Allen Says has changed my mind again. I have been very bad at getting over to the Warrior Forum in the last year. Forums in general haven’t gotten much play from me lately. I just have so much more fun at the social sites with all the networking tools, that forums seems seriously out of date and boring to me.
I am sure there is a forum that has all the new features Allen has put into the all new Warrior Forum. But I don’t care about those others. The Warriors is where I got my start long, long ago. If I had to choose any single forum on the web for regular participation, it would be Warriors. I’m freakin’ loyal!
The Problem With Forums
Nevermind the time-sucking a good forum can do. Get too involved and the rest of your business can go to hell. My biggest problem with them is they are so one-dimensional. Threads and replies. Topics and threads. Yucko. Tired of it. Sick of it! Boring!
What a forum should look like in 2008
Allen has brought the forum into the brave new internet. Forum 2.0. Complete with all the social stuff like blogs, groups, friends and tons of other little niceties that you expect everywhere else these days. I’m not going to comment on why it took so long. I’m just tickled that a major forum has gone 2.0.
If you are a Warrior member and haven’t logged in in awhile, like me, you’re in for a major surprise. It took me an hour or so just to use all the stuff and get my profile with all the new features set up. Regular forums, you just put in your signature file and fill out a couple things and you’re done.
I want to commend Allen on this major upgrade. Not only to the Warrior Forum, but for raising the bar for all forums. Especially those of you still running forum software from 1999. C’mon!
What’s Going to Happen
The Warrior Forum is going to become an even bigger player than ever before. Mark my words. It is dynamic. It has groups and friends and networking abilities on par with any 2008 social site.
Social sites grow for very specific reasons. Allen now has all the same components that make social sites go wild in popularity.
I can’t wait to see how everyone settles in to the new system. I will be a frequenter of the Warrior Forum again, that’s for sure!
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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Rick Butts 08.10.08 at 8:42 pm
I’m not a big forum guy (although it is impressive how many forum posts come up when you type a search into google about how to fix something!) but WF seems to have been reading Tony Blake’s forum over at
http://ablakeforum.com/
Cause their upgrade looks like they just copied what Tony had already.
The content at Tony’s forum is significantly more “social marketing” oriented, too.
Rick Butts
Rick Butts’s last blog post..How to Change Your Twitter Username ID
Mark S. 08.11.08 at 12:06 am
Hello,
Says is a genius. It only took him about two years to get used to Web 2.0.
Social forums and sites raised the bar for the WF, not vice versa. One thing will never change there though.
- Members selling dreams to each other
- Members ripping each other off (see point above)
- Members giving advice based on ebooks they read, not applications
This forum is totally overrated and most of its inherent “experts” mean nothing to the outside world.
Jack, sorry for the comment but it had to be said eventually. You do not have to publish it.
Mark
Jack Humphrey 08.11.08 at 5:59 am
@Rick - holy crap! Did someone come out with new forum software and everyone is using it now? Where have I been? Who was first?
@Mark - yeah there’s the same ol stuff over there but people taking the time to learn and inevitably, at some point, hitting the forum - they need to be led out of the dream cycle and into a real business.
Some people did that for me at the Warrior forum long long ago and I return the favor as much as I can. I see hilarious stuff over there and lots of “experts” I’ve never heard of before, but it IS some of the primordial sludge from which can crawl an evolved, hard working marketer. Look at me!
Andrew T. Simmons 08.11.08 at 10:39 am
Allen says did nothing more than copy Tony Blake’s forum. On March 12, 2008 Tony debuted and ushered in a new era in how discussion forums are supposed to look, feel and work, especially those in the Internet marketing arena. Tony truly had the first forum that, as he calls it, was designed for the “21st century marketer.” He added the ability to include video, audio, pictures and a variety of other features before anyone else did.
Why did Allen so blatantly copy (okay, I’ll say it, steal) Tony’s work, ideas and format? Could it be because his Alexa rankings are dropping precipitously and his traffic is too? He obviously sees Tony’s headlights in his rear view mirror and is concerned about being overtaken.
What’s funny is if you look at the front page of the new Warrior forum you’ll see that it shows thousands logged in. They aren’t. Allen has set the login reporting time to stretch for several hours so that it looks like there’s more people there. Most of those listed have been gone for hours.
To me it shows one thing, Tony Blake and his forum are on the right track, and it’s one that makes others in the same market nervous.
