Is Social Media changing enthusiasts?

[James F]

As someone from the younger generation, I have never felt the need to vlog. Although I have been told I have the mind of an old man in a young man's body.

I am in two minds about this. One argument I have is that most vlogs are filmed generically and seem to emulate the theme park worldwide model. They are uninagaing to watch and go to the same places time and time again. Seriously how many Alton Towers vlogs can people watch?

However, if it's a park I haven't seen much of, a vlog is great as it offers a detailed insight into what experices you encounter at that park. For example TPW's best vlog is from Happy Valley because it's an experience which is unique to other parks.

I like watching "in the loop" videos at parks, because it's a good midpoint of a vlog and a tour of the park. A style which more Youtubers should try out.

I don't think these kids are being self indulgent or have a singular desire to be famous. They just want to be like Shaun.

When I was a child I wanted make a coaster review site because of CF and TPR, so I can understand the logic. It's just that these kids want to do something with their intrests, but they just can't articulate themselves into doing something more creative.



Sent from my G3221 using Tapatalk

 

[Ben]

I, not entirely surprisingly, pretty much disagree with the sentiment of this thread.

I have had more valuable interactions on Facebook than I have had on these forums in the last year by a factor of probably 100. The groups are full of enthusiasts with a 'proper pedigree' that I've really liked 'getting to know' over however long we've had CF Chat and similar groups. I've made far, far more 'online acquaintances' on social in the last year than I have on here - I can't think of anyone of value new I've engaged with on the forums but there's loads on social.

I mean, yes there's a lot of ****e - and really the vlogging change is different to the social media change - but you always get that when there's a lot of people, we used to have it on the forums when they were actually popular.

For everyone saying that social isn't supporting the sort of discussions you have on here, it absolutely is, you're just not engaging in them. I'll try not to go into another rant about CF as a brand dying and not embracing change, but it doesn't help that the CF pages haven't embraced the social revolution properly - that feeling of community you're all talking about isn't down to the platform of internet forums, it's the people posting there - and CF hasn't been able to translate that to social. Rewind to CF's heyday and we would all look down on ECC and ACE and other 'newsletter based' groups as being for old farts - we were different and young and cool. That's us to the new generation - we look like the old farts clinging on to forums and - who uses forums nowadays?

So, yes social media has changed the landscape - but it hasn't necessarily reduced the sense of community, we just don't use it properly.

The vlogging thing is a different issue and they're a bunch of twats. And regarding people always wanting to plug their pages - do you not remember when everyone started a forum and used to plug theirs on here? That doesn't mean the big boys (which should be CF on social!) can't do it well and keep their position at the top.

 

[jayjay]

I've always found you can tell the difference between somebody doing something out of passion, or out of some semblance that it could make them famous/popular. Vlogging is the perfect storm for this. It looks easy, and people have become insanely famous off the back of it. Add to that that you can see the possibility of filling your particular niche. But you need to have exactly the right personality and presence*, some understanding of image management and tbh I don't know what else cause I'm not in that crowd.

Hard to say if anything's changed with enthusiasts that hasn't also changed at large. I generally hold the opinion that human nature doesn't change but the tools of society can change how it acts out.

*Some unlucky few may remember my brief review series, which was properly ripping off Nostalgia Critic's style and falls apart somewhat because I have to talk to a camera.

 

[SilverArrow]

I like having forums AND facebook groups because they offer different experiences. The CF forums are always full of more thought-out discussions whereas fb groups can be better ways to get quick responses to questions etc. They fill a different niche and I like that the forums attract those who are more into it than a random facebook group as it requires a bit of research and effort to join.

I'm not against vlogging per se, some people have a good style and execution and are pleasantly watchable but it is clear that some others just want the fame and glory of a personal fanclub. It's spiralled a bit out of control recently but I also like that more competition means more choice for the viewer. You no longer have to watch someone whose style you don't like to find out about new rides and parks. You can choose your content.

