Board ideas

[jimnyc]

Wanted to discuss a few things and hopefully get some ideas we can all bounce around.

I'm going to try a few different things and try to get some readers/guests coming our way. I can't promise anyone of them will convert to members though. That's where the entire board comes in. If we have new members signup, and they happen to be liberals, democrats or anyone that should happen to have a different viewpoint than any of us here - let's please all try our best to have a different approach. In the past year or so, new members have been being attacked. Some for simply having an opinion. And yes, some come in and have an attitude. Let's show them how it's done. I know that every single member here is quite intelligent and capable of offering good debates and discussions.

Like I said years and years ago, we all know an occasional outburst will happen, and I don't have an issue with that. But lets not have new members see that part of us as their first response. Many of them very well may turn out to be good members if we don't scare them away. This board is obviously not growing as we would like. I think that's part of the reason, and I'll take the blame for the rest. All I'm asking is that we try.

In addition to that, I'm looking for new and different ideas, things that will set us aside from the rest. Like a friend recently told me, most of these boards today are clones of one another. Really the only difference is the political affiliation of members, and of course the numbers. But at the end of the day, they're all similar.

I would like to find an idea, a gimmick, a change to the board that will make us different than the rest. Not really a gimmick, because I would like for it to be a good idea that makes this a better site, for new members and for all of us. I'm willing to finance and implement, but I'm coming up empty with ideas. I thought the "one on one debates" was a good idea way back when, and outside of a couple of good debates, that idea went south. There's got to be some ideas that more people will utilize.

[tailfins]

How much effort have you put into search engine optimization? Think of the search terms that match the "brand" of DP. DP should come to the top of search results on words such as socialist, progressive, socially responsible, environmentally conscious, etc. You should include common misspelling of these words to bring in the best and the brightest.

If you want to build the board the old fashioned way, attend meetings of organizations such as Greenpeace, CPUSA, NARAL, Organizing For Obama America, SEIU, AFL-CIO, etc. and hand out business cards about your FREE debate site. As you campaign to re-elect Andrew Cuomo, you can give some of those business cards to fellow campaign volunteers.

[hjmick]

My favorite is still the member interviews... Hard thing to do on bigger boards.


I realize that's not real helpful, so I guess I'll think on it some...

[jimnyc]

How much effort have you put into search engine optimization? Think of the search terms that match the "brand" of DP. DP should come to the top of search results on words such as socialist, progressive, socially responsible, environmentally conscious, etc. You should include common misspelling of these words to bring in the best and the brightest.

If you want to build the board the old fashioned way, attend meetings of organizations such as Greenpeace, CPUSA, NARAL, Organizing For Obama America, SEIU, AFL-CIO, etc. and hand out business cards about your FREE debate site. As you campaign to re-elect Andrew Cuomo, you can give some of those business cards to fellow campaign volunteers.

Back in the beginning I paid to have some services help with that, but I don't think it worked. I don't trust a lot of those fuckers. It's funny, I get emails all the time from companies and individuals telling me they can SEO the site for me and put me on the first page of Google. Then I visit THEIR site and find them on like page 29. Wouldn't they be at least on the first few pages if they were that good? Anyway, these services aren't cheap, and rarely guarantees that they can increase your rankings.

There is a product made just for this site software that can supposedly help with rankings, not just with the board in general but with every thread. It's "vBSEO".

Nevermind, went to get a link and post the features but found out they closed up shop.

Anyway, it's not a bad idea to get into the organic search engine results. The next is advertising. And of course word of mouth. Not sure which is best, but there are price differences! Finding decent places to place a DP banner isn't easy, at least not a place that will convert into new members. It's not like other message boards will let us advertise - and to do so anywhere sizable can be very pricey!!

[jimnyc]

My favorite is still the member interviews... Hard thing to do on bigger boards.


I realize that's not real helpful, so I guess I'll think on it some...

So you're volunteering for an interview? I'll start a new thread!

[Jeff]

So you're volunteering for an interview? I'll start a new thread!

Thanks for volunteering hjmick !!!!

[KitchenKitten99]

If you want to make up a flyer with pertinent info and whatnot, and post it here as a PDF, maybe we can put flyers up at various public posting spots. I know I have several bulletin boards around both my home's town area, and my shop's area. And both areas can get pretty political.

If you make the flyer, then we know it is a Jimnyc-approved message.

[tailfins]

So you're volunteering for an interview? I'll start a new thread!

I'll do it if you don't rush me to answer. I'm on a new gig and still settling in the changing, jobs, location, kids schools, etc.

[hjmick]

Heh... I'm a boring SOB... As you may have noticed I don't take much seriously... But, were no one else interested...

[SassyLady]

You could also do an update of previous interviews ... people who have been here forever and still posting. Ask them why they are still here and what has changed since their original interview.

[Perianne]

If you want the forum to grow, tell everyone that Perianne is here.

[Jeff]

If you want the forum to grow, tell everyone that Perianne is here.

Perianne this is off topic but how went the wedding ?

[Perianne]

Perianne this is off topic but how went the wedding ?

The wedding went wonderful; a start of a new life for me. It was just me and my feller, my BFF and her husband, and my daughter and her boyfriend.

Thanks for asking.

[fj1200]

Wanted to discuss a few things and hopefully get some ideas we can all bounce around.

In addition to that, I'm looking for new and different ideas, things that will set us aside from the rest. ...

... There's got to be some ideas that more people will utilize.

I'm not quite sure what your end goal is Jim. Be different? The board is different. If you want to know what your niche is merely look at the types of threads that get started especially regardless of the major "news" of the day.

And once you decide on your end goal you'll need to decide if you have the talent, I don't mean you specifically, that can help you achieve that goal.

[Lemongrass Gogulope]

New liberal on board here. Do you have asbestos panties for sale in the Lounge Store?