Joseph Ratliff 08.11.08 at 11:09 am
Uhh Jack…
Tony Blake at http://ablakeforum.com has been using video and much more MONTHS before WF converted to their “new” format.
Plus, you can use some cool social bookmarking tools while there in the forum.
I think WF is more “playing catch up” than innovating here.
Joseph Ratliff’s last blog post..Mozilla’s “Snowl” hunts Twitter, RSS, and (soon) e-mail
Mary 08.11.08 at 11:40 am
I have to agree with Rick.
Allen hasn’t done anything new - just something that was long overdue. I have found I am visiting the WF less and less. But a big part of that decision is the constant bashing and rehashing of same old stuff over and over.
Come on I mean how many times can you read a thread about “paypal froze my account and I did nothing wrong” and then dozens jump in and agree.
Or an almost daily occurrence - of “how can I make $1000 this week? I’m in a jam” which usually is the post right after their advice on buying something that is the end to everyone’s online woes.
PLUS … How many wso’s can you possibly “approve” that are about how to make money with wso’s? The wso’s became a joke compare to what they were a few years ago. And started to be treated like a cash atm machine.
But as far as formatting goes - looks almost like a direct rip-off of what Tony Blake unveiled earlier this year - February I think.
http://www.ablakeforum.com/ plus he’s got a great line up of resident experts in each sub forum.
And seriously … does Allen actually market online? Or is all his online revenue coming from his forum (from he wso fees)?
Lisa Preston 08.11.08 at 11:49 am
Lisa - edited because the links were making the comment not show at all. Figured you’d want the comment more than anything.
Hi Jack -
I work closely with Tony Blake, and am an Administrator at Ablake. I was very fortunate to be a part of the transformation of Tony’s forum in the fall of 2007 to encompass many “web 2.0″ features that no one else was doing - including the Warrior Forum.
I’ve been a long-time member at the WF, and yes - there are many people who have learned a lot by spending time there… reviewing the archive can be very educational for those just starting out. But I found several problems after a while that many others complain about as well.
And NO imitation of Tony’s features will solve these fundamental issues. (With loads more coming, too!)
First - post/thread deletions. I can’t count how many interesting, educational threads have been deleted without explanation. It’s got to be the #1 complaint by even the most die-hard WF fan…
At ABlake we don’t delete posts unless they are blatant ads or spam. Period. We believe that intelligent marketers learn from opposing points of view, and an honest opinion or commentary is always welcome - even if we don’t share the same views. THAT is what a discussion forum is all about!
Second - WF does not allow the posting of affiliate links - even within a signature file.
We are a business forum catering to more than just product creators. We have many members who are affiliate marketers, and it seems a bit ridiculous to deny them the same right to post their affiliate links in their own signature!
Not only that, but we also allow people to post links to their products or offerings within a post if they are answering a query and their product solves the problem. It seems counterproductive to belong to a business and marketing forum, have the answers someone seeks, and yet be unable to tell them about it without getting deleted - like at the WF.
Third - At WF, if you dare to criticize a “name” for a bad product, service, or unethical behaviour, you are deleted and perhaps even banned from the forum.
We don’t encourage blind acceptance of whatever a “guru’ might say or do. And our members will challenge those “lets all hold hands and sing Kumbaya” type posts. We want real answers to real business issues… and our members are of a caliber that provide exactly that.
These are only a few of the issues we have overcome when we opened the doors to the new forum back in March, 2008. We included video, audio, image insertions in posts… but those things are just the tip of the iceberg! Between social bookmarking and our own social network, “members only” exclusive interviews with top marketers, and cutting-edge information provided by industry experts ready to answer your questions, there are a dozen other unique “web 2.0″ additions that our members have been enjoying for months now - with many more to be released in the next week or two.
Tony Blake cares deeply about helping the members of his forum… and he spends a lot of his time dedicated to personally overseeing every aspect of the forum rather than leaving it in the hands of others. When Tony is not personally helping a member either by posting, PM or even by phone, he is developing ways to help his members grow their businesses.
I couldn’t be more proud of being part of anything than I am of being an active admin on the A Blake Forum.
Debbi Bressler 08.11.08 at 1:12 pm
Hi Jack,
Following up on Rick’s comment, Tony introduced his forum quite awhile ago. On launch day, you could go to the site and view a live launch party right at on forum!