 

[TilenB]

I don't like the dynamics of huge Facebook groups at all. Each week there's a post with the exact same question as the week before and there's no good way to search for an answer, so people just keep on doing that on and on. CoasterForce chat was no different, every three days or so there was a post asking people on what their favorite coaster was and there were the same people responding with same ****ing answers to each of those posts. Way for a deep and engaging discussion... And the constant spam of people linking their vlogs and blogs and 30-ish year olds picking on 15-ish year olds for no apparent reason and the list could go on. I really don't see how that's any sort of a better place to discuss stuff than the forums are?

But yeah, as others have stated before, it's just easier and simpler for people to find/join these Facebook groups today than it was to join the forums back when CF was at its peak.

 

[Snoo]

I, not entirely surprisingly, pretty much disagree with the sentiment of this thread.

I have had more valuable interactions on Facebook than I have had on these forums in the last year by a factor of probably 100. The groups are full of enthusiasts with a 'proper pedigree' that I've really liked 'getting to know' over however long we've had CF Chat and similar groups. I've made far, far more 'online acquaintances' on social in the last year than I have on here - I can't think of anyone of value new I've engaged with on the forums but there's loads on social.

I mean, yes there's a lot of :emoji_poop:e - and really the vlogging change is different to the social media change - but you always get that when there's a lot of people, we used to have it on the forums when they were actually popular.

For everyone saying that social isn't supporting the sort of discussions you have on here, it absolutely is, you're just not engaging in them. I'll try not to go into another rant about CF as a brand dying and not embracing change, but it doesn't help that the CF pages haven't embraced the social revolution properly - that feeling of community you're all talking about isn't down to the platform of internet forums, it's the people posting there - and CF hasn't been able to translate that to social. Rewind to CF's heyday and we would all look down on ECC and ACE and other 'newsletter based' groups as being for old farts - we were different and young and cool. That's us to the new generation - we look like the old farts clinging on to forums and - who uses forums nowadays?

So, yes social media has changed the landscape - but it hasn't necessarily reduced the sense of community, we just don't use it properly.

The vlogging thing is a different issue and they're a bunch of twats. And regarding people always wanting to plug their pages - do you not remember when everyone started a forum and used to plug theirs on here? That doesn't mean the big boys (which should be CF on social!) can't do it well and keep their position at the top.

To be honest, most of my close friends in the community are either no longer on here or never were, I won't disagree there, and I've cultivated those friendships via Social Media as well however I think we're talking more generalizations of the overall platform of social media and not specifics... if you get what I mean?

And you know my feelings on everything else you said. Agreed 100%.

 

[nadroJ]

I find the Facebook groups very hit and miss. If you're looking for some fun, in-depth discussion I'd highly recommend the ECC FB chat - good level of really experienced and passionate people on there who love a good goony natter. CF Chat, as expected, quickly got overtaken by Americans and I don't have a great knowledge of those parks to properly have a good discussion.

Theme park Twitter is a strange one - I've made some really good friends through that platform, but it's not the kind of place you go for a thorough chat because well, that's not the point of Twitter so I'd never expect that in the first place. Twitter is fab for goon news though.

I blog, obviously, but honestly I treat it more like a diary for me. I love to scroll back through the years and read all the stuff I've been up to (my memory is terrible). And I love writing, so it's a good way for me to blow off some steam in the evenings.

YouTube is a weird one. Like no, I definitely do not want to watch a 90 minute vlog of Thorpe, but I'll definitely watch a 20-30 min one whilst I'm putting my make-up on in the morning. Especially if the people are interesting OR going to an interesting place. I think if you can tell it's being done because the person likes what they're doing and not doing it for THE VIEWS it's fine? I started my channel because I've wanted to re-engage with my video editing skills (they are bad) and again, because I enjoy it. I'm never going to make any money from it, and that's fine. I think it's an extension of my love of taking pics of parks - there's something very satisfying about chopping it all together. And especially with the honeymoon stuff, it's been so fun watching it all back!

