Living Reefs Action Plan!

Thanks for all of the advice guys, I've got some good ideas to put in motion thanks to the feedback here :). Keep it coming! :D

Are there many people here who may be interested in writing articles?
 
I am a newb, and I found this forum because I did some homework about the content, and members.. I could tell it was an awesome community, with mass amounts of information..
Since joining LR, I've noticed SEVERAL new fish hobby groups appearing on facebook and when I found someone stumped with a problem I sent them here!! I'm not sure if the ease of asking on facebook turns people away from joining a forum, or if it is the lack of dedication on their part, to get their questions/problems handled without the feeling of being obligated to help others..
We have a great forum, the set up is VERY user friendly, our members are second to NONE in terms of helpfulness, and the feeling of being part of a family!!
 
ErinCahir said:
I've (obviously) noticed this as well. We have had a lot of our regulars leave for whatever reason (school, out of the hobby, personal reasons, whatever).

I wouldn't change anything about the site or how we operate, but I feel like we just don't get as much "newb" traffic. The majority of this used to be advice and now it seems like it's just people updating their own projects (which is still very exciting, but not the same). I don't really know how we'd fix that, though.
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Totally agree with this. We had a lot of banter back and forth all day every day with site regulars, they are all gone now (biff, Tucan, etc). Why have the remaining regulars not picked up the pace in that absence? Also, it seems everyone in the world is on Facebook (except me) and sharing ideas and info there which I believe is taking a lot away from this site.

We could try contests. We did them in the past, but they were not site funded, they were moderator funded. Maybe look into getting more top tier vendors as sponsors and asking them to donate a product annually to put into a "bank" for contests? Say Ecotech donates an MP 10, that can be held for a contest grand prize.
 
I was busy this summer with my move..... so now I'm getting back into the hobby and I just stocked my tank this week..............
 
fastrd400 said:
We could try contests. We did them in the past, but they were not site funded, they were moderator funded. Maybe look into getting more top tier vendors as sponsors and asking them to donate a product annually to put into a "bank" for contests? Say Ecotech donates an MP 10, that can be held for a contest grand prize.
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Yeah contests is something that I'm looking at and think we may end up doing in the very near future :). Need to do a bit of e-mailing first and see what we can get - if any manufacturers are reading this and want to help out, then please do drop me a PM!
 
I wouldn't change anything about the site. I know I have not been around much lately. I do miss it, life just gets in the way sometimes. I will try to contribute more in the future as well. Contests are a good idea even better if they were open to reefers in Canada. This site is a great resource for experienced and newbs.
See you on the forums.
 
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is there a way to incorporate this forum into a facebook group? I know I follow several groups on facebook and they are very active. with todays technology everybody is on their phones and a facebook update to a question you asked is almost instant.
 
grozier said:
is there a way to incorporate this forum into a facebook group? I know I follow several groups on facebook and they are very active. with todays technology everybody is on their phones and a facebook update to a question you asked is almost instant.
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There's a way that we can allow registration for the site via Facebook, but there's not a way to get a FB group and the site to work together (only separately - which would mean it's even quieter). I guess part of the problem for forums nowadays is that they have to compete with FB.

In the new year I'm going to start making some improvements, mainly competitions (plus some of the other suggestions) to get things going again :D.
 
Saturation? How many fourms for s/w are there? Pure facts, some will stay, some will go. I have 3 local clubs and the 4 big clubs that I know and it is the same everywhere. Give aways, auction, we have unfinished articles, algae database, disease database, build info. Most folks are only in the hobby for a short time, is what it is.
 
I can do a HOG1 contest give-away ($150 retail).

Most vendors will need to be contacted directly and asked about product give-aways. A direct email through their site, and for very good results, a phone message, are needed.
 
If I could suggest a change it would be the tank showcase system. I'm not sure why a progress thread with pics in the thread is less viable than having the notes and comments separate from the pictures. I may jsut be using it wrong, but that too shows an issue with the system. lol
 
We don't have a ton of activity on the Facebook group either, honestly.


It picks up every once in a while but nothing too serious.
 
I've been slacking lately in my participation as well, though I'm not as 'old school' as some of the other members here. I was frustrated with some issues I was having with my tank but I've recently worked those out.

I'll make an effort to be more active on the site
 
I don't come here much anymore because when I have posted in the past I am generally ignored. Also, I do have several forums that I check daily and I find no new activity of any kind on this one. I came here today just out of boredom and on the first page I found a post of my own from October. Nothing new until I clicked in the new posts.

Maybe when you enter the forum there is a way to have the new posts come up first? That way when you first get to the site you find all of the new stuff going on.

Also, I am not sure (can't remember) do you post to a person's email with replies to their questions, as in, there is a new reply to this thread then post the link so that they can enter the site to check? Maybe email a "what's happening this (week, month) at Living Reefs? Remind people you are here?
 
Karen said:
I don't come here much anymore because when I have posted in the past I am generally ignored. Also, I do have several forums that I check daily and I find no new activity of any kind on this one. I came here today just out of boredom and on the first page I found a post of my own from October. Nothing new until I clicked in the new posts.

Maybe when you enter the forum there is a way to have the new posts come up first? That way when you first get to the site you find all of the new stuff going on.

Also, I am not sure (can't remember) do you post to a person's email with replies to their questions, as in, there is a new reply to this thread then post the link so that they can enter the site to check? Maybe email a "what's happening this (week, month) at Living Reefs? Remind people you are here?
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Yeah you can set it up to auto-watch and e-mail you on threads that you post in on this page:

https://www.livingreefs.com/account/preferences

I'm looking at adding a monthly newsletter to let people know about competitions and so on :).

We've got the latest posts appearing on the sidebar, but perhaps we need to take a look at the main page layout too.
 
Ian said:
I'm sure that you've all noticed how quiet Living Reefs has been over the past year or so, I'm not sure what happened but there's nowhere near as much action as there used to be.

I really, really want to reverse that - but to do that I need your help in finding out what we can do to improve the place and make it somewhere that people want to hang out. I know that a few active members have left the hobby and are doing new things, which I'm sure is part of the reason things have gotten quiet.

What can we do around here to get things a little more active? Is there anything on the site that we're missing, or is there something that if we had it would make you come here and post a little more often?

Please let me know in this thread (or PM me if you want to keep it private). I'd love to hear any and all thoughts on this, so even if this thread isn't something you'd normally reply to, I'd really appreciate your honest thoughts. I'd hate to see LR drift off into nothing.
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I just saw this, I guess for me I have been pretty busy. I have gotten so much info here. Everything is good in my tank right now. Maybe I should think about not just coming here for advice but to be here to give back that what was given Me. Which was help when I needed it.
 
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