We have 50 registered users...where are they all?

Hey gang;

Just wondering why we have 50 users, and like 3-4 people that post even once a week on this forum. Kinda sad, really.

That being said, I plan to try to energize this forum over the coming months, and really pimp out the site/podcast/forum in general in other places, and I charge you to do the same!

Also, for those in the know, is there a way to message all of the people on the forum simultaneously? I feel like I should be able to do that as a mod/admin/whatever, but I have no idea how. Just to kick-start the people here into talking, hopefully.

-Gary

I can't agree more with you Allegra... I 'm one of those who will try to post more regularly. It's good to see a lot of registered members but there is nothing like a feedback from those member. That's the reason why I will be more active here.

I have no objection in receiving a mail from GKO about some cool news but to be honest I have no clue how you can proceed... Maybe one of the other 49 members can help you on that one.

Can't wait to get a hand on the first issue of The return of Bruce Wayne this afternoon at my local comic shop !

Cheers !

Thanks DarkKnightQc! That's always the problem, though; more than getting people to join or sign up for something is getting them to follow through with it. I'm still working on trying to figure out how to message all the members; I still haven't figured out all the admin controls and how to use them! Thanks again!

-Gary

P.S. I think it's safe to say that everyone here is excited about the return of Bruce Wayne!

Hi all!

I agree with you Gary.

A general clean up is in order for the GKO Forum. There are too many inactive members in the forum. I've noticed there are also a few spammers who registered as well. So, who will be doing the honors of cleaning up the forum?

If you have something planned, do let Bob and I know unless Bob has got some ideas of his own.

What do you mean, as far as if I have something planned? Like clearing out spammers/inactive members?

Hi Gary,

Yup! I think we should clean up the spams. As for inactive members who have not posted anything since registering, do you think it would be a good idea to put them in an 'Inactive Members' category, especially those who have not been active for more than a year?

Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I really hope to start getting the forum/site/podcast going, and getting more people involved, so it would be good to have a group for those who aren't active. I'll work on that (hopefully tomorrow), but you can do it if you want.

Speaking of which, if anyone has any ideas on how to get things moving with the forums especially, let me know!

-Gary

gallegra wrote:

Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I really hope to start getting the forum/site/podcast going, and getting more people involved, so it would be good to have a group for those who aren't active. I'll work on that (hopefully tomorrow), but you can do it if you want.

-Gary

I'll let you do the honors.

One thing for sure there is a lot of people who like the the general presentation and the many options of this great site. Since GKO is on Twitter and Facebook, the number of members is increasing a lot, 58 now and counting ... I'm actually trying to start a new blog in french about the Dark Knight. That's my third one. The reason why I stop the two previous one ... I'll let you guess... not enough participation from the registered members. Sometimes, you got the feeling that you're the only one who cares about the site. But it's not always true. Trust me.

Suggestions ...
First I have to tell you that even if I have visit many options available on this site, maybe some of the following suggestions have been try or covered ...
1. Some trivia relatively do the Batman or the whole Batman family. It's always good to scratch your head once in a while to figure what the correct answer could be. Present stuff but also regarding copper, bronze, silver and golden age.
2. If you can find a way to send an e-mail directly to the registered members from time to time, it will be a great way to let them know that we need there opinion on some specific subject such as : Who is your favorite vilain and why ? Favorite artist, story ? What was the first Batman comics you ever read ? etc.
3. Whatever will be your decision ... give it some time. If people seems to take time to participate and it doesn't mean necesserly that they doesn't care ... I'm a very good example
4 ... to be continued ... I've always like the brainstorming session so I will also let other members elaborate there suggestions and opinion.

But one very important aspect is that Bob is not alone any more. He has done a tremendous job with this site but having more than one administrator help a lot in carrying the torch.

OK, enough said... See ya !

DarkKnightQc wrote:

Suggestions ...
First I have to tell you that even if I have visit many options available on this site, maybe some of the following suggestions have been try or covered ...
1. Some trivia relatively do the Batman or the whole Batman family. It's always good to scratch your head once in a while to figure what the correct answer could be. Present stuff but also regarding copper, bronze, silver and golden age.
2. If you can find a way to send an e-mail directly to the registered members from time to time, it will be a great way to let them know that we need there opinion on some specific subject such as : Who is your favorite villain and why ? Favorite artist, story ? What was the first Batman comics you ever read ? etc.
3. Whatever will be your decision ... give it some time. If people seems to take time to participate and it doesn't mean necessarily that they doesn't care ... I'm a very good example
4 ... to be continued ... I've always like the brainstorming session so I will also let other members elaborate there suggestions and opinion.

