I think that I've come up with a good idea for a site that is definitely in an underdeveloped niche.

But before I get down to serious planning, I would like your opinions on this. Do you think that forums are now a little bit 'old hat', and that something more geared towards blogging or social networking is the way to go?

What I'm seeing is that forum software (I'm most familiar with IPB) is heavily geared to forums - as you'd expect - and that blogs, gallery, article mods etc are 'bolt on' extras that look like (and usually, are) an after thought.

Or you can go with a blogging platform or CMS, where any forum looks like an after thought!

Don't get me wrong. I love forums. But I wonder whether the time is right to jump onto something that has much more of a networking / collaborative content feel, and where the forum would simply be one element.

Does that make any sort of sense, or m I just rambling?

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Forums aren't going anywhere. They provide an easy means for a mass of people to communicate.

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Ford Mustang Forums - F-Series Trucks

Yeah forums arent going anywhere. unless.. someone comes up with an idea which acts sorta like a forum and is way better

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Will Stumpf - TalkNikon
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Well, you could equally make the same point about social networking sites, surely

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Forums could be the future. I think that it'll make a bigger impact on the internet as time passes by.

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I don't see myspace/facebook going anywhere anytime soon either. They aren't forums though and don't provide the same type of atmosphere that forums do.

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Ford Mustang Forums - F-Series Trucks

While you bring up an interesting point for discussion, I'd be thinking BIGGER. I would be much more concerned that the entire internet is getting "old" and "they" (Al Gore and his friends, lol) will probably shut it all down in a few weeks. I see overall participation on the internet dropping fast and soon no one will be connecting to it any more. I heard Google is about to go out of business.

I wonder what the new "big" thing will be??? Maybe bridge night or Yatzee parties? Who knows....




(insert sarcasm here, lol)

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Forums, to me, have a lot of things that social networking sites cannot have...Forums provide a far better communication means than social networking, and the archiving in forums (not actual forum archives, but instead a history of threads) stands way above social networks and blogs. Social networks just do not store the content and information that forums do...Think about when you Google something you need information on. Think about when you need technical support on something. Forums are bound to be in your results. Forums are information-havens...they are a place to have fun and a place to solve problems, learn, receive support, and so on. Social networks are usually just a way to meet others, communicate, and have fun.

I can't say that forums will be around forever, but I do think that social networking sites are definitely not a threat to them...If forums ever become unpopular, I would expect it to be because of something new...not because of blogs and social networks.

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(warning - personal opinion here!)
Ok, i think you need to consider where you want your site to be in 2 years, and maybe 5 years, and in a big picture way, what services you want to provide in that time frame, if you start with forums, but wanna start with blogs in 6 months, then Social Networking in 12 months, you should maybe look at forums that have them all intergrated somewhat, Also you need to consider what each aspect will deliver to your niche, and if it's relivant, Ie Social Networking probley won't go down very well at all on a techincal support forum/site, but might be great on some type of freelance forum/site


Just my 2c worth =)

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....how would you go about doing that, using currently available software resources?

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