IP.Board 3.1.0 Dev Update: Profile Customization (II)

Wow, awesome feature! 3.1 just keeps getting better and better!

Razasharp, on 19 February 2010 - 09:28 PM, said:

Using your own point of view against you, let's consider that saying, "If you can't beat them, join them." Just about everyone has heard of FaceBook and Twitter. It's mentioned quite frequently on the news and it's like a big burning hole in the internet, with people flying to it like moths.. So if it's getting that much exposure, why not pop your site up within that crowded mess, where it stands a huge chance of people seen by others who may have otherwise never seen or known about your site?

If your members are going to join the mugshotbook or the place for twits, then they're going to do it regardless of your site, not because of it. The only difference your site could possibly make is in the timing of when they do it. But let's compare, FB's over 400million members -vs- your under 1million members (I'm going on the assumption that your board has under 1million members, please correct me if I'm mistaken on this). There's not many people they can stand to gain from you, but there IS a large pool of suckers that you can lure to your site from them. Just the odds alone are in your favor.

And I'll use yours against you :p How many times have you seen 'add me on facebook' type threads on forums? People may well have heard of or joined facebook but those threads hurt you most - because it gives 'your' members a place to chat elsewhere - and let's face it FB is done pretty damn nice, so people are going to want to spend time there anyway. A nice slick interface, feature rich and lots of people or your outdated somewhat limited forum with less members. Forums are in decline, it's much harder to get a new forum going these days, FB however is still growing.

I do hear what you're saying about using them - but I really don't think FBC gets you that many more members. If people want to post on your site they will most likely register.  Has anyone got any before and after data - showing that adding FBC got them more members? If it is proven to work I may even give it a go on some of my own sites. (Whilst talking about it - how does it work? Do you get the users email address? If so that's good).

As I mentioned previously, I do think that it is so big now and it won't make much difference adding FBC to vb/IPB - but still I'd want to see CPPs be more feature rich and not just become supporters of these super sites. We need to find ways to get members to join our sites, and to keep coming back.

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Agreed.

Razasharp, on 19 February 2010 - 11:06 PM, said:

Yeah, you get to work on that and lemme know what you figure out...

I have loads of ideas Wolfie. I am a constant thinker - always conjuring up stuff... I even keep a notebook by my bed because if I don't jot the idea down it just keeps me awake!

Have some good ideas for here but I'll hold of posting until I am a licensed user as it does take time popping them down.

Wow looks awesome Matt and Team! fantastic work guys!

Razasharp, on 20 February 2010 - 12:01 AM, said:

You should definitely take the plunge and get it. I've been using IPB since at least 2005 (I think before that, like 2004). I had been using ikonBoard, liked it, except that it was slow (.cgi) and realized that PHP was a bit faster so shopped for a PHP board to use and came across IPB which was strikingly similar to ikonBoard. Later on, came to realize that the author of IPB (Matt) was also the original programmer of ikonBoard.


It's a good, sturdy purchase.

That is great news! Integration of all the external services!




You might also think of  integrating some more of the IPS services, 

• forums and calendar (make calendar items discussable),
• Chat and forum (post this chat conversation into a thread) etc.

And put the user as the most important part of the forum on the start page (let the forum rotate around the actual logged in user) and put all the information on the start page, the user is most likely interested in:

• new actions from friends (pictures, posts, friendships)
• new actions from content the user is most likely interested in (subscribed threads, read topics / blog entries / IP.Content entries)
• new members with the same profile background etc.

Razasharp, on 19 February 2010 - 11:38 PM, said:

I agree with the comment of the member, but not sure I agree with your view.

I have never been a facebook fan, however I now tweet updates and these are automatically posted to facebook. I am now logging in there more and more as old friends add me and wish to chat.

For me the closer I can bring my forums to integrate with facebook and twitter (and whatever is next) the better.

I can upload my photos a lot quicker on facebook than I can ever do on IPB, I can chat more easily on facebook than I can ever do on IPB - so if that is true of someone that 'knows' the software then it will be a more natural option for members. So if they can log in using other sign-ons and update their facebook / twitter from IPB then hopefully some of them will choose the forum a their default option and not facebook as their default.