Even more than all the gadgets, ablakeforum sets itself apart because posts are not deleted (unless they are obvious spam). This is an ongoing problem at Warriors.
Stop on over there. Tony doesn’t bite (usually!).
Debbi
Jack Humphrey 08.11.08 at 3:35 pm
Did I tell you I wasn’t up on the forums lately? lol
I did see Anthony’s new look and now I know it was there first. I respect both Allen and Anthony, so I won’t fan the flames about thievery. Judging by the input here it does appear that marketers I can relate to are definitely preferring Blake over Warriors.
I can understand that. Honestly I was just impressed to see a forum with web 2.0 stuff in it. I kinda like social stuff.
I didn’t know ABlake had changed before or any of the politics of it. Neither had changed in years and I wasn’t expecting to see two new major forum upgrades - I didn’t even expect one after all these years.
Notice that I didn’t mention the content - just the features. Forums in general are bad places to get concrete information and always have been. Some are just better than others.
Since blogging came on hard in the marketing world, the choicest, in depth, crucial and valuable info is on them now.
When reputations are on the line the content quality on blogs goes way the hell up and can’t be beat since everyone gets to have their say, ask questions, etc.
Blogs are the forum killer, imo. But forum-like features on sites that have more than forums to offer are still cranking - and these two upgrading their systems reflects their need to come into this century and provide what everyone is getting even on much less popular sites of all kinds.
In short - the social aspects they’ve both integrated are going to save them, or they should. You still have to have experts willing to come in - real ones - to keep the population happy.
Hey - look how many Ablake supporters found this post compared to Warrior supporters! I’m afraid Warriors are not clued in to RSS or the real hot spots on the web as much as ABlake members are!?
Or am I wrong…Warriors?
Joseph Ratliff 08.11.08 at 5:21 pm
When Tony re-vamped the AblakeForum, he started out video blog posting on the front page of the forum. I don’t think that is gone, but it gave the whole forum a more “bloggish” and social feel right off the bat.
Also…
Tony tends to allow more of an open “discussion” to continue, which I favor in the forums I visit. Warrior Forum has removed some very good post threads that contained discussions where there was thousands of dollars worth of content being exchanged.
An example was Andrew Cavanagh’s Offline Gold thread…mysteriously deleted.
There was also an Ezinearticles thread that had EXTREME value, deleted.
While I am disappointed with WF in the last year or so, I still visit, because a “gem” surfaces once in awhile, and Allen did start the War Room (finally), where the members are giving some good value…however, no really new content has shown up there for the last weeks.
Was I an AblakeForum supporter? Nope.
Am I now?
Joseph Ratliff’s last blog post..Mozilla’s “Snowl” hunts Twitter, RSS, and (soon) e-mail
Social Marketing 08.12.08 at 7:08 am
Forums are still about who is using them.
I don’t want to say anything negative about the other two forums mentioned, but in all honesty, the Warrior forum is still the only viable one. The others just do not carry the heavy hitters that the Warrior forum still does.
I have made contacts there that give me the ability to pick up the phone and call Internet gods that have been around for 15 years and talk to them one on one.
There are plenty of Johnny come lately gurus around that can tell you about Web 2.0, but how many of them have been marketing products with the likes of Joiner, Sanders and Dean before I EVEN owned a computer.
Will you learn leading edge strategies like how to waste your life away on Digg like I teach? Probably not.
I would be still bartending if it had not been for a few of the people on Warrior forum that straightened out my marketing. If you think the Web 2.0 strategies are going to make you any money, think again. Because, most bloggers need what is taught on the Warrior forum because you do not even have the most basic tools in place like email management and a simple product and salesletter.
How many of you gurus out there pick up the phone and call somebody that could use your help when you see they have the potential to better themselves online? Or when someone has a product that you could JV and make both of you some cash? Or just to get to know some of your best subscribers?
How many of you even publish your telephone number?
I personally have never spoken to even one of you, it is the old school WF guys that I am working all my current deals thru. The WF still has the top dogs who will help you, you just have to be there to get to know them.
@Mark S. pretty strong words from a guy who won’t identify himself…..
The statements you made applies to the entire Internet, especially blog comments.
BIG Mike 08.12.08 at 8:30 am
There is more to life than social marketing. Personally, I don’t have time to spend at a lot of forums and so the only one for me is the Warrior Forum.
