How time flies, but a bit more activity wouldn’t go a miss!

[Mike Grant]

I don’t participate as much nowadays as I am fed up of people wanting something for nothing brigade. I will no longer give out advice to people who won’t give anything back, I have been in this business too long to give out my knowledge to some Yuppie with all the gear and no idea. We used to have a great rapport on this forum and everyone was chipping in with advice left, right and centre, but over the last few years I have noticed that even the most regular of helpful users have reigned in their help a lot. Most forums usually have a hard core of users and I think that the fact that a lot of newbies to the industry find they don’t get the easy answers to their questions quickly abandon the forums after about a dozen posts and so seek help elsewhere.
There is another sign forum I visit who quite honestly and bluntly tell these people in no uncertain terms that they will not give answers to their questions as they are sucking the life blood out of our veins slowly but surely.

[David Rogers]

Oh, Mike I agree regarding the leechers / all the gear – no idea one-post-wonders they’ll have to demonstrate at least eager willing or competence as a bona fide signmaker before they get so much as a hint in the right direction as I’m all against diluting the market with "doing it for beer money" operators but will gladly help out a newbie who’s at least taken the time to post some of of their work however good or bad for a professional / critical eye to improve themselves or see if they are on the right track. Do that and I’m all up for improving the industry as they are already part of it – even at a grass roots level. Not even remotely interested in taking food out of my mouth to help out somebody who goes "I felt my signmaker was a rip off – i bought some kit – make it work for me and don’t expect me to hang around once I’ve taken what I can get".

Cheers for the reply – proof indeed that a valid topic generates a ‘buzz’ and welcomes the comments from the old crew!

Dave

[Tim Cowlishaw]

Im in the process of learning So you can all share with me :thanks2:

[Phill Fenton]

quote DavidRogers:

Would be nice to get the old ‘buzz’ going again between us hard working signmakers who’ve got something to share.

Dave

I couldn’t agree more Dave. I think you’re right though – facebook has taken over from "forums" as the main method in which individuals interact on-line. Facebook by it’s very nature is tailored specifically to each individual and their choice of "friends". But at the same time is limited to that persons individual circle.

How to get the old "buzz" going again? We must devise a cunning plan to destroy facebook 😕

[Robert Lambie]

Some good points David and in many ways correct mate.

if we rewind 3-5 years and further… the boards did have more of a buzz back then. However, "that buzz" was created more due to "Off Topic posts". this was general banter, jokes, videos and more.., "all non-sign related stuff". so much so, we had to create a new section to help filter the volume of this type of thing. This section was called "Latest Off Topic Posts" funny enough… :lol1:
i enjoyed the banter everyone had back then within this section, but it also used to bug me a little that the sign related topics took a hit. may sound petty, but let’s not forget it’s a sign relevant forum and that’s what ultimately generates the traffic at the end of the day.

Facebook definitely has had an impact on forums globally. But, the forums that still stand strong are the specialist forums. UKSB has lost 95% of its "off topic posts " but very little, if any, of its sign related stuff. That’s because when sign makers have a problem or require sign relevant info. They don’t share or ask this with friends, they will revert back to UKSB or similar websites for answers.
However, they will Facebook pictures of their work as it promotes their business amongst their friend’s or community, whereas on UKSB it doesn’t, but can generate advice and constructive criticism which is good.

The ratio of registered users to those that start to contribute has never really changed. It’s always been there about till this very day.
Yes regular faces we know and contribute change with the weather, some stop posting, whilst others take time out and return further down the line. That just comes with the territory and not a result of Facebook as such, it has always been the case.
How many times have we seen someone post asking "wheres Tom?, what happened to such and such, where did they go??" only for tom and others to quickly login and pipe up, saying they are still around, just don’t have time to post as much!

I take a keen interest in all things web related and closely follow lots of reputable specialists giving background information on website development trends and the like. Facebook being one of the common topics covered.
Out of curiosity I recently "paid" Facebook to promote a random post we covered on vehicle wrapping "the gold kick boxers Ferrari". This news was relevant to many as it was in the newspapers also, but particularly to our trade. anyway, based on a targeted group of viewers, Facebook statistics show, 9500+ people seen the post, 111 liked it, but there was actually only 3 people that contributed by making a reply and those replies were just "looks cheap" or whatever. So, of that 9500 "actual people" to view it, only 3 contributed, see the ratio similarity to UKSB? keep in mind, that number from Facebook over 3 days is more than half of our registered users over 12 years, difference is, i had to pay Facebook for that poor stat result and was based on the largest populated platform in the world. My find was very similar to the specialists reports on same.
we have monitored isigntube.com with same videos on youtube and found up to 10 times more views of the same video on isigntube than the one on youtube. Why? Because the targeted audience is relevant to the content.
My point here, and always has been is High volume Traffic is good but is not everything when it comes to a specialist website, because a targeted audience, quality content and credible registered members is paramount. Something I have always tried to maintain since the beginning.
What I have seen an increase in is the amount of “quality registrations” over those we decline as well as geographic location. This is down to Google’s way of re-indexing search results, but clearly works in our favour. We now seldom need to delete registrations because they have normally full filled all fields requested as well as most are now from the UK as opposed to global locations.
with what’s happening with Facebook, YouTube, Google re-indexing and more, in some ways is actually making UKSB stronger with regards to quality over quantity.

