The activity level of forums on the internet has dropped due to Social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  With so many websites, also having YouTubes, Facebooks, and Twitters, members who are pressed for time working more and having less to show for it, have been just using social media, and the forum activity shows that change.

Forums with no useful information on them, end up just dying off, other forums with a social aspect only retain the members who need attention, and are typically called trolls and don't fit in on social networking sites.

Weaponeer.net is an information repository with a forum made up of highly skiilled builders, but currently with the Obama Economy few people have the funds to start projects (or finish them), so the keep up by reading the posts when they are not working. when the economy turns around, and people have the funds to spare, the posting will increase, but don't expect a return the the high activity levels we had just a few years ago due to the social networks.  only the real builders, and those interested in building will return, which is actually better because the trolls stick to the social networks now.

So, until the economy picks up, don't expect a large number of postings, but there is a large number of readers to the forums which is why we still are ranked 21st, and geting higher rankings and not lower rankings.  things will get better, and the more new people we have posting photos and ideas (as well as questions) the more people will take an interest.

Weaponeer.net also has a large YouTube Following, Facebook follwing , and even twitter, and they are all extensions of weaponeer, and not replacements. They perform the task of finding new interested members, so weaponeer is always growing no matter what the economy is like.

This last weekend we had a team at the DPMS Outbreak Omega zombie shoot (including myself) and I was extremely surprised by all the people coming up to me and asking if I was weaponeer because they subscribe to the weaponeer YouTube Channel.

So, I'm considering doing a weekly YouTube show based on what is going on here on weaponeer.net and showing photos of members projects and activities to spur interest in what is going on here, and giving credit to those who post such great project photos.

If we have the activity to talk about projects, you  can expect that show being very popular, and you can expect a lot more posts and members to help us grow again, which includes duracoat projects ect...

If we don't have the activity to start off, to fill a weekly video, then it will be a monthly video, but frankly, I really think that we can get a large number of posts on projects of all kinds, which would make a weekly  video not only possible, but a big draw, and getting the builders the recognition for their skills they deserve.

Feel free to post your Thoughts, Ideas, and comments below about this idea to grow more forum posts.

Boss,

Sounds like an outstanding fun time ahead! WOW! Well, as traditional news sources die off (paper based News Papers).... we also have to look forward, as things change.... even web based entities...

Thanks for the Sitrep of where we are at on rankings... and facebook... good to know where we are at!

I look forward to the changes to come... in the meantime.... back to my languished builds!

I don't see any drop on the gun building forums.  If anything they are busier than ever before.  Unfortunately (or fortunately)  there are one or two that seem to exist just to host jokes and politics but at least it keeps the rabble out of the builders forums.

On Weaponsguild for example, there are 59 concurrent  builds going on just in one contest, with most threads updated daily. I finished 2 FAL's this week and jumped back on the PSG1 clone yesterday.   I sure don't see a drop in the building activity.

actually the drop was first reported by AR15.com, and several other forums have folded recently (one of them died twice).

as for building activity we have  a dozen members pulling one or more jobs just to break even, with most people not having time for builds.

The rise of social media is also very well reported, and is effecting ALL FORUMS not just gun forums.  this is why you see nearly every business having a facebook page.  people are going to facebook to play games, and to keep up with companies they like, without having to hit forums everyday, which is the point. They can get away from the daily BS by playing some games, and catchup on everything else they enjoy with automatic updates on their YouTube homepage.  One of the biggest draws right now on Facebook alone is giveaways.  I spend very little time on Facebook, and even I have won three giveaways. 1. Black and decker 2. LUM-TEC and 3. body armor.

For the ones spending a lot of time on Facebook, there is a ton of stuff to win, and the same can be said for YouTube with weekly giveaways just within the tactical community.

all the more reason why people are moving towards social media.

Weaponeer still pulls in a half million hits a day, and still ranks 21st in the R. Lee Ermy Gunny Approved List.

But the weaponeer channel also received the following Tactical Viewer Choice Award Nominations for 2011 on YouTube:
1. Best Production Quality
2. Best Gear Reviews
3. Best channel (Men) over 5500 subscribers

which is why weaponeer is covering more than one media. Times are changing..  just do a search on Facebook for every gun accessory manufacturer and see what you come up with.  they all cannot be wrong.

I'm in the minority I'm sure, but I have not and never plan on using Facebook.  I've spent a good part of my life trying to maintain a semblance of anonymity and self respect and facebook is the opposite of all that is good.  Buisnesses join Facebook so they can trawl the waters for money.  Fish so thick that they don't even have to bait the hook, just drag them behind the boat. 

I use Youtube like I use Wikipedia.  I only go there when I need to know something. 

Work conditions are bad all over.  My son has been out of work for a couple of months and I have friends that haven't worked in over two years.  The ones that have been out of work the longest wouldn't take jobs that paid less than they thought they were worth based on what they were paid when they were laid off. Now they are living with their parents and spend all day on Facebook.

The younger generations are the onces that like facebook the most, as well as Twitter (never did see the need of twitter), but its not just the younger generations.  we had a Moderator who worked long hours at work, in his mid 40's and had several logins for Facebook to play games with.

Most of the people I know were using Facebook to keep in contact with family and friends, but social media has expanded  to the point of using smart phones to access facebook and other social media.  so many people feel they cannot trust the MSM so they get their news from social media now (for better or worse).

Companies know that since people are using social media, they now need to have a website, a YouTube, a Facebook, and a twitter to be competitive in todays market.  facebook is used more as a means to ask questions about a product before purchasing, YouTube is used to see a product's scale, as well as to get specs and even see it in action (this of the videos as commercials).

Twitter?  well, thats just used to keep the followers of twitter informed of videos, questions, answers and more.

Weaponeer is on the forefront of social media, just like were we there to use the Internet. The Website is the main operation, while YouTube, Facebook, and even twitter are used to keep those who follow those types of media informed of what is going on in the industry, and to get a good look at products through reviews, as well as to show how to do simple operations such as how to polish AR feed ramp, and other feed ramps, how to build an AR, instruct 922r etc. and as a result, people see the videos, and check out the website.

Social media is not a replacement, it's a supplement accessible on PC's, Laptops, and smart phones. it's the information age, and we need to adapt our social media, not our website.