Are forums becoming less popular?

[Scott]

Is it just me or are forums becoming less popular than say 2-3 years ago? Don't have any evidence for this kind of feeling, purely from my experiences.

Got a few feelings about why this might be happening, but lets see whether anyone agrees....

[bear]

I think they are indeed becoming less popular. You still get the giants that see tons of traffic and activity, but that activity is somewhat less in quality. It appears more new members than old participate, and usually with sales (and dare I say it, spamming) in mind instead of helping and participating for the social aspect and good will. There seems to be a tension of late that's palpable, possibly caused by the economy. Hard to say.

Forums are something you should really think before posting on...things like Twitter are short, simple and usually meaningless. Fast paced and something you can do from your phone has merit for today's users, and since it came out, most of my typically slow-ish forums have all but fallen down dead.
Interesting shift.

[Scott]

I agree that social networking is probably the biggest reason I've noticed the down turn. Facebook, for example, has a huge scope for communication. How can forums embrace these whilst still remaining independent? Is that the key for keeping a successful forum these days?

[lahmanwokard]

It really strange to read out well i haven't noticed yet.Try to search out the reason for that.

[Dude111]

Facebook, for example, has a huge scope for communication.I know....

I wouldnt go 10ft near that CIA info gathering website Scott!

It amazes me how many ppl PUT THIER REAL INFO ON IT!!!!