Hello,
I'm only asking out of curiosity
These days we have social networks such as facebook,twitter and even google +, These sites allow you to create pages and groups which you can now also Admin.
Do you think forums are dying? or will be dead soon? (Say in 2024)
or do you think they will only get bigger and keep up with these sites and be more social.
I though about creating a social network for gamers but decided to go with forums to save time programming the site and forums over more of a discussion but I am not sure if social networks have Hi-Jacked as times are changing.
Thanks
forums and SNS can co-exist imo. A fb/g+ page is more likely to replace your blog than your forums. I don't think that, this site (mybb support) for an example, can be run from a fb page.
You actually have a good point there forums provide more then what a page can supply.Just seen that Minecraft and GTA have there own forums so basically big companies.
Comparing two different things mate.
Social networking is just chatting with friends and hanging out.
Forums are a place for that AND support/many other things.
I wouldn't use facebook to ask for help on configuring a web server.
Good point I don't even think Facebook is meant for that, They might kill blogs eventually though.
Anyway the reason I asked is that I was told FB will kill forums eventually.
Thanks for the answers
I don't think so, forums and Facebook have different use cases. Sure, Facebook has groups and pages, but they are built for quick content turn-over, not on-going discussions, whereas forums tend to promote ongoing discussions (and easy access to past discussions/content).
That said, social networks have brought ideas to the tables that can benefit forums, especially for more casual users (in particular likes and alerts/activity notifications).
Forums traditionally don't have as easy an entry level as content on Facebook (Clicking "Join Group" versus
the sign-up process for a site), but
with a bit of work you can improve that.
Theres also plugins on Mybb that can make your forum more social if you need to such as creating forum groups etc..
I guess I can tell them that forums are totally different things and you carnt compare them, I think Facebook itself use to have its own support forums powered by punbb though.
Apples and oranges...
Social Networking = Popularity contest where you share thoughts/information for validation from others.
Forums/Communities = Discussion hub where information is exchanged and/or intellectual discussions take place for the betterment and advancement of your knowledge (with some exceptions...
)
Not saying Social Networking is bad, but it's primary purpose should just stay as a stick measuring contest... if you get my drift.
I will have to agree with that, that's all I see on FB is who is better then each other lol
Having a Forum and blog with very high quality content is much better than having a facebook/social media page in my view.