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What is keeping you on forums in the social media age?

Matt N said:
Out of interest, how does the site make money? There are no ads, and there’s no kind of paywall or “premium membership” offering either, so I’m struggling to see where the revenue stream comes from.
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And the hosting must cost them a fortune!
 
I think most of my own reasons have been covered in previous posts. There's not really the opportunity for "long read" discussion on social media. Facebook, Twitter etc is great to grab updates about stuff that's going on, but it doesn't allow for the real long, interesting back and forth discussion that we have on here.

I also think it's much easier to get to know people when you're on a forum too. Back when I first joined TTF, you almost felt like you knew someone off the back of their posts on the forum. As much as we all have a common interest in theme parks, that only goes so far. So it's great to know people's likes, dislikes and even personality before they attend a meet. It makes things much easier to get settled in, and is a great ice breaker despite the large group being a bit daunting at first! It's difficult to get that amongst a myriad of Facebook comments.
Matt N said:
Out of interest, how does the site make money? There are no ads, and there’s no kind of paywall or “premium membership” offering either, so I’m struggling to see where the revenue stream comes from.
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Basically...it doesn't, it's entirely self funded by myself and Sazzle. The problem with ads is they have to be ridiculously intrusive these days to even have a remote chance of bringing in any sort of sensible amount. I'm not a huge fan of ads in the first place, and when those ads start to take away from the flow of discussion by just chucking in a random ads disguised as a post etc it's not a great look. I'm sure you've all seen the crazy level of ads that's on national and local newspaper websites to get an idea as to what I'm on about.

Sure we could go down the route of sponsored content etc, but I feel that takes away from being an actual fan site when you're dishing out talking points by your sponsor. We're really proud to be independent of anything like that, and tell things how they are on the likes of our social media posts (as much as we get it in the neck for "moaning" sometimes!).

As for premium memberships, we've actively avoided that because we want to have everyone feel like they're on an equal footing here. Someone who signed up for free could have some of the best points in the world, and I don't think they should feel they're a "lesser" member because someone else has donated a few quid to the website for a badge next to their username or something. Heck we even ditched member ranks when we started TowersStreet (aside from thanking our wonderful contributors and former team members) for the same reason.

Is running TowersStreet expensive? Probably not as much as you'd think, but there's still a three figure annual cost there. That said, we've grown up as part of the wider enthusiast community and built life long friendships thanks to it, so we kind of consider it as giving something back in return for what we've gained over the years. Sacrificing what is essentially the cost of a weekly coffee is small change for what we get from it in return....usually ;)
 
Craig said:
I think most of my own reasons have been covered in previous posts. There's not really the opportunity for "long read" discussion on social media. Facebook, Twitter etc is great to grab updates about stuff that's going on, but it doesn't allow for the real long, interesting back and forth discussion that we have on here.

I also think it's much easier to get to know people when you're on a forum too. Back when I first joined TTF, you almost felt like you knew someone off the back of their posts on the forum. As much as we all have a common interest in theme parks, that only goes so far. So it's great to know people's likes, dislikes and even personality before they attend a meet. It makes things much easier to get settled in, and is a great ice breaker despite the large group being a bit daunting at first! It's difficult to get that amongst a myriad of Facebook comments.

Basically...it doesn't, it's entirely self funded by myself and Sazzle. The problem with ads is they have to be ridiculously intrusive these days to even have a remote chance of bringing in any sort of sensible amount. I'm not a huge fan of ads in the first place, and when those ads start to take away from the flow of discussion by just chucking in a random ads disguised as a post etc it's not a great look. I'm sure you've all seen the crazy level of ads that's on national and local newspaper websites to get an idea as to what I'm on about.

Sure we could go down the route of sponsored content etc, but I feel that takes away from being an actual fan site when you're dishing out talking points by your sponsor. We're really proud to be independent of anything like that, and tell things how they are on the likes of our social media posts (as much as we get it in the neck for "moaning" sometimes!).

As for premium memberships, we've actively avoided that because we want to have everyone feel like they're on an equal footing here. Someone who signed up for free could have some of the best points in the world, and I don't think they should feel they're a "lesser" member because someone else has donated a few quid to the website for a badge next to their username or something. Heck we even ditched member ranks when we started TowersStreet (aside from thanking our wonderful contributors and former team members) for the same reason.

