Social Media update on UM? Maybe? (a little off-topic, but not really)

[Naglfar]

Something has been bothering me lately. The UM forums are really cool. Awesome. Especially forums where the band members actually post and banter with their fans.

That being said...

Isn't the plain forum format kind of old? I don't know when UM started, but I've been here since 2004, specifically to follow Dan Swano, Dark Tranquillity, Borknagar / Vintersorg, November's Doom... isn't it time the website maybe changed the format to get these guys to use something they can easily update with their smartphones / ipad / gaming towers?

I don't have any specific recommendations. But in the age of Twitter and iPhones, the forums seem... a little anachronistic. They should exist, and I understand it's not 1-2-3 to get all that stuff integrated. But truth is band members account for such a tiny fraction of activity on the forums (and I don't mean that just relative to how many fans / users there are compared to them).

I would wager the DT guys would probably be stuffing us with Twitter updates about taking a dump in the worst toilet in Stockholm, if that were something they found fun to do because they have an audience. The forum is great for the guys who like to come in an engage us. But, shouldn't there be some sort of way for the bands to update their touring / recording activity, and us comment?

A lot of the forums I normally visit are a little dead, and funny thing is... when someone goes "it's dead in here," a dozen people pop up and say "nope, we're here, just on this, this, and that, too." Maybe UM needs to get with the times, eh? Not because I want to see it gone... I like that I have Dan and his manly brother Dag to myself at their forum, but I don't get enough DT. I think this is a media issue, and not because they're mean guys who refuse my man-crush.

 

[Taliesin]

I would wager the DT guys would probably be stuffing us with Twitter updates about taking a dump in the worst toilet in Stockholm, if that were something they found fun to do because they have an audience. The forum is great for the guys who like to come in an engage us. But, shouldn't there be some sort of way for the bands to update their touring / recording activity, and us comment?

Have you tried joining the DT group on Facebook? It sounds like that's what you're looking for

 

[Naglfar]

I know... but... why isn't DT's forum at UM somehow linked to DT's facebook is my question! lol

If all the band members have Twitter et al, that should be all be here, too!

 

[Defiance]

Something has been bothering me lately. The UM forums are really cool. Awesome. Especially forums where the band members actually post and banter with their fans.

That being said...

Isn't the plain forum format kind of old? I don't know when UM started, but I've been here since 2004, specifically to follow Dan Swano, Dark Tranquillity, Borknagar / Vintersorg, November's Doom... isn't it time the website maybe changed the format to get these guys to use something they can easily update with their smartphones / ipad / gaming towers?

I don't have any specific recommendations. But in the age of Twitter and iPhones, the forums seem... a little anachronistic. They should exist, and I understand it's not 1-2-3 to get all that stuff integrated. But truth is band members account for such a tiny fraction of activity on the forums (and I don't mean that just relative to how many fans / users there are compared to them).

I would wager the DT guys would probably be stuffing us with Twitter updates about taking a dump in the worst toilet in Stockholm, if that were something they found fun to do because they have an audience. The forum is great for the guys who like to come in an engage us. But, shouldn't there be some sort of way for the bands to update their touring / recording activity, and us comment?

A lot of the forums I normally visit are a little dead, and funny thing is... when someone goes "it's dead in here," a dozen people pop up and say "nope, we're here, just on this, this, and that, too." Maybe UM needs to get with the times, eh? Not because I want to see it gone... I like that I have Dan and his manly brother Dag to myself at their forum, but I don't get enough DT. I think this is a media issue, and not because they're mean guys who refuse my man-crush.

I completely agree!!! The design of the forums itself is really old, and it certainly shows a lack of effort on part of the owners because they undoubtedly have the means to change this. Even more, there MUST be a link to the social networks, or the forums/site risk a timely death.

And no, Taliesin, I don't want to visit FB more than I already do, I wish I could close my FB account but I really can't (not only because I'm addicted, but also because I actually use it for worthwhile stuff).