The argument of people taking and not giving is as old as the site itself. I agree in many ways, but even the time served people that are regulars take from the site daily, learn new things and more…
I know I for one do!
If someone makes a post and you don’t want to help them, then simply don’t. but these other sites that allow abusive nasty type replies are just hypocritical, we all started out as a newbie at some point.
Furthermore, I know regulars that came to UKSB when they just started out and are now very successful business’s now, employing multiple members of staff. Had I/we had the same attitude to them as these other sign sites do, well… that would have been a great loss to us and our community. As a business person you owe it to yourself to stay focused on making your business a success instead of blaming those coming up behind you for making it fail.

Anyway… it would be good to see more effort being made by many, as well as encouraging newcomers.

.

[Steff Davison]

As a new member, I would like to offer my perspective of how I find the boards here. Before I joined I came here to read as much as I could on topics which were of interest to my particular business. I could have remained in the "shadows" and carried on but decided to register, introduce myself and ask a question about a particular machine. I didnt receive one reply to my question, fair enough, it was a general question, I didnt want any "trade secrets" just some feedback before I spent, what is to me as a new business, a major outlay.

As a result I havent bothered asking anymore questions. I can trawl through other sites and find bits and pieces of information. I suppose like anything it just takes time to become accepted enough to "deserve" some sound advice.

Unfortunately due to the nature of the internet there aren’t as many "trade secrets" anymore.

[Martin Pearson]

Steff, I can understand you being a bit disappointed not to have had any replies to your question but I doubt it was because people felt you didn’t deserve an answer, it may just have been that no one with knowledge of that machine was about when you posted & your post ended up dropping down the list.
You said in your introduction that you had been running your own business for a couple of years so your not completely new to the industry, my own personal opinion is that the forum is still a friendly place where the vast majority of questions get an answer or two.
Where was your question posted? I don’t really do any printing but will try to answer your question if I can. Wouldn’t want anyone to be put off because they didn’t get an answer to a question.

[Chris Windebank]

I try to help as much as I can. Not being a full member I cannot help with fonts anymore which is a shame.

Rob, can you not relax that section so its open to all? Not saying file swaps just the fonts

[Steff Davison]

quote Martin:

Steff, I can understand you being a bit disappointed not to have had any replies to your question but I doubt it was because people felt you didn’t deserve an answer, it may just have been that no one with knowledge of that machine was about when you posted & your post ended up dropping down the list.
You said in your introduction that you had been running your own business for a couple of years so your not completely new to the industry, my own personal opinion is that the forum is still a friendly place where the vast majority of questions get an answer or two.
Where was your question posted? I don’t really do any printing but will try to answer your question if I can. Wouldn’t want anyone to be put off because they didn’t get an answer to a question.

Thank you Martin, for your kind offer of help. It wasn’t my intention to suggest that the forum isn’t friendly, if my post came across that way, then I apologize

The "tone" of my post was more in response to Mike Grant’s earlier comments. I should have used the quote box in my first post.

[David Hammond]

I try to post when I can. Granted usually when I’m struggling to get something done, I try tohelp when and where I can.

There aren’t many ‘regulars’ but its great that we stick together and help each other out.

[John Thomson]

I have had lots of help from the boards over the years………….often people don’t even realise that they have helped me and in return I try to help out when I can, although my knowledge is tiny compared to some on here.

Most subjects have been covered and the advanced search will yield the answer to most but certainly not all questions which may mean less posts are made.

Personally I don’t post my work as it is plain and simple stuff that is my bread and butter.

Facebook? I simply dislike it.

John

[John Singh]

Would like to see a little more buzz as Dave says but take Rob’s points on board

Still good to get back here on boards to see what folk are up to
Facebook has its own angle
Personally I’m not too enamoured by it

I still feel this is ‘our’ forum dedicated to the sign industry but at the same time a little insight into what guys and gals get up to when they’re not working

[Jason Xuereb]

Let’s face it. It’s us Aussies that make it fun 🙂

Only kidding.

If it wasn’t for the boards I don’t think I would have gotten the start to where I am today so I am grateful. Even though our business has gravitated away from the sign specialty area I try to help out if I see a post I can contribute to.

[Ivan Morley]

The topic title reminded me of…

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana :lol1:

[Cheryl Smith]

wouldn’t be without the signboards support myself….big hugs to you all…. 😛

[Tracey Vaughan]

Hi i have been a member a while and popped in and out as family work etc seem to take over and hours are limited,

But can i just point out that there has always been a helping hand there on the forums in one way or another, some times it is just looking at past discussion to see if the information is there, people sometimes dont look and just expect help! immediatly but when i have asked for advice it has been given but it is a two way thing.

just hoping one day i can put a name to a face 😀

[Martin Cole]

Tis a shame shame Dave, I guess you dont realise how good things are until they are not here anymore.

I also dislike FB, I dont partake

[George Elsmore]

stop rambling Martinos

[Martin Cole]

quote George Elsmore:

stop rambling Martinos

🙁

COME ON ENGLAND

[George Elsmore]

kommen auf England