It`s been a long time since I`ve been on here. Mostly because life can spin you around, forcing you to take new directions and adapt to new people, places, things, etc. I was a little hurt not to have made the All Star list ... for many years I held the number one viewed post with the first Acronym List! ! !
(.... I`m kidding! I can see how the place has changed and morphed, that Acronym List was taken over by others as it should`ve been as products come and go. Just happy to have found it in the Archives ;- )
I would pop in occasionally and see the changes, then check out the `other` detailing forums. And here`s where if you knew me from the old days, you`ll remember my perspectives weren`t always mainstream, but I`d defend them and usually get them to see the light.
I hope to do that with this post ... although to be honest, I probably won`t check in for a while to respond accordingly.
All this talk of keeping Autopia alive is meaningful and warranted. There are tips, tricks, reviews, techniques explained with minutiae that isn`t found anywhere else, and they should be preserved as both a testament to the people who provided them as well as for historical value should someone want to go back in time to see what results got the best outcome for a particular automotive paint type, color or metallic flake. However, the world of Autopia will fail if it looks like it`s close to losing money. It was bought as a way to make revenue and profit. That`s it. No one is going to "out of pocket" a site for preserving a waning interest site for the sake of emotional and intrinsic meaning. If you want it to last, you can`t be passively requesting people do things - you need to be proactively doing things to make them want to be here.
In order to do this, one cannot rely on the measures that founded and built this site, they must adapt.
We know the younger generation is swapping information on a level that is beyond belief and light years away from the Postal Service, newspapers or even a fax machine. No one ever asks you for your fax number ... todays youth doesn`t even give out their phone numbers, they give out a Social Media profile so they can see if you`re a creeper and can block you before they give up their personal info. And ... a new person coming back to check out your content makes your appeal higher, which makes others want to see why you`ve accumulated so many followers.
That has to be done for this shrinking violet if it`s got any chance of surviving. It`s time to adopt those platforms into this site. I do this with all my businesses, it keeps the old-timers coming back to the place they call home and gives the younger audiences a portal they prefer to interact and engage with the product. The more views, the more interest - the more interest, the more members.
EMBRACE AND ADOPT AND ADAPT TO THE NEW INFORMATION HIGHWAY.
Here`s a few things I`d do.
Make a YouTube video with your phone of a topic or product you like. Short, between 1 to 3 minutes most. Post it on EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA SITE AT ONCE with links to the post here that explains more detail that the video does. Sure the first few videos will be wonky, awkward and might need your kids or other youth to help you do the first few, but once you do a few (and get over the anal puckering cringe when watching yourself ;- ) ... you`ll become your own director and a lot more creative in a very short period of time. You can do this - how do it know? Because a few mentioned they went back to look at their first few posts and they laughed at themselves. Yet, you still engaged, contributed and provided content. Same thing, but in video. And get used to video being one of thee biggest changes to your world in the near future. You`re already on camera at every toll booth, store and job. Getting in front of the lens can only help you improve your appearance and presentation in everything you do from business to parties to just meeting a friend at the bar.
Continuous, informative content will start to get gravity and pull viewers. Add links to this website and the thread it`s posted in. Today`s youth doesn`t JUST look at videos, they also read and contribute to the Comments. Moderate them and continually guide them back here to where intelligent and constructive posts will help them understand more on the topic. And thank them for their input regardless of how poorly written and/or without grammar and punctuation their post is ... most don`t even type anymore, so unless they know to say; "... blah, blah, blatt and blither period" ... there won`t be a period. Don`t mock it ... consider it a new language with a unique cadence. In time you`ll get it. And you should get to know it, because it`s not going away.
Then Wash, Rinse & Repeat on Fakebook, Instagratis and TicTok ... (sorry I don`t have a snarky name revision for TicTok ... yet!) ... but forget about Twitter for now. Pulling audiences in from these sites with teasers on getting products at discounts for Members (they should be contributing members to get discounts, not just the `Grab, Go & Ghost` crew). You can do it and still be within the rules of the forum.
Many who don`t go on Social Media sites say they want their privacy and anonymity. I respect that ... I have almost zero presence anywhere on the Net ... yet, I can go into every website and forum and see my nieces, nephews and friends ... but I don`t/haven`t every posted a single thing. Do exactly as you`ve done here - use your Forum Name, fill in the bare minimum to get an account and you`re as anonymous there as you are here! Stay on topic, post regularly and you`ll build an audience. Or you can do as I sometimes do, search for someone who`s built a following as an amateur detailer and offer them a few bucks to shoot a video to your specifications (and exclusions). They already have a following, after a few posts, some of those followers will be coming to the Autopia link, which is your post and it increases engagement. This is how you`ll stay alive and relevant.
It doesn`t happen overnight. Neither did your incredible reputation. But this will get new views and participation as it did with your reputation.
You`re not just looking for views - you`re looking for engagement and participation. Speaking of `views` ... did anyone run a metric on when a viewer logged in and if they bought something at the store? - If so, get the bosses to make purchasing a Membership Only process.
I know you think Social Media is a cesspool of negativity ... for the most part, you`re right. But when you picked out your life partners, the odds were the same ... a cesspool of worthless candidates that you had to swim through while defending yourself as well as in search for the right one. That`s the internet! Embrace this technology ... don`t become the old geezer who is mad at the world because they don`t fit or understand it, rather, be the person of your age that is soooo friggin` hip, many will come to you for advice and help with their modern day problems because if you know how to use the same means to communicate with them - then you`d be someone they can identify with and trust to connect.
Connect, Communicate, Content and Engagement is the way of the future.
And as I always say: There Is No Future In The Past.
Hope this helps to start the rebuilding of the site to it former glory.
I believe in you last remaining members. You can do this!
) have everything figured out and don`t ask anything anymore.