 

[Will]

I subscribed to one theme park group on Facebook, and VERY quickly found I had to unfollow it because the notifications were getting ridiculous, and the bulk of them were 'Here is my video of Blackpool', 'Here is my picture of Thorpe, isn't Stealth amazing', 'I am going to Chessington today, yay' etc.

And of course, as mentioned earlier, it's fairly difficult to have a discussion attached, because of the way Facebook will only show you a handful of the comments, not necessarily in the correct order. I don't really pay attention to our Facebook or Twitter pages, since any information can generally be found on here - perhaps both pages could do more to drive traffic to the forum/people to meets etc., but I think we went through all this in a similar thread barely a week ago.

 

[Antinos]

REMEMBER TO SUBSCRIBE AND SMASH THAT ****ING LIKE BUTTON

 

[jayjay]

I've liked, but I can't subscribe. Now what?

 

[sandgrown]

Firstly, what a decently debated thread.* Thoughtful and well-written. It makes a case for the value of forums all on its own. I'm particularly partial to @Dipper_Dave 's post. I think we may be kindred spirits in terms of tastes, geography, age, and grumpiness.

Secondly, I'm with the old man brigade on this. The amount of talking on these Facebook videos. On, and on, and on. Across all fields, opinion has replaced research, hard work, and experience. Whether it's supposedly serious journalism or roller-coaster videos, the amount of white noise generated by millions of bores, who think their opinion is anything other than as dull as the bloke's who used to prop up the bar in the olden days, has reached pandemic proportions.

Thirdly, have you seen the state of half the presenters? How can you bear to look at their faces? I'm no heartthrob by any means, but half of the Youtube videos look like they were recorded in a hall of mirrors. You're glad for the POV video just to let your retinas recover.

I'm a noob, with no memory of what things were like before, but there's no way CF should go for big and popular if it means following that shower. If in 10 years, you have 200 members who can write thoughtfully and intelligently about a hobby that might be a bit daft, but that they genuinely love; it's much better than having 200k views on a channel full of donkeys, where nobody really gives much of a toss about the subject matter, or each other.


*My third paragraph might have ruined it though.

 

[Will]

^
Third and the fourth But I'm sure @Howie would love a channel of theme park donkeys - just so long as they were wearing hats.

 

[Pokemaniac]

I think social media has its niche when it comes to news. As soon as one source makes a news piece, it can be shared across the community by anyone with a simple press of a button or two. It's a little bit harder to copypaste a press statement into a forum post and attach pictures. Besides, to find that info you actually have to look at that forum, instead of it arriving readily wrapped in a feed full of random stuff you're keeping an eye on anyway.

That being said, I'm a sucker for thought-out discussion presented in an orderly, chronological fashion, and where it's all easy to find should I want to go back to it later. I have yet to find a social medium that does this even close to half as well as a good forum. Even the clunky, old CF engine ran circles around Facebook when it comes to stuff like that. However, it is slower, and requires a little more time and effort from the participants, so I see why it's not as popular as the more streamlined processes of Facebook. There's a huge threshold just in signing up.

Another fact is that the amusement industry moves slowly, yet everybody wants to have something to report constantly. As in, the park being discussed may not even make any significant investments every year, but people want news (both from a consumer and supplier perspective) every day or so. Besides, your aspiring little channel will never grow if it never posts anything, so there's the pressure of maintaining presence as well. There's a desire for content to report on and to read about, but there's only so much actual report-worthy content coming out. So some fan sites will twist everything into a huge news story and flood social media with them, reducing in loads of totally non-interesting crap being produced. I won't mention names, but I came across this site which promised HUGE news for Disney World - Mickey would get a new costume in one of the shows, and an ice cream stall was moved a few meters down a path. And if all else fails, just post a wishlist. For instance, the other day there was this post floating around, promising to have figured out the entire story to IoA's new Harry Potter coaster - just from looking at the footers.