But one very important aspect is that Bob is not alone any more. He has done a tremendous job with this site but having more than one administrator help a lot in carrying the torch.

OK, enough said... See ya !

Hi DarkKnightQC,

These are really good suggestions. We will definitely look into it and yeah! Bob has done a fantastic job with the site. GKO has evolved tremendously since the last couple of years and I'm glad I'm given the privilege to help out in anyway I can.

AndrewT wrote:

DarkKnightQc wrote:

Suggestions ...
First I have to tell you that even if I have visit many options available on this site, maybe some of the following suggestions have been try or covered ...
1. Some trivia relatively do the Batman or the whole Batman family. It's always good to scratch your head once in a while to figure what the correct answer could be. Present stuff but also regarding copper, bronze, silver and golden age.
2. If you can find a way to send an e-mail directly to the registered members from time to time, it will be a great way to let them know that we need there opinion on some specific subject such as : Who is your favorite villain and why ? Favorite artist, story ? What was the first Batman comics you ever read ? etc.
3. Whatever will be your decision ... give it some time. If people seems to take time to participate and it doesn't mean necessarily that they doesn't care ... I'm a very good example
4 ... to be continued ... I've always like the brainstorming session so I will also let other members elaborate there suggestions and opinion.

But one very important aspect is that Bob is not alone any more. He has done a tremendous job with this site but having more than one administrator help a lot in carrying the torch.

OK, enough said... See ya !

Hi DarkKnightQC,

These are really good suggestions. We will definitely look into it and yeah! Bob has done a fantastic job with the site. GKO has evolved tremendously since the last couple of years and I'm glad I'm given the privilege to help out in anyway I can.

It's true, Bob (and more recently, Cory) have both done a great job in keeping the site going and we have tried quite a few things to get people more involved (the contest for the "Brave and the Bold: Music Meister" CD and the GKO Chronicles come to mind), but I feel like we need something else.

1. I like the trivia idea; it's a simple thing that could be done once a day, or even just once a week that might boost interaction a bit. Post it on the main page, facebook and twitter and link to the forums to post an answer, maybe even have some sort of prize for it, or each correct answer is an entry into a monthly drawing! We should talk to Bob about that one.

2. I really like the e-mail list idea, kinda something in-between the chronicles and a weekly digest of Batman news. Maybe email a few news highlights, link to our reviews/what came out in the Batman comics that week, and some Batman trivia/contests. We'll have to talk to Bob about that one, but I think it's a great idea. And it could be sent out through our Facebook and Twitter (I would say Myspace, but really, who uses Myspace anymore?) each weekend too!

3. You're right, too; we do have over 50 members, at least that's a good starting point. However, like Andrew said, a good portion of those are VERY inactive, or even spam. I sent out a message to the inactive users saying we'd like to have them back to jumpstart the forums, but that doesn't seem to have worked so far :-(. But you're right, part of it is giving people time. Slowly but surely, we're getting more active members. We went from like 3-5 in the past week or so, with the addition of you and Garrey, so we're getting closer!

4. That's the main reason I started this thread, really, is to discuss and brainstorm ways to get more active members. This is such a great site, and we have some great people working on it and good Batman fans who want to get involved and chat with other Bat-Fans, it'd be a shame if we can't get these forums really going. I know we can do it!

And ditto, Andrew! I'm glad to have played my little part over the past year or so, and I hope we can take it to the next level!

-Gary

Mr.Vulture wrote:

I'm assuming (at my advancing age...lol) that most of the GKO members probably have social lives. That said, I think the ones who do post regularly show that they are the true BAT Fans! It is surprising that one of the most popular characters in the world doesn't attract more active fans, but then again.....there is a lot of reading material....lol

I hear you Mr. Vulture. There are tons of reading materials out there. And I agree with you that only true Batman fans will take the time to post here in GKO.

Hey, I'm new but I'm here to stay. This whole site is a Batman safe haven for me... well maybe not a safe haven but... sort of a Fortress of Solitude if you will for Batman. Or would that just be the Batcave? How about I just stop with "This site is very cool and I like it and will visit it very frequently"

...I shouldn't talk to people.

I wanted to start off by saying that you're all a part of GKO - this is one reason I set-up the site and I'm happy to say my patience and perseverance paid off. The site continues to grow with a massive following now. I've made some great new friends, whom without I couldn't run the site with.