Is running TowersStreet expensive? Probably not as much as you'd think, but there's still a three figure annual cost there. That said, we've grown up as part of the wider enthusiast community and built life long friendships thanks to it, so we kind of consider it as giving something back in return for what we've gained over the years. Sacrificing what is essentially the cost of a weekly coffee is small change for what we get from it in return....usually ;)
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TL;DR but have you considered an OnlyFans?
 
Craig said:
I think most of my own reasons have been covered in previous posts. There's not really the opportunity for "long read" discussion on social media. Facebook, Twitter etc is great to grab updates about stuff that's going on, but it doesn't allow for the real long, interesting back and forth discussion that we have on here.

I also think it's much easier to get to know people when you're on a forum too. Back when I first joined TTF, you almost felt like you knew someone off the back of their posts on the forum. As much as we all have a common interest in theme parks, that only goes so far. So it's great to know people's likes, dislikes and even personality before they attend a meet. It makes things much easier to get settled in, and is a great ice breaker despite the large group being a bit daunting at first! It's difficult to get that amongst a myriad of Facebook comments.

Basically...it doesn't, it's entirely self funded by myself and Sazzle. The problem with ads is they have to be ridiculously intrusive these days to even have a remote chance of bringing in any sort of sensible amount. I'm not a huge fan of ads in the first place, and when those ads start to take away from the flow of discussion by just chucking in a random ads disguised as a post etc it's not a great look. I'm sure you've all seen the crazy level of ads that's on national and local newspaper websites to get an idea as to what I'm on about.

Sure we could go down the route of sponsored content etc, but I feel that takes away from being an actual fan site when you're dishing out talking points by your sponsor. We're really proud to be independent of anything like that, and tell things how they are on the likes of our social media posts (as much as we get it in the neck for "moaning" sometimes!).

As for premium memberships, we've actively avoided that because we want to have everyone feel like they're on an equal footing here. Someone who signed up for free could have some of the best points in the world, and I don't think they should feel they're a "lesser" member because someone else has donated a few quid to the website for a badge next to their username or something. Heck we even ditched member ranks when we started TowersStreet (aside from thanking our wonderful contributors and former team members) for the same reason.

Is running TowersStreet expensive? Probably not as much as you'd think, but there's still a three figure annual cost there. That said, we've grown up as part of the wider enthusiast community and built life long friendships thanks to it, so we kind of consider it as giving something back in return for what we've gained over the years. Sacrificing what is essentially the cost of a weekly coffee is small change for what we get from it in return....usually ;)
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Well done both of you and thank you...you have a lot to put up with, and have to pay for it.
Proper warm hearted thoosieness from both of you.
 
What Craig doesn’t know is I’ve been secretly pimping @Joel out for years to try and claw back something for my time and (minimal) contributions around here. Uptake has been… Low.


But suffice to say, I’m aligned with many of the views already shared here.
  • I despise social media with a passion and haven’t used any for many years now.
  • It’s far easier and more structured to have deep and meaningful (most of the time…) discussions in a forum format as oppose to comments and group pages.
  • The site and it’s community feels much more special for me. It’s something we’ve created and nurtured over many years and it feels far more rewarding than having a page on someone else’s platform that has a lot of likes or followers.
  • For me at any rate there’s also the sentimental side of things. I’ve been around the forums for donkeys years (albeit not quite as long as some of the other stalwarts of the community) and it’s a key part of my life.
  • Cut the BS. No marketing, no promotions, no algorithms or influencing. Just plain and simple post-by-post discussions and debate.

It’s almost ironic in a way. I feel you build much more rapport and understanding with key people in a forum format than I generally ever did on Facebook groups or similar, despite people and their profiles being one of the core components of those platforms!
 
I tell you something, it's a mighty damn shame we're not paid per word posted, because the team would be SQUILLIONAIRES after this closed season, and even this topic alone...