Any forum, regardless of it’s purpose, is going to attract the usual, redundant commenters. But there is an underlying element to the WF that I’ve never seen reproduced elsewhere. If you don’t get that, then you probably wouldn’t benefit from participating there.
Like every online service, the Warrior Forum continues to evolve. The latest makeover is by far the best yet, so Bravo to Allen Says for the effort involved.
Mike
Joseph Ratliff 08.12.08 at 9:00 am
Hi Chris!
The following is only intended for “friendly debate” and not a personal attack…
I only know you in this discussion because of your picture (and knowing to click on that picture)…after making that comment about Mark S., it may have been wise to type your name in your comment here (to identify yourself, lol).
On my website, complete contact info is given…I am not a guru per say…nor would I ever want to be (being tied to “legend” status does have its drawbacks too)…but you mentioned “heavy hitters” on the WF…
…and while there may be more currently on WF, are you in direct contact with them ALL (every single one of the “heavy hitters”)?
I only ask, because quite a few of those “heavy hitters” are members of AblakeForum too (and were members of the old version as well).
I would only need to stay in contact with enough people that I could develop mutually beneficial relationships with, as you have, but I certainly don’t need to be in contact with ALL of the heavy hitters on WF. That would be overwhelming.
In fact, because they are heavy hitters, relationships with a few of them would be totally sufficient to support a million dollar a year business.
On top of that…some of those “heavy hitters” may have business models that do not compliment mine at all…and a relationship with them would then be irrelevant.
Thanks for opening that discussion Chris, I love this stuff
John Doe 08.12.08 at 9:20 am
No one copied anyone. They are all just using the latest and greatest in technology. The WarriorForum had not upgraded there forums in several years (if ever) and they found the latest version of VBulletin which is what most major sites are running on nowadays. The ABlakeForum runs on SMF with a skin that makes it look just like VBulletin.
Kim Standerline 08.12.08 at 9:26 am
Blake Forum
Most Online Ever: 265 (March 18, 2008, 09:57:56 AM)
Warriors
Most users ever online was 1,497, 08-11-2008 at 11:24 PM.
Nuff said
Kymi
Steve Garrett 08.12.08 at 9:29 am
Seriously you guys just loving all over ablake are kidding me right? I mean you have to be.
Lets look at things objectively shall we.
Warrior forum:
92,000 active members with 6,000 of them active
Most users online … 1,400 … that happened YESTERDAY
ablake forum:
1300 members … lets assume ALL of them are active
most users online … 265 … that happened in MARCH
I hate to point this out to you guys but Columbus wasn’t the first to find America.
He did however bring the knowledge of its existence to the “civilized world” (tongue in cheek on that bit) and so is RIGHTLY credited with the discovery
The warrior forum may not be the FIRST site to have all of the new social features, but they are the first one that is large enough to matter.
The first one that is large enough to let enough people know that such things are possible.
All that other stuff about the posts … give me a break. The warrior forum has more people in a single DAY than ablake has in total membership.
There are A LOT of good posts at the WF every single day. As evidenced by this fact.
Do you know when the previous high point for number of visitors was for the WF?
The 10th of august.
The Friday before that was their previous record day for number of visitors.
With the number of people viewing and posting GOING UP, saying that all of their posts stink is kind of specious don’t you think?
Dr.Mani 08.12.08 at 9:38 am
I’m with you, Jack.
Both in terms of how I owe the Warrior forum big time for a lot of the help and education I got in the early days of my online marketing growth, and the new social tools that have been added.
To the powerful feel of a Ning.com-like social network, I’ll add one more solid benefit for the ‘new’ Warrior forum as I perceive it - USER self-moderation, which allows for a much fairer system of judging a member’s contributions as being worthy of inclusion or being deleted (or moved around) as ’spam’.
For those placing the ’social tools’ first and as a priority, here’s food for thought - tools are only as good as the people using them.
The Warrior forum always has had a thriving and active membership, which means the implementation of a social network feel, even if it comes later than it might have, will generate plenty of action and energy - because the users are passionate marketers.
To compare the changes with what Tony has done at the Blake boards is an apples to oranges thing. They aren’t distinct or mutually exclusive communities. I’m even a moderator at the Blake board, and am ‘defending’ the Warrior forum improvements here
As for ‘being first’, I’m sure no one is going to be able to support an argument that they were the VERY first to implement most of these networking tools, or that they are doing so in a completely unique or innovative fashion no one before them has ever done.
