Dan said:
It might seem like Cyburbia has a lot of traffic, but consider these numbers.
The American Planning Association has about 30,000 members.
The Canadian Institute of Planners has about 6,000 members.
The Royal Town Planning Institute has about 18,000 members.
The Planning Institute of Australia has ... well, a lot of members. (I couldn't find any information on their Web site.)
The New Zealand Planning Institute has 1,400 members.
The Cyburbia Forums has 640 members. Only 120 have more than 50 posts. (There are 25 in the Clube, in case you're wondering.)
Well, and consider these numbers: in most forums, only about 10% of those who are registered are "active" postors (tm). Another 10% post occasionally and mostly lurk. The other 80% never post. But that certanly doesn't mean they get nothing out of it. In another forum where I am rather well known, I occasionally get a private note from someone who has never posted. The feedback I sometimes get from such people tells me that those who don't post do get a lot out of being members. If they didn't, they wouldn't be subscribed to that forum, which is infamous for having more volume of e-mails than most members can keep up with.
Given that so many people here have said they occasionally surfed Cyburbia long before joining and given what I view as a "high" stat -- that 1/6th post 'actively' -- I think you can pretty conservatively guess that your registered users only represent the 20% or so who would be posting at all in a forum where no one but members can read the archives. Which suggests that you may well have a regular audience in the neighborhood of 3000 or so. Not bad, given that the Internet isn't very old and other factors.
Here are some more "stats": A) computer literate individuals tend to be introverts with few social skills. B) More sociable types tend to have a yawning disinterest in computers. (I actually "should" fall into category B and used to. This was definitely a "shot gun wedding" but I am now totally committed to my "marriage" to my computer.)
So, a forum for "networking" online like this is actually going fundamentally against the tide. I am subscribed to a number of e-mail lists and the "professional" ones have extremely low traffic. I sometimes don't get any mail from some of them for weeks at a time. I was quite surprised at how much traffic there is here (especially compared to other things) and the high quality of what is here and I have thought about why that might be. In some forums, what is "on topic" and keeping people "on topic", etc, are on-going battles. I think the FAC is a cornerstone of the success of Cyburbia: it allows for the socializing that is absolutely essential to getting good professional feedback in the other parts of Cyburbia and also allows those other parts to be free of the distraction of being "off topic" a lot. I have learned a lot from observing how this forum is run (and I am sure that what I see is just the tip of the iceberg -- I know how that works and that most of what goes on, we never see) and I expect to learn a lot more.
I think Wanigas has an extremely good point and that is an avenue worth exploring. But Cardinal's counterpoint is also on target. However, I don't know how to promote Cyburbia for that audience (of established planners). I would be interested in hearing what Rem has to say -- if he has any ideas about how to get more hooked up in Australia.
For what it's worth: nearly 4 years ago, I was asked to accept the position of "Director of Community Life" for an online organization (because this is a "shot gun wedding" for me, I had a lot more social skills than the IT people running the place). I instituted 2 policies that transformed one of the lists almost overnight from a cold list with little traffic to a warm environment with a lot more traffic (and it eventually melded into a full-blown online community). My first policy was to "greet everyone at the door and show them around" -- say "hi" to anyone who posted an intro and try to answer any questions they might have. You have that one covered and I think that is as important to the success of Cyburbia as is the FAC.
My second policy was to make sure there were no 'orphaned' posts -- that every single e-mail in which a question was asked or a need expressed got some kind of reply. I still sometimes go back and pick up 'orphaned' posts in that forum, even though I no longer 'work' there and haven't for a long time. I find that someone who posted something 3 days ago and got utterly ignored is thrilled to pieces to get a response. And I know from talking to people that when someone posts and gets ignored, they tend to feel "shunned" (not that they would use that word). They tend to feel that "everyone else" is a member of the community but they are an "outsider" who just doesn't fit in.
I know why posts get orphaned: no one is required to answer and sometimes no one has an answer or the question wasn't asked very well or it was a holiday and there was no one around or whatever. But it tends to have a chilling effect on the entire forum -- to know that it is something of a 'popularity' contest and not a truly inclusive environment. If one person can be 'kicked to the curb', anyone can. It raises the tension levels and makes people 'afraid' to open their mouths. It may be a very subtle thing but it definitely has an effect. My observation over and over has been that, in this other forum I am in, just about anyone who talks to me and claims to be a lurker or 'first timer' becomes a much more active participant. My policies grew out of a deeper set of values about inclusiveness and I have a tendency to make people feel right at home and fully accepted as they are. I do not have to 'agree' with their point of view to validate them. For me, it is not a 'right or wrong' thing.
I would think that, given how "public" this forum is, doing a better job of making the existing members feel fully included -- even if they aren't "in the clube" -- would tend to both promote traffic and draw in new members. ZG brought in Trail Nazi. People who are enthusiastic about the place will talk about it to others. Etc.
And now I will shut up. Let the boos and hisses begin. I know folks think I am "nuts" when I speak about why and how I did what I did. I can't "prove" any of it. I just know what it looks like from the inside looking out and I know that this other forum remained a community while I was absent for 2 years of medical hell. So, whatever I did, I did extremely well: The foundation I put in place stood the test of time, without me being there to play nursemaid every time something went wrong.
EDIT: In rereading the thread, ZG also has a point. I don't think I really understood what was "different" or unique about Cyburbia until I became a member and began hearing it here. Well, that is wonderful, but how will others ever know what Cyburbia really is other than a "website" if you do not have a good description written up somewhere?
Having a good intro/description can make a huge difference. Back in mid-September, a friend of mine mentioned in an e-mail to me that she was considering starting an e-mail list for a specific audience. I said she had a great idea and she asked me to be the 'mouth piece' and announce it to a list she and I met on (but she was no longer subscribed) and tell any friends of mine that I thought would be interested. I think in a week, there were something like 20 members and now there are 35 and it is a very active group (especially when you consider that every member suffers from serious health problems and can't always make it to their computer). I know for a fact that my intro got passed on to more lists than just the one I posted it to. And I modified that intro and posted it to my website. I know for a fact that at least one new member learned of the group from my website. I belong to other e-mail lists that are a lot older and have a lot more members and the traffic is minimal. I think the 'marketing' of this new group is one of the cornerstones of its success.
I am thinking in terms of "marketing", "branding", "image-making", etc. Right now, Cyburbia touts itself as "The Urban Planning Portal" and "one of the top 50 planning-related websites.." At the moment, it seems like you have to actually JOIN before you learn that it is something Unique, not "just" a website. A web "portal" is generally seen as a place with a bunch of links to other stuff, and you do have articles and so forth linked. But I actually did a search LOOKING for some planning-related forum in which to talk to other folks in this profession and had Cyburbia bookmarked and used to surf it some time ago -- but "Cyburbia" never came to mind. It kept coming up on searches I did and I was actually reluctant to join. It didn't seem to fit my idea of what I was looking for -- in part because it has changed a lot from what I remembered of it and in part because you don't have a good "marketing" angle: The image you broadcast to the world doesn't fit with the image and reality you describe to the forum members.
Now I think I am actually going to "shut up".
