Fad Forums; what do you think about forums based on a specific product?

Discussion in 'Managing Your Online Community' started by CM30, Dec 23, 2012.

  1. CM30

    CM30 Regular Member

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    What do you think about this, forums based on a single TV show/movie/video game which is popular at the moment or heavily anticipated? Personally I think they can succeed, but that anyone interested in running one has to keep in mind the following issues:

    1. How popular is the subject?

    That's one of the biggest issues with setting up a forum based on a product that's not due out for many weeks or months, you have no real idea about whether it'll actually succeed and draw in the necessary audience to sustain an active forum. That must have really screwed up a bunch of businesspeople trying their hardest to cash in on the next big thing, when they open up a forum only to find the subject it's based on has failed horribly at the box office/hasn't sold at all/has terrible critical reception and the forum's basically a bust right off the bat.

    If your site's subject turns out to be the next Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of Rings, James Bond, etc, then you're okay. If it turns out like so many imitators and completely fails in every respect, then your forum has got a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding.

    2. Are you first?

    I know, you don't have to be the first forum on a subject to succeed, but for a very specific niche it usually helps. If you haven't set up the site within a few days or weeks of the subject being announced, I've found it's pretty hard to do well.

    Probably because the earlier you get, the easier it is to get good domain names, social network usernames, Youtube channels, etc. And because you can get mem

    3. Does the subject have actual long term appeal?

    This has literally killed about 99% of forums that tried to cash in on a specific fad or limited subject. For instance, I recall seeing a site based purely on Super Mario Galaxy back in 2007, and it was a nice enough site...

    For about the three months leading to the game's release and a few weeks afterwards. But it's a single player game, and appeal/discussion basically died off shortly after it came out.

    If your forum isn't aimed at a topic with enough appeal in the long run and you can't change the topic to one with such appeal, it's likely it won't do well.

    Contrast this to some forums based on multiplayer games. New Call of Duty forums usually do well, because there's a heavy community element to it with the online multiplayer and clans and stuff. And a site I recall called Mario Kart Wii forums did well too, because it was a game with a lot of multiplayer appeal and discussion, tactics, leaderboards, clans, etc.

    So how do you know whether it's got long term appeal? Well I'd say if it has the following:

    A: High level of popularity
    B: Multiplayer/online community (if a video game)
    C: Extremely loyal and talkative fanbase (see something like Twilight)
    D: Chance of multiple sequels or a long running series
    E: Is good in general
    F: Has potential for fan works and stuff

    That's what I think about forums based on specific fads and media/products which are currently popular at the moment, as well as what people running them should consider before starting. But what do you think? Can a forum based on a very specific topic succeed?
     
  2. Jessi

    Jessi Regular Member

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    This is the type of site that is great for people who love doing a bunch of micro-niche sites. They aren't really in it for the long term anyway. They get in there, cash in on the immediate traffic, and then get back out. So long as it pays for the domain, the bit of hosting, and a little of their time, then anything above that is pure profit without a bunch of effort at all.
     
  3. webaficionado

    webaficionado Regular Member

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    Indeed! I have seen lots of this kind of sites. They're up for a couple months and then either disappear or turn into an offtopic forum. Either way, the admin always gets what he wants!
     
  4. jyri

    jyri Regular Member

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    I think these types of forums can exist for mega popular products like apple iPod or similar, and they later branch out to newer products from the same company.

    Other than that, I can only see them working for product creators, for customer support.
     
  5. fattony69

    fattony69 Regular Member

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    Halo2forum turned to Halo3forum. My friend bought Halo4forum so Halo3forum became TheHaloForum.
     
  6. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

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    My forum is based around the "Virtual pets" products as a whole. I've been running it for a while now and I wouldn't consider it to be a fade since there's so many games out to discuss and all.
     
  7. CM30

    CM30 Regular Member

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    To be honest, I wouldn't consider your site a fad site since it covers all virtual pet products. A fad site in that area would be more like a third party site setup to discuss one specific virtual pet site/product.
     
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  8. bauss

    bauss Regular Member

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    I don't like forums based on a tv show or movie or a product that won't continue to gain interest over time. TV shows will come to a end, and when it does, so does the forum based on that show.
     
  9. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

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    I've seen so many forums merge because of this issue. It's hard to base a forum around a tv show or movie because its only so long until it dies off and people become less interested in it as a whole.
     

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