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Back in November I asked: is there much of a difference between forums and blogs? Shortly afterwards, I opened a blogging forum on my site. But it didn't do very well, so instead I joined two established forums (Authority Blogger Forum and Bloggeries Blog Forum).However, my blog has had plenty of comments - so people are obviously checking in. I am certain this is because I let people comment without having to register first, whereas my blogging forum required registration before you could post.
Forced registration doesn't work for blogs.
Asking people to create a username and log in before they can do anything on a website is fine if that site is part of a large network. MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket... plus the blogging networks, such as MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, and Entrecard.Where it falls down a bit is when you want other people to comment on the things you put online, but the site you use requires registration just to comment. Today a friend showed me photos of a recent trip to London, which he'd uploaded to Flickr. Guess what? I'm not a Flickr member, so I can't comment on the photos.
And don't go assuming that everyone uses sites like Flickr or MySpace. In the past my dad has commented on my music directly on my site - because I don't require registration. Had I put my music on MySpace and refused to put it on a proper website that I host myself, he wouldn't have commented. Well, he might have emailed me, but most readers will not bother doing that. Not everyone uses every site under the sun.
The spam problem.
In theory, the bigger the site, the more susceptible it is to receiving a lot of spam. That's one reason why my blog is more likely to allow guest comments than Flickr is. But it still doesn't make the situation any easier for legitimate users who genuinely want to post feedback! How hard does it have to be?The money problem.
I used to have a Flickr account to share some fairly mundane photos with friends. But I can't justify the cost of a Pro account (which is needed if you wish to maintain permanent links to more than 200 photos) when I already pay for things like a domain name and web hosting.To be honest, I'd much rather find everything that a person does by going to their website than have to jump between several different sites.
Making registration easy and worthwhile.
If you've ever commented on my site, you'll notice that the "thanks for your comment" page mentions a few benefits of registering - such as being able to edit your comments, upload an avatar, and view special members-only content. Your username is reserved after you comment for the first time - all you have to do is reset your password.But the really important thing here is that you don't have to register - and many people don't. Personally I think this is the best of both worlds, although there is a slight problem if someone forgets their username and accidentally posts several comments on different names.
I should point out that this is not just something I'm promoting because I like it. It's something I wrote myself. A big benefit of running my site with my own system is that I can do things like this. If you're interested, I use Majestic.
What does this have to do with forums?
I wanted to give you a bit of background information on registration before I started talking about forums. But I'm going to save that for tomorrow's blog entry. I'll be looking at how we can find middle ground between blogs and forums and hopefully get people participating in both on the same site.So don't miss tomorrow's blog entry - it could be the start of something really exciting. Subscribe today if you haven't done so already. Need help subscribing? Read my RSS guide.
Tags: registration, forums, flickr, comments, majestic,
Posted by Ben on January 26, 2008 16:54 / Edited: Never
Comments
Hi dotservant.com, thanks for the comment. I agree with you to a point, but I wouldn't say that providing benefits for registered users is the key.
While I want to provide good things for the people who register, I am also keen to network with other bloggers by commenting on other blogs. This helps to create a two-way relationship and means more potential readers for my blog (as well as theirs).
You have to find people before you can give them benefits. Building a community is not all about focusing on who is already there - it's vital to find new members.
I'll certainly be looking at more benefits for people who register, but I don't want to lose sight of finding new readers as well as keeping the existing readers happy.
Something for everyone, in fact! What works for me here, in the model you're using, is that registration is not required -- anyone can leave a comment as a 'guest' -- but registration is there as an option, with a few benefits that go along with it. A good balance (as long as I can manage to continue to remember my own username!) and one I think we'll be seeing more of, as part of the continuing trend toward membership-based sites or members-only areas for extra value.
Thanks for the comment, Jen. :) I'd certainly like to see more sites that do this, but it does seem like people are more interested in using social networking sites (thereby using software that others wouldn't install on their own sites). For those, you really do need to register - but how many sites do we end up joining? Too many...
Most blogging software, in my opinion, hasn't seriously changed the way we currently run our sites. We just publish content and have some extra bits and pieces on there too. I can see a lot of untapped potential and numerous ways to simplify how things are today. Registration is the kind of thing where the existing methods just don't work for me. You can always rely on me to think up new ways of doing things. :)
Ben, I'll be leaving a few comments on this and some other posts of yours. I agree with the registration thoughts. Sometimes I read a post I might like and the only way to comment is to register. I feel as though these people think they are so hot that you must register for them to acknowledge their readers. I just want to comment on one post not fill up my e-mail.
Thanks for commenting, ettarose. :) Seems like a lot of people approve of the way I do things here. It's good to know!
converting ad-hoc visitors to regular members and consistent contributing members is really not an easy task, people do not like to register unless there is something there that they need, and constantly creating extra values for registered members is the key to community building.