What annoys me the most about social media is that there's nothing incentivizing anybody to shut up when they have nothing worthwhile to say.

 

[roomraider]

As the owner of a facebook page that is known mostly to a minority this is something that has crossed my mind before.

I could certainly get more hits on VH if I went down the more meme route "Look at this crazy coaster" or even just by posting "would you ride this?" at the end of each post.

But while it has crossed my mind. Sod that. I'm happy with VH being a vaguely interesting page for people who give a crap about rides outside their usual sphere of interest. I often get PM's asking for me to share this or that video of a new coaster at a CF or SF park and while I appreciate pages that post these sort of updates I usually politely decline, its just not for me.

Having said that I do massively appriciate Social Media. The original VH sites were set up using wordpress on web space i paid for and didnt have any social media presence at all. And while it was nice to have a domain and space to do what i want with Facebook has made it so much easier to run what i do (especially while I'm out of the country working) not to mention cheaper.
In fact this month I have finally ditched the actual web page and moved to Facebook and Twitter only mostly because i never updated the actual page since FB and Twitter make it so easy and so i was spending a lot of money each year on a domain and hundreds of GB of web space.

Add to that Social Media makes it a lot easier to engage with viewers and discuss any posts. And perversely it makes it a lot easier for people to point out any mistakes I have made which is great. And i enjoy talking about updates with my core audience, People who are interested in the same sort of obscure things, Althouh I must admit i do enjoy seeing the spikes in viewers when someone like Screamscape or TPR share my posts but it doesnt consume me.

Social Media is a great tool for engaging with your audience but when you get to a point it can make you money you will start to try and get as many viewers as possible and you start to lose your core audience. You try and attract as many viewers as possible. Which is fine if you are into that and more power to you but its not for me. I dont even know how many likes VH has on FB....... 2476 i just checked. Cool. But nowhere near 1.4m TPR has. And you know what. I'm happy with that.

 

[lachlan]

As the owner of a facebook page that is known mostly to a minority this is something that has crossed my mind before.

I could certainly get more hits on VH if I went down the more meme route "Look at this crazy coaster" or even just by posting "would you ride this?" at the end of each post.

But while it has crossed my mind. Sod that. I'm happy with VH being a vaguely interesting page for people who give a crap about rides outside their usual sphere of interest. I often get PM's asking for me to share this or that video of a new coaster at a CF or SF park and while I appreciate pages that post these sort of updates I usually politely decline, its just not for me.

Having said that I do massively appriciate Social Media. The original VH sites were set up using wordpress on web space i paid for and didnt have any social media presence at all. And while it was nice to have a domain and space to do what i want with Facebook has made it so much easier to run what i do (especially while I'm out of the country working) not to mention cheaper.
In fact this month I have finally ditched the actual web page and moved to Facebook and Twitter only mostly because i never updated the actual page since FB and Twitter make it so easy and so i was spending a lot of money each year on a domain and hundreds of GB of web space.

Add to that Social Media makes it a lot easier to engage with viewers and discuss any posts. And perversely it makes it a lot easier for people to point out any mistakes I have made which is great. And i enjoy talking about updates with my core audience, People who are interested in the same sort of obscure things, Althouh I must admit i do enjoy seeing the spikes in viewers when someone like Screamscape or TPR share my posts but it doesnt consume me.

Social Media is a great tool for engaging with your audience but when you get to a point it can make you money you will start to try and get as many viewers as possible and you start to lose your core audience. You try and attract as many viewers as possible. Which is fine if you are into that and more power to you but its not for me. I dont even know how many likes VH has on FB....... 2476 i just checked. Cool. But nowhere near 1.4m TPR has. And you know what. I'm happy with that.

A bit unrelated but I miss the Vertical Horizons wbeiste! I often cited it on Coasterpedia. Facebook links tend to break over time.

Am glad some people focus on the content and not just clickbait.

IMO while social media has had an impact I wouldn't say it's negative, just a different way of communicating. As for vlogs, I don't watch those so can't comment.

 

[Dar]

I think the discussion on facebook can be a little stilted purely because most people are interacting on their phones, during some downtime, so replies tend to be shorter, more direct, and forgotten about when the poster has gone back to whatever they were doing. But with tapatalk and responsive pages, forums could be going that way as well?

With vlogging, what I really hate is the sense of smug entitlement and superiority that some of them have. That "I'm here and you're not, HA!" attitude can definitely get in the sea.

I like the forums because of how the discussion is organised. For example, I had a question about Symbolica, so I searched the forum, found the Symbolica thread, tapped some black mana, resurrected it, and asked my question. Nice and neat, without needing to start a new thread that goings to have 3 replies, at most.
That's not to say I dislike facebook's discussion spaces, I've not really used them enough to know how good they are. Something I like about the forums is remembering an unrelated picture that was posted in a thread, searching for that thread or, if I remember, the subject of the picture and getting straight to the post I want. Does facebook support that kind of thing?

 

[roomraider]

A bit unrelated but I miss the Vertical Horizons wbeiste! I often cited it on Coasterpedia. Facebook links tend to break over time.

I apologise profusely for broken links. I hate to hear ive cocked up some links. I have the whole site on my HDD so if you ever need any individual pic let me know.
Maybe one day i will bring the page back. Its mostly cost reasons right now.

 

[Snoo]

Firstly, what a decently debated thread.* Thoughtful and well-written. It makes a case for the value of forums all on its own. I'm particularly partial to @Dipper_Dave 's post. I think we may be kindred spirits in terms of tastes, geography, age, and grumpiness.

Secondly, I'm with the old man brigade on this. The amount of talking on these Facebook videos. On, and on, and on. Across all fields, opinion has replaced research, hard work, and experience. Whether it's supposedly serious journalism or roller-coaster videos, the amount of white noise generated by millions of bores, who think their opinion is anything other than as dull as the bloke's who used to prop up the bar in the olden days, has reached pandemic proportions.

Thirdly, have you seen the state of half the presenters? How can you bear to look at their faces? I'm no heartthrob by any means, but half of the Youtube videos look like they were recorded in a hall of mirrors. You're glad for the POV video just to let your retinas recover.

I'm a noob, with no memory of what things were like before, but there's no way CF should go for big and popular if it means following that shower. If in 10 years, you have 200 members who can write thoughtfully and intelligently about a hobby that might be a bit daft, but that they genuinely love; it's much better than having 200k views on a channel full of donkeys, where nobody really gives much of a toss about the subject matter, or each other.


*My third paragraph might have ruined it though.

My dude. <3

 

[Mushroom]

Yes social media is changing enthusiasts, I kinda did note it myself a few years with this comment.... (ThemeParkCollective person)

Which was this video:

A lot of people just want to hear about the big stuff from the big social people, so the likes of Phantasialand, Blackpool, Alton etc. etc. And that's all they want to talk about, which is fine, but they are focused on that one thing. I am very good friends with the guys behind Pleasure Beach Experience, and they have a passion for the park, and I know I can have a good day out with them riding a few rides, and chilling on the Pleasure Beach Express. On one of their vlogs last year, they were talking about the entrance fee for PB, and Scott didn't know which way I was going to go.

But it is each to their own, obviously social media isn't for everyone, I know @MouseAT recently removed his Facebook account (More due to the data leak stuff). I would do the same if I didn't have a few pages to run, and try and keep advertising my content, it is a shame, it is the only way to get the word out about stuff, or share about random information.

I know @Martyn B runs one of the big UK groups, and does a good job with it, there has been some good comments in there, and some good advice if you need it, like getting the cred at Billing Aquadrome! (Will prove useful soon!).

 

[El Patricko]

I really enjoyed the CF Chat thing, it made some interesting conversations and the replies seemed more sincere as we weren't hiding our identities.

Its a shame its gone quiet recently! Maybe its more of a closed season thing.