Reply To: Hobby Weekender 28/06/2019 The Industry and Social Media

[limburger 21714xp 0]

Hi folks 😀

We’re getting all sorts of warnings and precautions because of the expected heat (30 degrees celsius) and as such I doubt I’ll get to do any hobby of any kind. I do have a kickstarter to collect & unpack. That’s probably all I can manage.

(1) Is Social Media with hobbying replacing forums?

I think I’m too old to understand this ‘social media’ thing.

Or maybe I just don’t get it.

To me what I see on social media is exactly the same as forums.

The only real difference is that everyone can create a group/forum, which used to require black magic and access to a credit card.

However … (and I think this is important).

The average social media group like the random forums and newsgroups and bbs sites (anyone old enough to remember those ?) lack the one thing that make sites like OTT work : a sense of belonging and theme that turns bits&bytes into something welcoming to all. There’s more to making a forum (or facebook group) work than choosing a spiffy theme and catchy title.

I guess that’s why I didn’t really miss Google+ when it was cancelled.

It never was a community. At best it were the same old folks posting the same ol’ thing. Strangers would wander in, but there’d be no real reason to stay.

And while I made the jump to MeWe ( https://mewe.com/group/5bcd69e9a40f306ae071c51d )  it’s not as easy to use and fun as a professionally run forum like OTT is.

I also think that Facebook will either make a mistake that will make Cambridge Analytics like childs’ play.
Or I will be one of the last remaining humans who values privacy and ownership of their personal info. People tell me that I don’t have big digital footprint … and that’s true, because in addition to keeping my presence limited I also actively sabotage any attempt at making me reveal personal info whenever possible.

It’s why I don’t mind paying for OTT as well, because I know that the only part of me that’s providing money and clicks is the stuff I choose to publish in projects. There is no secret deniable datamining operation that sees me as a source of free money.

(2) Are websites going the way of the Dinosaur?

Nope. Tech may evolve, but the ones that survive will have one thing in common : they know that a website is more than a space to dump content. You need a goal and regular updates that make sense within your chosen context. Anything else and your precious website is the internet equivalent of the flyers that get handed out and thrown in the garbage.

(3) I know photos, articles and other information trickles out at conventions and events for our precious games, but should there be more social media reveals and information?

I prefer actual reviews and honesty over any artificial hype created by manufacturers by abusing social media and lame attempts at ‘viral marketing’.
Every single one of them is convinced that their latest game/product is the best thing since sliced bread.
Businesses are the worst source of info on products.
And none of them are willing to show the flaws of the game (or ready to admit those exist).

I think that’s enough of a rant from yours truly.

Music time :

And insanity time :

Fun factoid : the original Dutch actors did the German dub … which is why it can sound a bit *eh* weird.