Wake up, guys!

Is it just me, or have MohawksRock been a little dead for a while now? Let's wake up and try to keep the site alive!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Giant Mohawk Man on July 1, 2012 at 9:13am

Yeah, it has been a little slow. We are still seeing about 15,000 visitors a month, so it's probably as much as people just aren't finding a reason to be compelled to write and talk as much. I also imagine people have a lot more to do over the summer than hang out on a website.

I am definitely open to ideas to make the site better, or to get people to interact more. I know these talks have happened before with Kobalos and others. The ning platform kind of limits some of the better ideas like making a cool mobile app, which I'm sure would help a lot for the summertime especially, when people are out and about. Of course, our Australia and South American members are in their wintertime.

Mohawks Rock will be 5 years old this November. Definitely need to think of some good plans there.

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Permalink Reply by C.J !?? on July 1, 2012 at 9:34am

Didn't Mohawks Rock have a youtube channel? If it is still up and running, then I think it would be a good idea to post vids frequently; mabey about the "history of mohawks" or something related. Youtube would be a great way of getting more people to join the site.

As for the people who are already members, I think it would be best to start posting discussions (or blogs) , to make this site less ... dead.

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Permalink Reply by Boneshotep on July 17, 2012 at 2:57am

I agree if we had a channel different users including myself could post video's on ahirstyling, culture, or history of hawks wether be the mohawk Indians or the Cossaks of Russia

Personaly Id love to upload video tutorials, their are just so many hawks out their and at least for me it was hard to learn by myself with so few video's out

well that puts a hamper on my plans to dread my hair 2maro if Ima make a vid lol hmn dilema

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Permalink Reply by Kaast. on July 2, 2012 at 11:21am

Yes, the app would definitely help on people who actually have a smartphone! :((

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Permalink Reply by Kobalos on July 1, 2012 at 11:25am

It's a difficult one, just seems like most people don't bother like they used to nearer the start of the site - when it was fresh and had rampant growth and interest from near everyone who joined. They stuck around to post, share & communicate with others for a year or two.

I don't know if it's because people in general are jaded. Have just become more shallow and stick with shallower sites, such as FaceBook/Twitter which doesn't need them to exert more effort than a trivial few words on anything random or to hit 'Like' and they'll get a few 'Likes' back or the odd comment with little value.

It's harder to find folk sticking around and actually adding content/discussions, let alone responding more than a few times. I think a lot of pruning is needed to clear out the dead wood and freshen up the site with a theme change maybe. When there's apathy all around from desolate accounts - it's catching. And it needs more than just being about self and more about taking part and taking steps to share and kickstart some greater genuine exchange than 'I like this.' & 'So do I!'.

There's a lot of fun from taking part and it can be great when people bother and don't just leave silences.

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Permalink Reply by C.J !?? on July 1, 2012 at 2:13pm

What's your idea of a good forum discussion? I mean not the traits, but the themes.

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Permalink Reply by Kobalos on July 2, 2012 at 8:16am

Whatever piques my interest - which really covers a large amount of themes! You just need to look at my groups and you'll see what themes of discussion I make/take part in. I've taken part in over 800 separate discussions, it says - so I guess I like a lot of themes! :) For Mohawks Rock, I actually like themes not just about hair! Though they can be interesting, like the ones about opinions/comments people get from others.

Good themes to me, I guess are personal ones - ones that are about thoughts; someone; their situation; life, etc. The usual what music/film is your fav? I don't learn anything real about the repliers much - unless they actually explain what & why they like the film/music. Then those can be very good! But they need to have some details - not just a title or 'it's great/funny/rubbish'.

Most of the time, people just ramble off a title or list of them, without giving any details of what it is that appeals about them. If they get into a discussion on the scenes, lyrics, artists etc. then that's much more interesting to me. I don't think theme matters too much - it's content & getting to know people for themselves.

Take for example: when someone says: "I love/hate faux hawks!" and every reply is: "I do too!'" or "I don't" <--That is a dead-end discussion and builds nothing and nobody learns anything about the why/what details that makes each person have a personality.

The older threads on Mohawk Rocks tended to be much more detailed and widely themed - because more people were exploring ideas and thoughts more when there was more folk bothering to read & reply.

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Permalink Reply by C.J !?? on July 2, 2012 at 10:22am

Hehe your replies are always awesome, Kobalos :P

Yeah, I agree with all of the points you made there, but I think most of the ideas anyone thinks would make a good forum discussion these days have already been done at least twice in the history of this website. I guess there is nothing new to discuss, because it has all been discussed before.

The problem with discussions (yeah, I know I'm over-using that word) related to entertainment is that the people's ideas about a movie, or band ect. won't usually change (unless influence from another person); therefore there will only be a straight answer to a discussion like a "favourite band/movie/sport". And why would people want to discuss a movie when they could just watch it, or discuss a band when they could listen to them? It could be the base of a good discussion, but only it the members reply to it in a way that would spark interest for other members to join in. I think people find personal likes/dislikes a bit on the dull side. (Now I am contradicting myself, since I started a "fav. movie?" discussion yesterday.)

I think the "groups" here on MR are much more important than the discussions, because in groups, people have common interests, therefore it is less awkward to discuss topics - I think the "D.I.Y clothing" group is a great idea, and it is great to see the hard work people put into making pieces of clothing that display creativity. It is nice when someone praises another's abillity to put up a mohawk, through a comment on a picture - it restores my faith in this site's future.

Yet I think we need to do more than just discuss this issue at hand- we need to act, and make this site into what it used to be :D

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Permalink Reply by Kobalos on July 2, 2012 at 12:35pm

I think we have two aspects to movie/band/sports. 1) Recommendation threads - where you need to find stuff you've not seen; and 2) Discussion threads - where you chat about things you've seen/heard with others who have also. Sometimes, recommendation threads set off mini-discussions between people - which is usually when they turn fun.

I think discussion about specifics after, rather than just watching something is where you get the real social aspect between people - because you get mental interaction (now there's a phrase for the day! XD) rather than just passively taking in. It's also when you share what was good about stuff - I know that's when I get the most fun after a night out.

As you say, 'Groups' would seem an important feature and yet, most of them never really take off. I think that could be because people don't return to groups after they initially join them and it's easier for them just to fire off a discussion without first finding the group to do with the topic they want to start.

Certainly, I get a lot more replies to discussions (on any topic) in the main forum than the groups designed for them. Yet, I like the idea of common interests within groups (very organised too ;) ) - just others rarely use them here. Plus, maybe we just have too low an active population to cater to all the mammoth amount of group topics around! :O

I agree about "D.I.Y clothing" - it is a great idea! But more people need to share their gear pictures on it to spark interest. A bit like the discussion on hair styles before to now - that got a lot of activity with many pictures shared.

It is all about needing to act, each person reading taking part as well - sharing what each of us have with others! That'd bring life back and spark off more.

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Permalink Reply by C.J !?? on July 2, 2012 at 2:28pm

Yeah .... hmmmm

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Permalink Reply by Kobalos on July 3, 2012 at 4:35pm

Hmmmm, indeed. A first step is taking part & always responding to people when they leave comments/want to chat - otherwise it becomes a ghost space 'cause if some people don't, why should you?