Why so quiet?

[Bob Atkins]

Anyone have any idea why the forums here are so quiet? In fact I'm posting this just to make sure nothing is broken!

I suppose it's a lack of critical mass and the existence of so many other photography forums, though I think as a general rule posts and answers here have been well above the average quality level of what I see in many other forums.

Just wondering....

[klindup]

Not sure why the forums are quiet.  I have looked at a few of the others but this is the only one that I stick with.  I have received solutions to any problems that I have posted.  So many of the others seem to be comments on equipment and the postings are lacking in detail.  I have tried a few of the YAHOO groups related to Canon Photography and whilst staying a member I do not even read the postings these days.  I like the detail and technical content on this site.  The only other forum that I follow regularly is the Televue YAHOO group.

It is interesting to see how forums have developed over the years from the newsgroups that predate the web.  There is much that is banalon some sites  but this is the best.  I certainly recommend it to friends with Canon cameras.  We may be a select group and that suits me but I guess that you would like more hits Bob.  All I can say is that appreciate what you do and find it valuable.
Ken

[Bob Atkins]

The forums here have never been all that busy, possibly because it's not that easy to register. It keeps out the spammers, but users have to expend a little effort and sometimes wait a while before being approved. Quality over quantity is great in theory, but it doesn't pay the bills I'm afraid.

Also, small, one person, sites like this one are a dying breed. To be honest traffic is dropping and at some point it won't be worth the effort of maintaining the site. Too much competition from "cookie cutter" photo websites with nothing really to say but with a team of designers and SEO experts behind them. Flashy, glitzy, but not a lot of content. Sites spreading rumors to draw in traffic, site with superficial reviews, sites owned by corporations who don't care if the subject is photography, gardening, celebrity gossip or diet tips.

If people don't share content they find on a site, the site will die. At one time that wasn't true, but a site simply cannot compete today without being shared on twitter, facebook and other social media. If it's not, Google is unlikely to give it a high rating in searches.

Today's internet isn't like the Internet of 10 years ago or even 5 years ago - or even 2 years ago. There's very little room anymore for the one-person website trying to live on generating quality material. I guess that's progress?

[klindup]

I do not use any social networking sites.  However do you know if Google take account of the number of times this site appears in searches?  I think part of the problem with search engines is that people have learned how to manipulate things such that their site appears higher up the rankings which is not the way it was supposed to be.  There seems to have been a proliferation of web sites and discussion groups so I guess there can be a dilution of hits on this site.
Ken

[Johnny]

I hope this site will stay around for a long time. This is a "genuine" site, with a lot of interesting content.

Speaking for my self: I am not using social media but if I did I would certainly "spread the word".

Why so quiet? I don't know. I have been busy for quite some time but have been checking in at least once a week. Maybe it is just life in general? Maybe the users of this site are grown ups, busy doing family stuff?

I have been following other Canon specific sites, and some of them are pretty quiet too. ( Talking about the forums ) Maybe it is the bigger sites that gets the traffic? I don't know. All I know is that some of the more popular sites with busy forums are, excuse the expression, pretty brain dead. Maybe that is what a lot of people want - bashing and lashing? :-) ( No sites mentioned... )

This is a great site, Bob!

[Bob Atkins]

Thanks.

The bigger sites (and their forums) probably get more traffic because they update their content more often than I do. Most of them have a team people writing for the site including full time employees generating content.

I have reviews of the SL1, the 70D and the G16 in progress, but I don't have the resources to update the site with new articles on a daily basis, so people probably don't "check in" every day to see what's new (usually, not much!).

Quality over quantity is a good thing, though quality doesn't usually pay the bills quite so well...