Reconstructing FT to make it more of a social flagship?
 

The post http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...l#post18120749

Is apparently from a recruiter at Internet Brands (but not tagged as an official company account.) The line that stuck out:

Interesting.

If that were the case how would that sit with all the squatters......It would also mean them ditching the entire V Bulletin software which is long past the due date for software perishability.

thanks a lot for posting

will certainly be interesting to see

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/talkb...ech-brand.html

FWIW, from a personal TalkBoard perspective, this isn't something that was ever brought up with TB to my knowledge.

IB, IMHO, tends to make decisions and provide direction without the input of the general members or their elected representatives - which, as owners of this discussion board, is well within their rights and well within their business strategy.

Keep in mind that when FlyerTalk was sold, it went from being a labor of love to a labor of business.

Actually the Community Director posted a few months ago saying they'd like to make FT more social-media oriented & asked for input from FTers. She also mentioned other things she'd like to see happen. Like all TB topics ;), the thread quickly derailed. And it's something that for the most part didn't even gain input from TB members.

FWIW - while I'm not social media savvy, I've got no problem w/ IB wanting to do something that makes FT a better site for FTers. Why would that be a bad thing? And if it's just in the planning stages - ie, they're looking for an employee, why would TB be involved at that point?

I disagree that FT was simply a labor of love. While Randy did (does) love FT & was a benovelent dictator, it was always a business that fit into his overall business model. If it was truly a labor of love, he wouldn't have sold it for a profit ;)

Cheers.

that was why i created this thread >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/talkb...ech-brand.html

I think a lot of this is above TB's pay grade.

I was checking out MP and their iPad app the other day, and it's amazing how user-friendly that app is. FT would be well served by an app and a BB technology even close to that one. Of course, this is my opinion as a FTer, not an official anything from a member of TB.

IB own the shop that makes vb, so if there is an opportunity... sadly FT is so customized and screwed up in the backend it can't be migrated to vb's 4.x (like http://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php) and still lingers at 3.6. As you can see with small operations like VFT and MP, using a different version or platform is possible if you have no or little data to migrate. Imagine the howl if past data (or p:rolleyes:stc:cool:unt) is distorted in any way :D Google hits would vanish quickly and traffic reduce.

It's all a sad reminder not to do too much customization to OTS software.

Apparently COdbaUA never learned this lesson, and neither did Ran Decisions when they ran FT. :(

has IB communicated that they are open to suggestions regarding investments in technology and/or brand expansion?

has IB discussed any of their investments in technology and/or brand expansion, like Top Flyer?

...

IB created iphone app right? jackal, any thoughts on IB's responsiveness etc?

It would be better if the overall "feel" of FlyerTalk was a bit less "hostile" to the newbies... For example, there are no avatars which 99% of other forums would allow- even if it's just one specific issue it does play a role in turning lurkers into members.

As for the technology issue, I think what we have works. Perhaps a slightly enhanced software/forum server package could be beneficial, but FT shouldn't "degrade" itself to the Facebook-style layout.

Well, there is a 'suggestions' section on FT that no one really ventures to ... I really doubt avatars are going to make people feel welcome. On any forum that I read, I make sure signatures are switched off, any avatars blocked etc.

the above SanDiego1K quote was directed at TB and posted in this forum

as stated here >

That was a request to 9 TBers, the remaining 300+k members have the facility to suggest since day one in the suggestion forum and hardly anyone makes use of it :(

However, for those of us who actually visit and post in Suggestions Forum, things aren't getting any better either. Not to mention all the things that's been bugging us in Technical Issues Forum IB consistently fails to address properly. ;)

If the admin or IB are just not listening or taking good things into consideration, what's the point for (good) suggestions? Often I feel (wise) words are falling on deaf ears. :(