jackal

I see this issue as having two prongs: technological integration and a personal engagement.

The technological side would encompass things like social network integration. We're hampered in that respect by two things: one, we're at the mercy of Internet Brands' and vBulletin's development cycle, and two, no one has really yet figured out what "social network integration" means and has implemented it in a way that actually works for members. Maybe someone someday can come up with some way to do this, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The world has fundamentally changed with the advent of the information revolution, but we're still navigating the waters of that revolution and figuring out what that means for the future.

The other aspect is the personal side. For me, I see two major reasons that members fall away: either they feel turned away by an unwelcoming atmosphere, or they don't "catch the vision" and thus lose interest.

We've started a program that is being rolled out wider across FlyerTalk called the "Ambassador program." Ambassadors, who are members passionate about helping new members, assist on both of the above counts. They are able to welcome new members and answer their questions in a positive, helpful way without making them feel like they are asking a stupid question. On top of that, they are able to help these new members understand the value of miles and points and help them understand that loyalty programs offer them a way to get far more for their money than they otherwise would.

I call this "catching the vision"; for me, it was reading a trip report by Seat 2A about traveling from LAX to SYD in BA F via LHR and SIN/BKK for the "paltry" sum of 150,000 AS miles. 150,000 miles sounded like a ton to me back then, but I knew that I wanted to do that trip someday, and as I read FlyerTalk and began to understand elite bonuses, maximizing routings, finding mileage-run-worthy fares, and other similar things, I realized that it was actually something within my reach, and I was able to book that same trip that Seat 2A (someone I am now proud to call a friend) did--a trip worth nearly $30,000--for my out-of-pocket spend of less than 10% of that trip's retail price.

If every new FlyerTalker was able to understand the kind of value they can get from just a few tricks and tips, get excited, and "catch the vision," I believe they'd be much more likely to stay, learn, and eventually be able to contribute back. While we're still working on better-organizing the Ambassador program, it has the potential to cast that net that keeps members involved in the community.

I'd also like to see some of the snarkiness from some members reduced, but unfortunately, that requires an oversight of moderation policy that the TalkBoard does not currently have (and even then, the best moderation can't completely cure the problem of some less-than-helpful members). In light of that limitation, the best way forward is to have a core of engaged members (Ambassadors) demonstrate a positive, welcoming attitude that can overcome any negativity and make newbies want to stay.

I'll also speak to what some people might call a threat: MilePoint. (No reason to pretend it doesn't exist.) I respect Randy greatly, and I think that MilePoint has done some very good things in terms of site and forum organization, functionality, and appearance (much of that due to the choice of XenForo as their forum software), but if there's one thing I've learned over the past year of MilePoint's existence, it's that FlyerTalk has an incredible depth of content and an intensely strong community bond. Despite MilePoint's best efforts and Randy's industry connections, FlyerTalk remains by far the predominant destination on the Internet for discussion involving miles, points, and travel. Do we always need to be aware of the competition and keep improving ourselves to maintain our lead? Of course. But do we need to worry that an overwhelming number of members are going to start dropping like flies and defecting elsewhere? It hasn't happened yet, and I believe our draw is strong enough to keep it from happening.

Also, I'll share some numbers I heard several years ago. They're out of date now, but the ratio is likely still representative. At the time, FlyerTalk had identified approximately 2.5 million unique visitors to the site. Of that, there were approximately 250,000 registered users; 25,000 of those were active users. I don't know what the criteria for "active user" was (x number of posts in the last x days, etc.), but from what I've read, the 10:10:10 ratio seems pretty standard across the Internet when it comes to discussion forums. Just some food for thought.