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How The Like Button On Your Forum Sparks A Feedback Loop

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Mike W.

For any platform with user generated content, a “Like” button generates lots of reward for little effort, which is crucial. Given the ongoing surge in mobile usage among forum communities, it’s more important than ever to give users an easy … Read More >

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Fog Behavior Model, Forum Software, And Community Apps

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Mike W.

One way to think about user behavior and forum communities is to apply B.J. Fogg’s Behavior Model. The Behavior Model states that Motivation, Ability, and a Trigger must converge at the same moment for a Behavior to occur. When you … Read More >

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Three Options For Mobile Forum Software

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Mike W.

We know that more and more users access their favorite forum communities on their phones and tablets. This trend will continue to accelerate. How should community managers react to keep their forum active? In this blog post we examine three … Read More >

Posted in Forum Architecture & Design | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

4 Ways To Advertise On Your Forum (Besides Banner Ads!)

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Mike W.

We recently examined the types of banner ads that your forum needs. But that leads us to another popular question: what are some other ways to generate advertising revenue from your forum? After all, banner ads are notorious for their … Read More >

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The 4 Types Of Banner Ads Your Forum Needs

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Mike W.

One question we get is about inserting banner ads on your forum. How does a community manager strike the right balance? Too many ads will antagonize users and muddle your forum’s content. But fail to include any ads and your … Read More >

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

3 Components To The “Forum Success Cycle”

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Mike W.

We theorize three components feed on each other in a cyclical manner so that a site owner is willing to work on his or her forum community over an extended period of time: User activity Motivation for site owner Effort … Read More >

Posted in Marketing Your Forum | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Successful Forum Communities: Motivation And Rewards

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Mike W.

Running an unpopular forum is like trying to crowdsource something without the crowd. There’s lots of work for little reward. With no reward, there’s no motivation. With no motivation there’s no desire to work hard. That’s why forums without a … Read More >

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Why Spammers Love Unpopular Forum Communities

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Mike W.

We previously examined reasons why unpopular forums require so much effort. One of the reasons we gave is that an unmonitored forum is a haven for spammers and bots. If a forum doesn’t have much legitimate traffic, there is no … Read More >

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Why Large Groups Generate The Best Forum Content

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Mike W.

Earlier this week, we examined why unpopular forums require so much effort. One reason is that it’s easier for large crowds of people to generate compelling content than for a single individual or a small group. Let’s explore this notion … Read More >

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3 Reasons Why Unpopular Forums Require So Much Effort

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Mike W.

Earlier this week it dawned on me: running an unpopular forum requires more effort than running a popular forum. This seems counterintuitive because a popular forum requires lots of effort so it follows that an unpopular forum would require less … Read More >

Posted in Marketing Your Forum | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments