When the forums went down there was no word about it on the USMS main page. They are back and they are similarly not announced. Since you can't go to the forums to find why they are down when they are down, I request USMS post that on the homepage and also post when they are up and running.
First off, Dawson, thanks for chiming in. It is appreciated.
... As I have noted previously in communications from the national office, forums usage beyond USMS Committees is in the hundreds, less than 1% of USMS total membership...I'm a data guy, so I appreciate this, but I'd ask you to consider cause and effect. Even in the Forums heyday, they weren't actively promoted by USMS, though they did at least have prominence on the website. As you transition to the new online community, I'd really encourage you to put some marketing muscle behind that and see if you can increase engagement. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and pretty much the rest of the social media space is not a good place for discussion and engagement around topics, around issues, around questions. The beauty of the USMS Forums is that you know when you're coming here, it is a targeted community of people who love swimming, are trying to get better at swimming and want to discuss swimming. Plus, the multi-way interaction amongst people creates real dialogue and real community. It's pretty damn unique in the swimming world. Even a site like SwimSwam, which I love, doesn't truly offer 'dialogue.' USMS has that already ... but I think you're undermarketing it and, hence, members are getting less value from USMS because you're not promoting it.
...That said, we are mere months away from transitioning the forums to a new platform - the USMS online community, fully integrated with our membership and email systems with single sign on login, using the same email and password that is used to login to My USMS. I am really looking forward to seeing this ... and the prominence with which you'll promote this on the home page :agree:
Patrick W. Brundage
(now living in Canada, but still a USMS member)
First off, Dawson, thanks for chiming in. It is appreciated.
... As I have noted previously in communications from the national office, forums usage beyond USMS Committees is in the hundreds, less than 1% of USMS total membership...I'm a data guy, so I appreciate this, but I'd ask you to consider cause and effect. Even in the Forums heyday, they weren't actively promoted by USMS, though they did at least have prominence on the website. As you transition to the new online community, I'd really encourage you to put some marketing muscle behind that and see if you can increase engagement. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and pretty much the rest of the social media space is not a good place for discussion and engagement around topics, around issues, around questions. The beauty of the USMS Forums is that you know when you're coming here, it is a targeted community of people who love swimming, are trying to get better at swimming and want to discuss swimming. Plus, the multi-way interaction amongst people creates real dialogue and real community. It's pretty damn unique in the swimming world. Even a site like SwimSwam, which I love, doesn't truly offer 'dialogue.' USMS has that already ... but I think you're undermarketing it and, hence, members are getting less value from USMS because you're not promoting it.
...That said, we are mere months away from transitioning the forums to a new platform - the USMS online community, fully integrated with our membership and email systems with single sign on login, using the same email and password that is used to login to My USMS. I am really looking forward to seeing this ... and the prominence with which you'll promote this on the home page :agree:
Patrick W. Brundage
(now living in Canada, but still a USMS member)