Nor does it matter.
Want to see cutting-edge in ‘plug and play’ simplicity? Go to Ning.com. It is even portable to the point you can start YOUR OWN social network using their tools - that’s how advanced the technology is.
Both the Blake and Warrior forums are centerpieces of the IM niche because of their membership. Obviously, some prefer one over the other. The rest frequent both, as far as time permits.
Tony Blake himself is an early adopter (like me) of the social technologies (hey, we’re both inside TRIIIBES.com - now, which of you reading this is, huh?!
).
Tony is active on Twitter, Facebook and many other Web 2.0 services - and is one of the first who introduced me to the concept of Web 3.0, and is already heading towards there.
He is more ‘cutting edge’ than just about any other online marketer in the IM niche I know of, with the exception of Jack Humphrey and Howie Schwartz - and yes, I’m including all the other ‘big gurus’ in this list!
So if Tony did implement many of the things that worked for him on his forum, it’s only natural. Just as Allen did add stuff that makes the Warrior community better engaged.
After all, that’s the primary objective of the owner of any ‘tribe’ based service - I’m amazed at how much time Seth Godin spends inside Triiibes.com daily, as the tribe gets entrenched and engaged.
Finally, hat’s off to Jack Humphrey’s skill in getting fans of both camps to battle this out - ON HIS FORUM!
All success
Dr.Mani
Alan Petersen 08.12.08 at 9:50 am
Come on now folks. If Coke and Pepsi can co-exist side by side so can the WF and ABlake.
All popular forums will attract shady characters and know-it-alls who don’t really know it all. It’s what you get out of it as an individual that counts.
I’m very grateful for what the WF has done for my business. Sure there are things I don’t like sometimes (thread deletions, no aff links, negativity/bashing, etc.) but I’ve met a lot of great people and learned a ton. So I could never knock it as viciously as some of the anonymous posters above have.
Plus the only reason I found Tony forum was from warriors so that’s a good thing. I haven’t participated much in Tony’s forum yet but I like his style of no BS and looking out for the little guy. But I can’t see myself stopping to check in the WF. Like Jack said it’s personally helped me a lot so I’m a bit loyal. I do see myself participating in both forums. Is that allowed?
It doesn’t matter to me who did what for but that the WF is moving forward to the 21st century is a good thing,
Jack Humphrey 08.12.08 at 10:08 am
I had to come back here just to see if the world was not, in fact, flat. There are some kookie ass people in the Warrior forum. Some of them are trapped back in 1999 and I can’t get them out!
Thanks for making a showing guys - I appreciate it and am glad you “got it.”
Mark Alison 08.12.08 at 10:28 am
Question since I’m not a member over there:
Would I have the opportunity to interact directly and frequently with the likes of John Reese, Mike Filsaime, and Willie Crawford at Ablake? ‘Cause for all the happy talk of being “about real business”, these are the guys with demonstrably successful business models that I want to learn “real business” tactics & strategies from, and they’re accessible to me on Warrior Forum.
Mark Alison
Mark Alisons last blog post..Lower Octane = Better Gas Mileage
Josh Anderson 08.12.08 at 10:46 am
I think that the change at the Warrior Forum was made out of necessity… it was time to move to a new script. The old script had done its job and needed to go.
Allen had previously tried to launch several social extensions at the WF over the last year or two but they were not connected enough to the forum script itself.
So what Allen did was make the best choice possible… he moved to a great new forum script with some great new features.
I love it!
But why all the discussion about who was first?
There is only one other forum that I participate in regularly and that is the Ablake Entreprenurial Forum.
And I love it!
Can a man have two loves?
Definately,
I love em both…
As for copying…
Just because posts can have video in them on both forums does not make them “copying”
And frankly who cares?
I mean really…
Both forums are awesome and cutting edge and I am glad that they chose to use the best features available…
But it ain’t just the features that make a forum good.
Its the people and that is why I love em both.
Forums each have distinct personalities…
And yeah sometimes we get moderated in ways that feel a little rough no matter where we are.
But it is the people that matter.
And whether it is over at Ablake or the WF the people are just plain good.
That’s why I love em both.
Allen Says 08.12.08 at 10:48 am
Some of you people are funny.
As to who copied who why does this appear on Anthony’s site?