It's also a bloody good job we're not charged per word posted, because Craig and Saz would be very very broken (more so than they already are... 😂)
 
I use social media daily, my usage was much higher a couple of years ago…many can say we’ve scaled back our social media usage because of “the way it is” and rubbish it can be full of. It can very easily get out control when discussing something on Facebook or Twitter. Sometimes it can be more of a personal dig at people whereas a forum you actually feel more of a community. There are some good pages out there on social media but also some damn rotten ones which I’ll have no involvement with - without naming names I know their publications have been been what you could put probably put into the fake news category.

Of using social media, I’d say it’s three-way for the way I receive my theme park updates - Facebook, here, and YouTube video updates.

The beauty of a forum is you broadcast to the world and can read as an outsider, if you’re not a member (I did for a while). Whereas with social media, especially Facebook, you’re pretty much devoted to signing up and can choose whether your involvement is public or private, based on settings.
 
Craig said:
I think most of my own reasons have been covered in previous posts. There's not really the opportunity for "long read" discussion on social media. Facebook, Twitter etc is great to grab updates about stuff that's going on, but it doesn't allow for the real long, interesting back and forth discussion that we have on here.

I also think it's much easier to get to know people when you're on a forum too. Back when I first joined TTF, you almost felt like you knew someone off the back of their posts on the forum. As much as we all have a common interest in theme parks, that only goes so far. So it's great to know people's likes, dislikes and even personality before they attend a meet. It makes things much easier to get settled in, and is a great ice breaker despite the large group being a bit daunting at first! It's difficult to get that amongst a myriad of Facebook comments.

Basically...it doesn't, it's entirely self funded by myself and Sazzle. The problem with ads is they have to be ridiculously intrusive these days to even have a remote chance of bringing in any sort of sensible amount. I'm not a huge fan of ads in the first place, and when those ads start to take away from the flow of discussion by just chucking in a random ads disguised as a post etc it's not a great look. I'm sure you've all seen the crazy level of ads that's on national and local newspaper websites to get an idea as to what I'm on about.

Sure we could go down the route of sponsored content etc, but I feel that takes away from being an actual fan site when you're dishing out talking points by your sponsor. We're really proud to be independent of anything like that, and tell things how they are on the likes of our social media posts (as much as we get it in the neck for "moaning" sometimes!).

As for premium memberships, we've actively avoided that because we want to have everyone feel like they're on an equal footing here. Someone who signed up for free could have some of the best points in the world, and I don't think they should feel they're a "lesser" member because someone else has donated a few quid to the website for a badge next to their username or something. Heck we even ditched member ranks when we started TowersStreet (aside from thanking our wonderful contributors and former team members) for the same reason.

Is running TowersStreet expensive? Probably not as much as you'd think, but there's still a three figure annual cost there. That said, we've grown up as part of the wider enthusiast community and built life long friendships thanks to it, so we kind of consider it as giving something back in return for what we've gained over the years. Sacrificing what is essentially the cost of a weekly coffee is small change for what we get from it in return....usually ;)
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Did you ever think about crowdfunding for the website upkeep? I like that you've stayed away from the concept of premium member fees but I do think there are probably enough of us that are happy to contribute in a small way that you could cover the hosting fees at least.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Did you ever think about crowdfunding for the website upkeep? I like that you've stayed away from the concept of premium member fees but I do think there are probably enough of us that are happy to contribute in a small way that you could cover the hosting fees at least.
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If the costs ever got silly, then perhaps we'd consider it. But it's relatively small in the grand scheme of things, and we don't want to get into a similar situation with a sort of premium membership where donators believed themselves to be above others who choose not to. I know that would be unlikely for the vast majority, but the possibility would be there.
 
I would quite happily donate some cash to TS (anonymously - by all means - if that avoids the headache that @Craig outlines in terms of people wanting something back for doing so).

I definitely spend more time on this site than most others, the fact that there are no ads is an absolute joy.
 
What keeps me on forums, and this one in particular? Other people have summed my thoughts up pretty well, but for me, it's the general community. I've been a part of a number of Towers forums over the years, but the reason I've stuck with what's become TST is the community behind it. I've moved around the UK quite a few times in my life (excluding uni, I'm now living in my seventh property), and have always found it hard to make friends in a new place. Having TST as something of a constant has really helped. Life over the past 12+ years hasn't been easy, and I really value the support I've had from the members on here. I genuinely don't know where I'd be in life if it weren't for this place.
 
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