Spoken Thought

Okay, this post comes as a result of seeing various forum newbies joining and having, what seems to be, no idea what they’re walking into.

Different people, sensibly, behave differently. So we should expect to see different characters join our communities, but seriously, there are some things that people need to know before jumping full steam into a forum.

For one, you’re new. You’re a newb. Depending on the forum, people really don’t care about your reputation on other forums or on other sites. Unless you’ve popularly branded yourself, the ‘quest’ to become a true member in this new setting, will be an uphill one. Don’t get me wrong, word travels, and you might find a few people who may be able to vouch for you, but it is still up to you to create the desired response.

Don’t let the easily visible numbers deceive you. A forum may say that they have x amount of members, but you’re not paying attention to that. You’re paying attention to the activity, and therefore, you’re paying attention to the active users on the forum. Not the misleading statistics (although there are functions that will tell you how many active users are on a forum).

There’s a way to carry yourself. This requires that you actually take some time to pay attention. Before you go on your little posting spree, take a while and get an understanding of how things work. For instance, I, personally, find it utterly annoying when a new user enters a forum and creates a bunch of posts that contribute nothing at all to the forum. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. I know that there are forums where you will be suspended, or banned, in short time. Take your time, figure things out, and ease your way in.

Come in with respect. If you feel disrespected, by all means, defend yourself, but don’t come into the forum ill-mannered, expecting everyone else to be courteous. You’ve come walking in to their ‘house’, hoping to become a part of their community. Know where you stand on your way in.

What it really comes down to is observation and execution. Like I said, take a while scoping the forum, and maybe reading the rules at some point, for a couple of days. Watch how people post and pay attention to how people react. I’d say to take note of the hierarchy, but I personally don’t believe in submitting yourself to a hierarchal ideology. I know that, within a forum, you can really gain a lot of respect (which is how status is measured) within any given period of time. Once you’ve gotten a good understanding of how the community works, then you can begin to execute the things that you have learned, and add your own twists and turns.

If you notice that there is no swearing, take note. If you notice something not being discussed on the forum, take note. Understand the tempo of the forum. Is it a professional forum? Is it just for laid back communication? Is it both? How are they separated? Are they separated? Are the administrators and moderators active? How do they carry themselves? How active is the forum? How interested is everyone?

Come to understand how different things work from an observational perspective. You don’t need to know the deep, dark secrets that go on behind the scenes. You just need to know what you’re jumping into and what the atmosphere is like.

But you may not want to wait and observe. That’s ok. Create an informative body of work, and post it, freely. I’d say that providing quality information is the best way of coming in and grabbing some desirable attention. Whether it be a way of thinking, a specific way to go about doing something, a general concept that you feel might be of benefit, whatever. As long as it is quality, free information, you’ll get the positive attention that you’re looking for. In order to identify what is quality information, look around. Check a few posts and see the level of information that is being shared. If you think you can provide something that is a step up from what you are seeing, you have something of quality.

You’ll notice that I have WickedFire in my sidebar, here. I’ve got a couple things to say about the forum, but I’ll save that for a later post. In the mean time, its really just a laid back forum for affiliates looking to boost their knowledge and network with one another. It’s still a fairly good place to learn, as long as you’re willing to use the search function.

All in all, just observe and execute. Don’t go crazy trying to boost your post count, it’s just annoying, unless you’re posting mass amounts of value. Forums are still a great way to learn and understand whatever niche you’re trying to get into, so its important that you take advantage of the opportunities. Just don’t let it take up too much of your time. When joining a forum, its really a flood of information, but down the line it becomes a pleasure. As long as you keep “Business before Pleasure” in mind, you’ll be fine. Now go join some interesting forums without fear of getting suspended or banned.

For good measure: Hi Newbie…