Wolfie - I've noticed a few things that need tweaking so may post a feedback thread and see what the devs think being jumping aboard. They need fixing imo.

Ian - You kinda just proved my point for me. My guess is FB will always be their home and they may use FBC to get info, or make a quick post then disappear again. I may be wrong but nobody has showed me how FBC has really worked for them yet.

On a slightly separate note - if we're doing these integrations then we should have as many as possible of the big ones - as that dilutes the free promotion you're giving these sites.

Excellent ...

Razasharp, on 20 February 2010 - 04:06 AM, said:

You do realize all of the things you can do with a forum that you can't do on facebook? Integrating these help, because it makes people more familiar with how to use your board. If your board is familiar, people will likely have more interest than if it wasn't. By having updates and the ability to integrate it with social networking sites, it creates an experience that is, imo, better than just simply facebook or twitter itself. On a forum you can be more outstanding than on a site like facebook. You can move up in ranks, be known, and make it the place you want it to be, without having to worry about people being complete douche bags because you can remove such posts.

Considering that your board likely has decent content, why wouldn't they want to join? It doesn't hurt and it gives users a good feeling to be important. You can't just become a staff member on facebook, it just doesn't happen. You can't access special things by purchasing VIP or premium memberships, access downloads and a gallery and a commerce system and enter contests to win things, etc. like you can on a forum powered by IPB. You can't even be competitive with post count or anything on FB. With these updates it is helping more than harming your board, guaranteed! Wolfie is right here! And even if you want to be a grouch and get mad about new features meant to ultimately help you, take advantage of the option to turn them off! At least they ARE providing you with this option. Stop complaining about something that is amazing, making an argument about something that need not be a conflicting matter, and just look at the positives!! Thank you.

Razasharp, on 20 February 2010 - 03:03 PM, said:

Content and other features will help them to revisit.


Providing what facebook doesn't.

Give them the best of both worlds.

Wow, thanks for the new addition

razazharp and wolfie heve a point to it, but anyways nice idea

Just figured I'd drop a random example from my own personal travels.

My (2 year old expensive High Efficiency ) washing machine started having trouble a couple of weeks ago. It was throwing an error code, and I needed to get it fixed. I started googling, and came across a site that listed the error code, and how to fix it, with some discussion from other people that have tried.

First, I'd like to point out that I found this information on a forum, and not on twitter or Facebook.

I followed along, and eventually I got my washing machine fixed, thanks to the information posted. I wanted to reply to the discussion to add my own .02, but really - who wants to register, wait for the email to arrive, click the link in the email to validate your account, pray they don't have admin validation enabled, login, and then find your way back to a thread, just to (more or less) say "thanks"? Not I. I have better things to do with my time.

However, when I looked at the page, I noticed they had a lovely Facebook Connect button on the page. That meant that all I had to do was pop in my facebook login, and I was instantly logged in. No registering, no validating email address, nothing. Login with my facebook login, leave my comment, and that was it for me.

This is an example of how utilizing Facebook Connect can help attract more users and content to your site. While I was posting a meaningless "thank you" reply, basically, had I been a Whirlpool repairman and had something meaningful to add to the conversation, you can see quickly how lowering the entry barrier can lead to more valuable content ending up on your site. Had there not been a Facebook Connect login option, I likely wouldn't have bothered replying at all.

 That's an excellent point - and actually one I address in another way. Withhold the first post from guests. If people want the info posted on our boards the least they can do is register. Noticed a big increase not just in registrations, but more people log-in everyday too now (even if you take away the new registrations). So I guess even tho some may have resented registering, overall we are getting more regular users and activity because of it. (And we don't have to give FB free advertising in the process *grin*)

Of course there are pros and cons - but it works well for us.

Razasharp, on 22 February 2010 - 12:59 PM, said:

For the most part, unless there is a specific NEED for me to register on a site like that, I will actually just keep moving once I realize that it's done to encourage/force me to register and sign in.

"And if you are a "Super Moderator", then you remove and remove and disable customizations on any profile you view" Now is that for the viewers or totally get rid of it for the member when the super moderator or admin click on it.