Racketboy and the Future

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'd be somewhat interested in doing videos, but I don't know if I have the equipment/personality to cover that. I definitely do not have the equipment to record gameplay, and I don't know where I'd get source footage without risking plagiarism.

Or some type of podcast work. I think I could do that a bit better, and if need be, I can hop up some emulators to play games if need be for discussion, since I don't have all the experience needed. Perhaps a Together Retro podcast?

[BogusMeatFactory]

Maybe we need to figure out who here is social media, or media-in-general friendly, and create a media/outreach team. They could help coordinate our efforts and act as a public face for our efforts, reaching out to other communities via social media.

I would love to take on that responsibility, but I know that I couldn't keep it up in the long term, with school coming up next fall. That combined with being a papa means that lots of time is already diverted into other things. I could possibly go into a podcast, but it would be a very different beast than what Dave did.

[Flake]

It might make sense for us to develop things like a presence on Twitter for the site with associated personalities. The Racketboy mods and other contributers could then do a better job of spreading word about things that are going on (any possible future podcasts, articles, etc).

But at the risk of seeming like I'm shooting down a point I just brought up, we also have to consider that growing Racketboy.com means risking our quiet little corner of the Internet. Are we cool with that?

[CFFJR]

But at the risk of seeming like I'm shooting down a point I just brought up, we also have to consider that growing Racketboy.com means risking our quiet little corner of the Internet. Are we cool with that?

Well, it would sure be nice to find a sweet spot between keeping our peace and expanding...

I have no idea how to do that though.

[BogusMeatFactory]

But at the risk of seeming like I'm shooting down a point I just brought up, we also have to consider that growing Racketboy.com means risking our quiet little corner of the Internet. Are we cool with that?

Well, it would sure be nice to find a sweet spot between keeping our peace and expanding...

I have no idea how to do that though.

That is easy, by creating that extra content like Streaming, videos and podcasts and catering towards a certain type of audience. By being a bit more mature, rational and not relying on ridiculous youtuber tropes to bring in an audience.

My opinion is that sincerity and honesty is the best policy. By being candid and open about games and enthusing about them with love and admiration and making that love apparent to your audience, you bring in great people.

[terrin707]

Does it really matter how many people visit Racketboy.com? Those who want to come will come. Why actively seek more people? The only time I see it being a problem is if virtually no one visits.

I would like to see more front-page articles done (they used to be published more frequently, and are excellent); however, if those people who normally did the writing have moved onto more important life responsibilities, it certainly is understandable.

Overall, I'm very happy with Racketboy.com. But then again, I am a long-time "lurker", so perhaps I am more content than most with fewer people here, since I don't communicate with others often (member for 6 years and only 6X posts haha, but it's how I roll).

[Flake]

Does it really matter how many people visit Racketboy.com? Those who want to come will come. Why actively seek more people? The only time I see it being a problem is if virtually no one visits.

I would like to see more front-page articles done (they used to be published more frequently, and are excellent); however, if those people who normally did the writing have moved onto more important life responsibilities, it certainly is understandable.

Overall, I'm very happy with Racketboy.com. But then again, I am a long-time "lurker", so perhaps I am more content than most with fewer people here, since I don't communicate with others often (member for 6 years and only 6X posts haha, but it's how I roll).

It does, actually. We have seen surges in traffic due to articles that got picked up by 3rd party aggregate sites or search engines and two things seem to happen: Forum membership booms and we see an increase in B/S/T scams.

So it's important to keep in mind that if we grow, we need to be ready to deal with aspects of that growth that are not as pleasant.

[terrin707]

It does, actually. We have seen surges in traffic due to articles that got picked up by 3rd party aggregate sites or search engines and two things seem to happen: Forum membership booms and we see an increase in B/S/T scams.

So it's important to keep in mind that if we grow, we need to be ready to deal with aspects of that growth that are not as pleasant.

I agree, there could be unpleasant consequences of growth. I was asking about why it is a big deal to have fewer members, not more (but I should have been more clear).

[Flake]

It does, actually. We have seen surges in traffic due to articles that got picked up by 3rd party aggregate sites or search engines and two things seem to happen: Forum membership booms and we see an increase in B/S/T scams.

So it's important to keep in mind that if we grow, we need to be ready to deal with aspects of that growth that are not as pleasant.

I agree, there could be unpleasant consequences of growth. I was asking about why it is a big deal to have fewer members, not more (but I should have been more clear).

The site costs money to run and there is a lot of overhead and administration going on in the back ground. Growth and a goal are possible rewards for the people who make the site happen.

[Cronozilla]

But at the risk of seeming like I'm shooting down a point I just brought up, we also have to consider that growing Racketboy.com means risking our quiet little corner of the Internet. Are we cool with that?

Well, it would sure be nice to find a sweet spot between keeping our peace and expanding...

I have no idea how to do that though.

That is easy, by creating that extra content like Streaming, videos and podcasts and catering towards a certain type of audience. By being a bit more mature, rational and not relying on ridiculous youtuber tropes to bring in an audience.

My opinion is that sincerity and honesty is the best policy. By being candid and open about games and enthusing about them with love and admiration and making that love apparent to your audience, you bring in great people.

It'd be interesting seeing people rotate on an official RB stream channel playing the various community games each month.

Or even going through games considered classics by everyone.