Even more what's the point of having this forum if everything is on FB? I'd love for the guys to post here, but they don't, even if Martin B. posts a lot on FB. I really wish the forum were more active, but everyone/thing is moving to FB, and this forum is pretty much DEAD, DEAD I tell you.

I really wish it weren't, I have made really good friends here, and it'd be sad to see it close. But there's an evident lack of effort on everyone's part concerning the absence of support for the forum(s); users, band members, mods and site owners, everyone; if nothing is done not only will this forum be closed, but UM as we know it will cease to exist.

 

[La Rocque]

As a person who thinks all social media is a waste of time aka get a life,
who needs it, a couple of knuckleheads who are addicted to this nonsense
back in the day Niklas wrote on this very forum that he had a dislike for
all of this sort of thing(SM), I think he used the word hate.
But he also said that in this day and age its all part of getting your name/band
out to the masses.
If the social media is that important to anyone, take the time to find what interest you.
As for putting on this forum, I don't really care as I will just ignore it
It seems to me you peeps what everything handed to you on a silver platter -

 

[Naglfar]

As a person who thinks all social media is a waste of time aka get a life,
who needs it, a couple of knuckleheads who are addicted to this nonsense
back in the day Niklas wrote on this very forum that he had a dislike for
all of this sort of thing(SM), I think he used the word hate.
But he also said that in this day and age its all part of getting your name/band
out to the masses.
If the social media is that important to anyone, take the time to find what interest you.
As for putting on this forum, I don't really care as I will just ignore it
It seems to me you peeps what everything handed to you on a silver platter -

Awwwwwwwwwwwkward. Not sure how this became a matter of a handout, or about anyone's addiction to anything.

Let me use your own words:

"But he also said that in this day and age its all part of getting your name/band out to the masses."

The purpose of the forums is exactly that. Some bands have guys who want to shoot the shit with people who are addicted to their online lives, because they are, too. But the primary function is to serve as a way for the band to control its brand name by having some sort of communication with the consumers of its product. I don't mean to get all business-y, but that's exactly my point.

In this regard, the forum is anachronistic because social media / smartphone use changed very dramatically in the last decade. We're talking an era where Hillary Clinton rides the popularity of an internet meme site (with herself as the meme) to revamp her public image. In other words, your proficiency with social media, if you're a commercially viable band like DT, will affect how much your music gets around, and how people perceive it.

I could go on and on about its advantages. I understand that some band members might cringe at this development. But it is what it is, you know? I'm not just saying it because it's become a method of consumption for me. I don't tweet, but, for example... I follow professional basketball very closely. One thing that EPSN did very well was get its correspondents to, first do online chats (this has been going on since the late 1990s, they were really ahead of the curve on this), and when Twitter got big they encouraged their analysts to use it extensively. As a result, ESPN harnessed the big social media explosion in real time; instead of having to catch up, they rode it. Think about that for a second: journalists / newspapers are probably the most harmed by the proliferation of blogs and their ilk. ESPN, the biggest sports journalism company, actually benefited from it simply by accepting it, from the get go, as a necessity.

It ultimately has little to do what individual fans want. I'm just stating the obvious, because the forums have their own raison d'etre and right now it seems to me its fallen behind with the times.

Or maybe I just want a handout? I'm confused now, I thought this was me wanting free stuff. Something like that.

 

[Defiance]

Awwwwwwwwwwwkward. Not sure how this became a matter of a handout, or about anyone's addiction to anything.

Let me use your own words:

"But he also said that in this day and age its [sic] all part of getting your name/band out to the masses."

The purpose of the forums is exactly that. Some bands have guys who want to shoot the shit with people who are addicted to their online lives, because they are, too. But the primary function is to serve as a way for the band to control its brand name by having some sort of communication with the consumers of its product. I don't mean to get all business-y, but that's exactly my point.