Gary / Andrew you've done an amazing job helping with the forum recently and its taken so much pressure away. This forum is your playground and I'm more than happy to go with your idea and s what ever you decided. There is an email forum function so you can mail everyone - I can check out the logistics for you on that one - it'll be a great way to spread the work for the Chronicles but It's a great way to do weekly updates.

Feel free to chuck me a mail anytime if you have ideas and want to link it with other sites.

Thanks for your kind words on the site, we've got a fantastic team who as you say are TRUE BAT-FANS, because of the time and effort everyone puts into the site - I wouldn’t be able to do it without you all.

It's already great and between us can make this the best Batman site out there...

Here Here! Well said Bob, and thanks for the compliment. Let us know once you figure out how to email all users, I couldn't figure that one out lol.

Oh, and do you (Bob/Andrew/Anyone on the forums) think it'd be a good idea to set a limit to how long you can be inactive before your account is removed? I have no idea how to do it, but some of the other forums I'm one remove you if you don't visit the forums within 60 days, and give you reminders at like 30 and 45 days or something like that. That might be an idea...

-Gary

No worries dude - I meant every word.

I'm sure there is a setting like that - either that or we can do a 3 month clean up and delete those inactive for a 60 day period or something. I need to have a good look at the setting on the forum.

Hi Guys,

Yeah! We should probably do that. I think 60 to 90 days period sounds fair.

Maybe I'll look around a bit and see if I can find out how to do that lol.

-Gary

here I is!!!!!!

did make the 90 day clean up?????

I think we already did that lol. It was a while ago...

-Gary

WHEW!!!!

I love this site. As I have mentioned before In Germany there are not that many comic fans. None of my friends reads comics so this is my only chance to talk batman with other fans. Please keep up the good work.

As for getting more people to check out the site and participate on the forums, I will tell you what my various professors are always telling me:

Marketing. Marketing. Marketing.

Expand your readership and your forums will automatically get a boost.

It is of utmost importance to let the internet know that this site exists. I think that advertisment on other (fan) sites in form of banners is a good starting point.

Secondly the members of the podcast might want to attend other podcasts as guests (or bat experts) and advertise their site for the comic audience.

Another important thing is opinion. You guys are great at summing up all the news and featuring them at the site. But so does newsarama and comic book resources and many other websites. The distinction that this site needs is an opinion accompanying the news. You are not just batman fans but also bat-experts. Your opinion is unique and interesting, thats why it should be featured. This would also drive more people to discuss your opinion on the forums.
(In addition I would like to offer my help in this regard if it is needed)

Lastly we need to brand this site. We must make it clear that this is not just a batman site. This is the ultimate batman site. It is the nexus of everything batman. Movies, Toys, Comics, Nostalgia, Dvds. This site has everything you'll ever need regarding batman. No more surfing around. You get everything right here and only here.

badsoul wrote:

I love this site. As I have mentioned before In Germany there are not that many comic fans. None of my friends reads comics so this is my only chance to talk batman with other fans. Please keep up the good work.

As for getting more people to check out the site and participate on the forums, I will tell you what my various professors are always telling me:

Marketing. Marketing. Marketing.

Expand your readership and your forums will automatically get a boost.

It is of utmost importance to let the internet know that this site exists. I think that advertisment on other (fan) sites in form of banners is a good starting point.

Secondly the members of the podcast might want to attend other podcasts as guests (or bat experts) and advertise their site for the comic audience.

Another important thing is opinion. You guys are great at summing up all the news and featuring them at the site. But so does newsarama and comic book resources and many other websites. The distinction that this site needs is an opinion accompanying the news. You are not just batman fans but also bat-experts. Your opinion is unique and interesting, thats why it should be featured. This would also drive more people to discuss your opinion on the forums.
(In addition I would like to offer my help in this regard if it is needed)

Lastly we need to brand this site. We must make it clear that this is not just a batman site. This is the ultimate batman site. It is the nexus of everything batman. Movies, Toys, Comics, Nostalgia, Dvds. This site has everything you'll ever need regarding batman. No more surfing around. You get everything right here and only here.

You made some really good points, badsoul. We were talking about doing some stuff with other podcasts before, but it never really happened. And I like the idea about the opinions with the news, that's really neat. We are working on that; we have a media section and merch section in the works, and we already have the comic reviews and news going. So hopefully, we'll be better in that respect by the end of the year.

-Gary

We need more people on the Forums!