———–
Joint Ventures
Looking For Joint Ventures or Partners? A lot of money can be made through these partnerships. —– WARNING: If your first post to our forum is a “Joint Venture” request, it will be deleted. We ask that you try to give some value here first “before” you ask for Joint Ventures.
———-
Looks like a direct copy to me. Care to scroll web archives and see who had that on their site first?
The whole site was modeled after the Warrior Forum, with things added.
Really doesn’t matter to me either way. Just setting the facts straight.
When we had trouble with the old snitz we upgraded and the upgrade has a ton of features. I hardly think I need to “copy” anyone.
Some of you should really get more to do
Allen
Allen Says 08.12.08 at 10:55 am
By the way, just for record, I always liked Tony. So I’m not sure why some people think there is a some forum War going on. Lisa seems to think so, I have no clue why.
Either way none of this really matters. Last time I checked the Internet was a tad bit large, far too large for anyone to need to be at war about anything.
Take care,
Allen
kay king 08.12.08 at 11:09 am
Oh Jack - did you really say this?
“I had to come back here just to see if the world was not, in fact, flat. There are some kookie ass people in the Warrior forum. Some of them are trapped back in 1999 and I can’t get them out!”
Maybe some of us “kooks” add flavor?
Judging from comments here it seems some feel only one forum is allowed to use a certain platform - that if you didn’t jump on the Web2.0 train last year, you aren’t allowed on it now -and that dissing another forum makes yours more important.
These two forums do not compare in size, age, active members, special offers (though I really like Tony’s rule on resubmission of special offers).
I see the same people on Blake’s forum that I see on the WF - starting the same threads and saying much the same thing. No problem.
I also see many there who were banned from the WF - and those are the people knocking the WF day after day. Surprise, surprise.
I’m not much of a “social marketing” butterfly but I love speed of the new WF and I think there’s room for more than one marketing forum online. I don’t see admins at WF complaining about Blake’s forum - - so assume this entire post was another great “buzz” idea to promote Blake’s forum to WF members?
I hope both forums continue to blaze a trail online but think the competition aspect is a bit silly.
kay
Jack Humphrey 08.12.08 at 11:37 am
“Maybe some of us “kooks” add flavor?”
Some do, most do not. I TOTALLY stand by this statement and it goes for ALL forums, not just Warriors.
BTW did you catch that I am a former mod back when modding was serious and that I love the Warriors? Don’t know how it got twisted that I am talking bad about the forum.
Some of the people are, well, c’mon. But the forum itself is an internet icon and always will be.
Allen Says 08.12.08 at 11:45 am
Hey Jack,
We definitely got some “kooks”, nothing you can do about that when you get large enough.
Come to think about it the same can be said for any place online. Myspace, twitter most definitely, facebook and any other forum out there, even the private ones have their kooks.
Allen
Jack Humphrey 08.12.08 at 1:03 pm
Allen,
Yeah it’s true of every place on the web. Hard though, to get kicked in the grapes for sticking up for the people doing the kicking.
I’m gonna have to work on my forum skills and try to remember how to appeal to the folks on state assistance. I had no idea they gave such access to the internet in institutions. Maybe I’ll talk to Paul and he can give me a refresher.
Allen Says 08.12.08 at 1:25 pm
Social Marketing 08.12.08 at 2:32 pm
@Joseph Ratliff, we actually know each other, at least virtually from SMC and you have responded to quite a few of my threads.
As far as my name, it links to my site where I have full contact info. You can even pick up the phone and call me. That was the best thing that I learned from the old timers at the WF.
As far as “heavy hitters” I am talking about people, not marketers, people, that I have begun to forge personal relationships with, that I can call and talk to. People that I can get personal advice from. Not something that is easily available to many.
Joe, you said….
“On top of that…some of those “heavy hitters” may have business models that do not compliment mine at all…and a relationship with them would then be irrelevant.”
Don’t take this the wrong way, Joe, but that kind of thinking says that you only need other marketers to make you money and you know so much that no one else could possibly give you advice.
That is not why I keep in contact with anyone I have gotten to know from WF.
I value these people because they are the ones that taught me that there is not a good old boys club of MARKETERS out there. They are just people and if you pick up the phone and treat them that way that is the way their will treat you.
Come on Joe, open your contact list. How many contacts do you have that have been around for 15 years and been some of the movers and shakers for over 15 years? I have two and those two phone numbers are worth more than any JV contact.
