Join Us : Come To The Dark Side

There are millions of forums on the internet. As you read this a thousand more were just created. With so many forums on the web, many of which specialize in the exact same things, how are so many successful? Well that depends on your definition of “successful”. If by successful you mean, “profitable”, then the answer is, not many are. Most forums serve as a, ‘Can some one help me find this’ or an ‘I have an opinion so I think you should listen to me’ collection of blurbs. These can offer a minor distraction from all the billions of media outlets swirling around the internet, which makes them moderately successful, but their charm is often short lived. Large companies use forums as a reason for you to stay on their site longer, and maybe convince you to buy something. But how often do you think that actually works? Yea, exactly. Others utilize them as a ‘Help yourself, Because we won’t’ virtual customer service desk. These actually work, and are fairly successful in drawing in lots of traffic, but people don’t really hang out on them and socialize. Like if it was a Sears forum, and you had a question on how to better clean your blender without ruining the blades. You would post your question, and periodically check back to see if some one else posted an answer. …And while you were waiting, you probably already found the answer somewhere else. You probably wouldn’t spend much time on these types of forums unless you REALLY liked blenders. Successful in getting visitors? Yes. A fun place to hang out? No.

     The truth is the average forum lasts less than 2 years, which is when traffic begins to dive and regular members stop visiting. Social or Community Forums are the most popular, but they too are no stranger to having to struggle for your attention. You ever notice how a forum will proudly display that they have several thousand members, yet the same few people are the only ones posting? That’s typical. In fact many forums on high profile sites will employ ‘bots’ (automated programs that can be tasked to input or gather information) to hang around their forums and jack up their ‘currently online’ numbers. Even regular members can send out their own bots to do their bidding, sort of like invisible Pikmin. Which reminds me, isn’t Olimar the cruelest Nintendo character?! He’s a slave driver! But I digress. Bots may seem like a dirty tactic, and sometimes they can be depending on their useage, but its completely legal and all part of the game. The one glaring issue of many forums is their lack of moderating. If you’re new to forums, and you happen to check one out on a whim, don’t be surprised to find a mine field of F-bombs. Like a shout box on Youtube, they’re full of F, S, D, P, C, and M words…I see you there trying to figure out what swear words can be made with those letters. Shame on you. Unfortunately when you allow random people to be part of a community without an IQ or psych evaluation first, you can expect your community to be quite dysfunctional. Ours is not. See this is where the “join” part comes in. Damn I love a good segue!

     The Miyamoto Cup Forum is a community of members who discuss a wide range of topics, but whose main focus is on the almighty Video Game. Hail to the gods of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo! It is also a hub for our main attraction, our monthly tournaments. While our tournaments are currently based out of Connecticut, our forum has members from all over the country. Like most forums, it’s free to join, but we’ve gone ahead and threw in some incentives. You know, to make it interesting. Every year we have our Forum Awards where we hand out prizes such as giftcards, software, movie passes, and tournament discounts. Awards go to the Most posts, Most replies for a topic, etc., and our administrators judge on things like Most creative topics. We also have exclusive giveways, and grant special offers to our members who compete in Miyamoto Cup sponsored tournaments and who are also participating members of our forum. We do all of that, just so you’ll be our friend. We hope to see you soon.
ProTip: To properly clean your non-dishwasher safe blender canister, pour hot soapy water in an amount that will fill the canister. Let sit for a few minutes. With the top on, gently shake the canister to loosen any debris. Tougher debris can be removed by filling the blender half way with cold water, and pouring in an equal amount of ice. With the top on, turn on your blender to high, and let run for 30 seconds. Empty the canister and Rinse thoroughly. Set upside-down to dry.