Forum frenzy fumigates online

Chris Locke, co-author of the book "The Cluetrain Manifesto," claimed that the Web is not comprised of computers, companies, or even consumers for that matter, but of conversations. One of the best books I've read on Internet culture, Cluetrain is a "must-read" for all Internet marketers.

Whether we know it or not, and whether we like it or not, we are edging towards a more human approach online -- unerringly following one of John Naisbitt's "Megatrends," from the book of the same name and a prediction initially expounded 20 years ago, called "High Tech, High Touch."

Cluetrain not only supports such a trend, but also discusses how the human paradigm affects and will shape the Internet.

On the Cluetrain site, at http://www.cluetrain.com/, a simple, single phrase sums up the manifesto's 95 theses:

"If you only have time for one clue this year, this is the one to get: we are not seats, eyeballs, end-users or consumers. We are human beings. And our reach exceeds your grasp...

... Deal with it."

Visit Cluetrain's website and glance over their endorsements page, which basically is a open, online guestbook. You will notice that more and more companies, including large, multinational firms such as IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are starting to "clue in."

I am neither a sociologist nor a futurist by any stretch. But as an observer and Internet marketer, as well as a conversationalist, all I need to do is take a look at the most successful sites online, nowadays. When I do so, two glaringly obvious commonalities shout: content and community.

The former is self-explanatory.

Content not only makes a site "sticky," it boosts search engine rankings, enhances the potential of attracting advertising dollars, and opens the door to creating sponsor-supported or membership-based models (like http://www.classmates.com/ and http://www.women.com/).

But the latter of the two is important and the focus of this week's editorial: community. In addition to publishing email newsletters, moderating discussion lists or maintaining opt-in mailing lists, do you administer forums, message boards or web communities?

Consider the advantages. You gain the ability to:

1. Directly access your target market;
2. Advertise in front of qualified people;
3. Share prospect and customer bases (without any need to physically exchange private, personal information);
4. Maintain constant contact with your target market;
5. Impel and observe comments, trends, and conversations;
6. Increase credibility and top-of-mind brand awareness;
7. Survey your market on new site or product features, new product ideas, affiliate programs, pricing models, etc;
8. Generate non-competing, third party sales revenue;
9. Handle, manage, and diffuse (potential) complaints;
10. And correct errors early (or from their onset).
    

There are many more advantages. Admittedly, there are disadvantages, too. Maintaining a message forum or online community requires time, labor, and money. That said, the marketer's motto is to always test -- so you can never be sure unless you try it before making a decision. Thus, if you want to test the communal waters before making the dive, I suggest a small, one-page message board, preferably a free CGI script.

Here's an example. Probably one of the most popular (and the easiest to install) message boards on the Web is Matt Wright's WWWBoard at http://worldwidemart.com/scripts/wwwboard.shtml. It's a free CGI script, which is also very customizable.

To see the board in action, visit the website of my friend Jim Daniels at http://bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/. Also, if you decide that the script is too plain for you and you want to enhance it, there are many additions, features, and upgrades available -- usually as third party modifications (or "mods"). Most are available at http://cgi.resourceindex.com/.

Here are some other free message board scripts:

• TalkShop at http://www.spiceisle.com/talkshop/faq.htm
• Discusware at http://www.discusware.com/discus/index.php
• MyBoard at http://myboard.dk3.com/
• SimpleBoard at http://michaelmoser.org/board/simpleboard.htm
  

Once you decide that maintaining an web community or a more extensive forum (including boards categorized by topic, for example) is right for you, you can move up to the more feature-rich (and perhaps database-driven) forums now available on the Web. Here are a few (some of them are free):

UltimateBB (Ultimate Bulletin Board)
http://www.infopop.com/

Probably the most popular of all the commercial bulletin board programs around, the Ultimate Bulletin Board is also the web's most pricey. Depending on the features you want, like emailing board members, translating posts, posting private messages to other members, adding graphics and "smilies" (or emoticons) to the posts and so on, it can cost anywhere from $250 to $1,500. See the UltimateBB script in action by visiting Dr. Ralph Wilson's site at http://www.wilsonweb.com/forum/.

YaBB (Yet Another Bulletin Board)
http://yabb.xnull.com/

YaBB is the one that I like the most. In fact, after testing a few of them on the Success Doctor site, it is the one that I recommend the most. It's surprising since YaBB is comparable to UBB but completely open source and free. In other words, it is extensive, entirely customizable, packed with features and offers an inordinate amount of mods, which are all available at http://boardmod.xnull.com/. You have the ability to fully customize the board, which only requires a basic knowledge of HTML and CGI.

IkonBoard
http://www.ikonboard.com/

If you like the style, look and layout of both UltimateBB and YaBB, then you should visit IkonBoard, which is another free but commercial-like board. Personally, I have never tried it but I have tried their demo. The website boasts of its extensive administration and moderation options, but as a user I can tell you that the features are comparable to those of UBB and YaBB. (In fact, YaBB offers an IkonBoard converter, if you ever wanted to switch your board from one to the other.)

vBulletin
http://www.vbulletin.com/

vBulletin is similar to UltimateBB in that it is intended for larger sites. As the site states: "vBulletin is a powerful, scalable and fully customizable forums package (...) ideal for all medium-to-large sites." vBulletin costs between $85 and $160, but unlike UltimateBB the fee is renewable each year. To see vBulletin in action, check out Matt Mickiewicz' popular SitePoint.com community site at http://sitepointforums.com/.

In closing, note that hosting an online community is not the be-all, end-all of Internet marketing. (Keep in mind that I also mentioned "content" as being a significant factor in the success of many online businesses.)

Remember that, when all online transactions have come and gone, and after the rise and fall of many a dotcom, what remains are people -- and people connecting in ways that were never possible before is the heart of the Web.