These guys barely know what Digg or Stumble is. They do not even have blogs. They barely have sites by today’s standards.
If you look at your online contacts as marketers that can further your business, well they can but when you look at everyone as just people then you gain a vastly different relationship with them.
The next time some guru is celebrating his birthday with some special package promotion, try picking up the phone and just calling the guy instead. Wish him a happy birthday. I bet you will be the only one.
As far as the platform used, who cares! It matters little. Just like anything else, you get back what you give it. The WF has given me more than I can possible give it back. If anything, it is the fact they will tell me when I am full of shit. That happens more often than I would care to admit.
Lisa Preston 08.12.08 at 3:46 pm
Whoa, Allen -
There’s no “forum war” as far as I know… I was simply pointing out a few differences between the two forums. I am a long-standing member at BOTH forums, I was also clarifying that WF was not the first to implement things link embedded video and whatnot. I’m actually DELIGHTED to see what you’ve done with the forum - it was long overdue. LOVE that you switched (finally!) to PHP… there are a few options you’ve added that will end up being a LOT of work for you, and personally I’d rather jab a fork into my eye repeatedly than even go there on some of them, but you most certainly have the volume of mods to handle the work!
As for those who are talking numbers…
ABlake Forum re-opened with the NEW format in the middle of March - just a few months ago. And rather than import all of the old membership, we decided to invite people first for a while, rather than mass promote. Do you really think the ABlake Forum has been online for over 16 years and has not got the same type of member numbers as the WF in that long? That we don’t share many of the same members?
Also, we set our “active members” to limit it ONLY to those who logged on in the past 5 minutes. That’s all. We don’t set it to show who was on for the whole day, or who just didn’t bother to log out. Just to show an example of what I mean, I was logged on to the WF this morning - I closed my window, but never actually logged out… I had someone check just now (7:36pm), and my name still shows as “active”. Doing this builds the numbers so that it looks like there are more people visiting overall. It’s an interesting technique - it sure LOOKS impressive, doesn’t it?
I personally prefer a true reading of who is online, so I can interact with members in “real time”.
Just for the record, the old WF showed a “biggest day” of 138 members or something (back in Jan 2008, if I recall correctly). Not that it even matters, but it seemed to make some kind of difference to a few of the posters here.
I am POSITIVE that with the buzz about the new format, that many members will go and check out all the new stuff at the WF - and they should! There are many many many thousands of members that haven’t logged in there for YEARS. And that will definitely account for the current numbers - as it should.
On a final note, Allen, I know Tony has no personal beef with you. He is also a member at the WF, one of the very early ones way back when you were charging $30 or so for lifetime membership and before you even had the old Uni-Sol board. The new ABlake Forum is part of a serious and specifically designed updating of his old board, built from the ground up with a new look, new feel, new tools, new style and a new way of running a discussion board (with much, much more to come), along with simply addressing some of the long-standing fundamental complaints from many Warriors, while building on it’s own 16-year reputation for cutting edge business tactics and discussions. I hope you’ll have the time to drop in now and then.
Cheers!
Lisa
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Allen 08.13.08 at 5:03 pm
Hi Lisa,
Well, it’s good to know you’re not making tons of posts about how bad the Warrior forum is
The active users record on the old forum is broke, has been for years. It’s at 90 and has been that way for as long as I can remember.
On the old forum during the day we averaged about 280 people online. Lower and night and on weekends.
Is the current forum set to show members who are not even online?
Absolutely. I already told the members that in the forum. I said it was 30 minutes, which it could be longer, I’m not sure. But I like the look of it, it’s a marketing ploy plain and simple. Active looking forums are more attractive.
The genius up above, simmons, thought he was making a major revelation
Anyway, glad to see we’re not pulling out nukes. I don’t want hard feelings with Tony because he has a box of Cuban cigars I’d love to buy one day if he ever let’s them go.
Allen
Chris Lang 08.14.08 at 10:10 am
Allen, I live in Arizona and we make runs to Mexico for Cubans once a month.
The secret is to save your rings from Honduran Cohibas, then replace the Cuban ring and it won’t be challenged at the border. How can you tell a Cuban? They have three wrappers and Hondurans have two.
What is your brand and size? I will get you a few next time.
Nothing better in the world than an Arizona sunset, 21 year old scotch (MacLellan / MacCallen) and a Cuban Cohiba.