In this regard, the forum is anachronistic because social media / smartphone use changed very dramatically in the last decade. We're talking an era where Hillary Clinton rides the popularity of an internet meme site (with herself as the meme) to revamp her public image. In other words, your proficiency with social media, if you're a commercially viable band like DT, will affect how much your music gets around, and how people perceive it.

I could go on and on about its advantages. I understand that some band members might cringe at this development. But it is what it is, you know? I'm not just saying it because it's become a method of consumption for me. I don't tweet, but, for example... I follow professional basketball very closely. One thing that EPSN did very well was get its correspondents to, first do online chats (this has been going on since the late 1990s, they were really ahead of the curve on this), and when Twitter got big they encouraged their analysts to use it extensively. As a result, ESPN harnessed the big social media explosion in real time; instead of having to catch up, they rode it. Think about that for a second: journalists / newspapers are probably the most harmed by the proliferation of blogs and their ilk. ESPN, the biggest sports journalism company, actually benefited from it simply by accepting it, from the get go, as a necessity.

It ultimately has little to do what individual fans want. I'm just stating the obvious, because the forums have their own raison d'etre and right now it seems to me its fallen behind with the times.

Or maybe I just want a handout? I'm confused now, I thought this was me wanting free stuff. Something like that.

You even quoted the mistake haha, I wonder why you'd even bother quoting that person.

We all want free stuff, especially if its DT items haha. The forum has certainly fallen behind times, and as I mentioned before, the best example is that a lot of the original members who posted a lot here are on FB quite a bit, but they rarely post here any more. Even my efforts to create random-yet-DT-related threads have proven unsuccessful. There should be 'at least' some Twitter/FB integration buttons, and I keep craving for a damn 'like'/'starred' button on each post. It'd be interesting to see how the forum reacts when a new album is announced… if there's a reaction at all.

 

[Taliesin]

I'd like to point out that the Dark Tranquillity group on FB has some 248.000 supporters. If you change the layout of this board and change what it offers, you're going to attract more and probably different people. The board as we know it might and probably will disappear. I think FB band groups are a dreadful, anonymous thing, where no one really knows anyone and no one cares.
If you want radical changes in one area, you should be ready for radical changes in other areas, too, that's all I'm saying.

 

[Naglfar]

I'd like to point out that the Dark Tranquillity group on FB has some 248.000 supporters. If you change the layout of this board and change what it offers, you're going to attract more and probably different people. The board as we know it might and probably will disappear. I think FB band groups are a dreadful, anonymous thing, where no one really knows anyone and no one cares.
If you want radical changes in one area, you should be ready for radical changes in other areas, too, that's all I'm saying.

Yup. But this board is probably less active than most threads on their FB profile. That's my point! What's the purpose of the forum, then? This website has been too involved with too many bands to just let itself become a relic. They should make an effort to get with the times!

 

[Jolty]

I quite like this board, even if I am not the most active person. It has a good atmosphere. The people here are intelligent, and in my opinion, a direct contrast to the kind of people that Facebook/Twitter-style setups would attract.

The Facebook group scares me. It's full of strange people shouting at the band and at each other. I don't want to have any sort of discussion with people like that.

 

[Naglfar]

I quite like this board, even if I am not the most active person. It has a good atmosphere. The people here are intelligent, and in my opinion, a direct contrast to the kind of people that Facebook/Twitter-style setups would attract.

The Facebook group scares me. It's full of strange people shouting at the band and at each other. I don't want to have any sort of discussion with people like that.

There has to be a happy medium. The UM forums currently are not it. There are probably unofficial DT fan sites with more activity than this place.

 

[Defiance]

There has to be a happy medium. The UM forums currently are not it. There are probably unofficial DT fan sites with more activity than this place.

Indeed, perhaps linking every aspect of the forum to FB/TW is too much, but the interface (and many things) of the forums (i.e. UM itself) needs to be revamped NOW if it wants to survive.