you don't think I was shouting you down, just saying I didn't agree. (Don't know what makes you think forum fans don't lead normal busy lives, I can't remember a busier week than this one just gone!)

In my opinion, the core activity of any car club is all about helping people with an interest in particular vehicles to communicate. Great and all as PP is, it's once a month whereas this is 24/7 - for those who like their news/late ticket deals/classified ads fresh there's no contest. For sure there are plenty of people who prefer print to electronic, but technology is one of my main areas of interest, so (even though I work in publishing) I'm not one of them and, thankfully for me, I'm not on my own.

In the last year I must have converted 30 or 40 people into using eBay simply by being enthusiastic about it (I am very enthusiastic about eBay!). I don't think any of them were or are big PC users, but they were sold on the pros and were keen to derive a benefit.

You are dead right, it is of course completely unrealistic to suggest that we should aim to recruit all 16,000 PCGB members or however many there are, and I'm sure that you do know an 'awful lot of members who wouldn't touch the forum with a barge pole' but that doesn't mean that those of us who enjoy the forum shouldn't keep trying. 150, 50, even 5 more forumites could make a difference.

I'm sure with continued encouragement from key people like yourself (especially as you are a computer guru) the forum would keep growing that little bit every month. By saying that I am not inferring that either you or other RO's are currently unsupportive of the forum or anything else, I know RO's have to do what they feel is most effective for their people and well done to you all for getting us out in our cars on a regular basis.

Best wishes for a good weekend [:)]
 
In the PCGB alone, most members wouldn't even contemplate accessing the forum every day, either during the day or during the evening. They lead normal busy lives and therefore don't or won't use the forum because they either:

a) have got more important things to do with their lives,
b) just haven't got either the time or the inclination to use it,
c) don't use it during their working day (unlike some people who are clearly on it all day long) because they are doing their normal job, and
d) won't sit for ages in front of a computer in the evenings or at the weekend.
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and some of us have Broadband. enabling us to do more than one thing at a time.
 
and some of us have Broadband. enabling us to do more than one thing at a time.
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Helen

And what 'more than one thing' do you do whilst broadbanding ?

And do you have pictures ?
 
ORIGINAL: John Bellringer

and some of us have Broadband. enabling us to do more than one thing at a time.
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Helen

And what 'more than one thing' do you do whilst broadbanding ?

And do you have pictures ?
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paint my nails.[;)][:D][:D][:D]

5FBDE970849D4F4D9C2B8688308CE37F.jpg
 
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