Where is everybody?

[SShorefan 3.0]

Roy,

I was telling someone last week that my bandwidth is close to being maxed out.  Between family, work, the Sox (season ticket holder) and the election (no need to get into, but I have been involved and following quite closely), I have been straight out and my ability to follow the Celts and to a less degree the Pats has been marginalized.

I have to think by mid next week, I'll be able to get back in the flow of things, but I have indeed been here a lot less lately.

[crownsy]

good feedback guys

I also think we need something to talk about - I wrote a poem last night for crying out loud - I'm out of ideas to write about and I'm sure most of you are too

we need the games to begin!!!

true that, i find myself not really being able to write anything, we've rehashed every possable thing that could happen out over the last 3-4 months.

We need some new material to evaluate! heh

[SShorefan 3.0]

good feedback guys

I also think we need something to talk about - I wrote a poem last night for crying out loud - I'm out of ideas to write about and I'm sure most of you are too

we need the games to begin!!!

We could always throw out - What would you rather do - Trade Ray Allen or Trade for Antoine Walker?

or perhaps - What's better corn or peas?

[jgod213]

I'm sure it has to do with the new format...


This is actually my first post since the transition, which i think is due to me still trying to get accustomed to the new lay-out.

I think that, at first, most people are hesitant to really jump on board with change (not trying to get into a political discussion, hahaha).  Personally, i really enjoyed the web site the way it was - and i'm sure a lot of other people did as well; but i think that, given time, people will come around and become more and more active (myself included).

I'm sure many are still just a little overwhelmed/intimidated by all the new stuff...

[celticmaestro]

I've been up and down lately, shockingly bad few days so activity has been minimal. It's got nothing to do with the switch because I do like the new CelticsBlog, I think in time it will grow on everyone else too.

[muddy02]

consider it the calm before the storm.  Like me for example, i have a ticket for tongiht that as of 3 days ago i didn't have.  i'm too pumped to work right now...  i just want the season to start.  maybe people are too confident, complacent, whatever you want to call it. But as for me, i'm ready to see Banner 17 go up there before i turn focus to this year's run.  i need some closure before i can be fully focused on #18.

[BringToughnessBack]

This is my first post since changeover as well. I believe Jeff has built quite a great empire with Celticsblog over the past few years and I do congratulate him on the big move.

From an Online Marketing perspective(I run an Online Marketing Company and have been involved with the Internet since 1995), change can definitely have some immediate effects. I have noticed 3 things initially all related to Advertisements and placements

1. Advertisements-One thing I noticed that I have never been a big fan of is drop down advertisements.When I try and login to the new site, sometimes the ad will cover up the area that I am typing my login name..that is not a good thing and a few times, I just closed off. Drop down ads, although good from the Marketing side of things are bad from the loyalty side of things(visitors do not like them..they are intrusive and frustrating). Frustrating loyal visitors is never a good thing. We never had to deal with this on the old site and I think some people might be turned off by the increased ads. 2 Big Ads dominate the top half of the landing page-
2. Latest Forum views, although higher then before, has a huge Advertisement right over it...From my perspective, I have found that ads tastefully integrated into content is always a good thing but I am not a big fan of how it looks right now. Your eye goes right to that 300 by 200 plus ad which once again, is good from the Marketing Perspective but bad from your visitors perspective. These ads are not even that relevant to Celticsblog as well. In the long run, advertisers might get good ctr but return will inevitably be low and in the long run, your advertisers need to be happy with return on investment, not just clicks. Once again, this is just my opinion. I would switch the ad with the latest forum posts...both will still be above the fold but I think it might help get the regulars back on board at a faster rate.
3. When I first land on the site, my eye is pulled to 2 big advertisements- From a first reaction point of view, I am not happy about that and this is coming from someone who makes a living of Online Marketing-When I land into boards, that big top ad is quite dominating and detracts from experience.

Not Marketing Related
4. People might be bumming still from our baseball team falling short of the series...
5. The economy is really sucking big time and lots of people are in a very depressed state(one of my friends was over this past weekend and he depressed me big time about everything). People are afraid of there jobs, retirement and many other factors..they need to realize that this board will help keep them sane in tough times!

These new changes will not stop me from visiting but that is because I am hooked on the Celtics and this board! But, it could hamper some other people who are not as tolerant to Marketing as I am and that is what you need to be careful of. Ultimately, if you increase membership and lose a few regulars, and your return goes up, it is a no brainer what path to follow- But you definitely need to monitor carefully that the opposite does not occur- loss of regulars, loss of quality, loss of addictiveness of this great CelticsBlog site.

I wish you all the best with this new change and hope everything works out for the best. Congratulations again

[Weird Facts]

It is probably just the new design.  People tend to take their time re-introducing themselves to sites when they change format.

However,

That being said, Perhaps the other reason the the vote on the home page has 185 hits is because its right in your face.

The forum topics used to be larger and more of the main focus of the site.

Now it takes up less space, I think people mainly come to Celtics blog to read up on new rumors, discuss their anger in the way a game was officiated, speak about other players on other teams etc...

The "Latest Forum Topic" box, is so small it gives off the impression that it is not one of the main focuses of the site in my opinion.

Perhaps enlarging that will get people back on track.  Or perhaps no adjustments are needed.  Time will tell.

No disrespect intended, but Celtics blog is nothing without the users. People can go anywhere to read news up about the Celtics.  Pro Sports Daily has all the same articles that are on here.

What makes this unique is each individual members voice is heard and somehow on Celtics Blog everyone seems to read everyone elses posts.

This is why I feel the Latest Forum Topic should be front and Center.

It should be right in your face.

Take care!

[Eeyore III]

Testing 1, 2, 3.

[StartOrien]

I'm pretty pumped up for tonight's game, and I'm hoping that the banner ceremony is as great as I hope it to be.

But I agree I think there's something (wish I could explain further) that is initially unappealing about the new site perhaps because at first look it looks so different from what we're used to.

Now that I've kinda dug around I'm starting to really like things it's a lot more user friendly.

This site has really took my passion for the Boston Celtics to the next level and I am quite grateful to all of you guys.

I think the community as a whole owes it to the hierarchy of CBlog to kind of get off their high horses and keep the criticisms of the site kind, and trust that the site is in fact a work in progress, and will continue to improve.

[yall hate]

i don't want to be a debby downer, but it seems to have happened around the time the website switched over. i personaly like the new design, but i Can't deny thinking the same thought your voicing ever since the swap. forum activity has seen a STEEP drop since the new format.

my hope is that a bunch of people just haven't claimed thier accounts yet because they've been to busy, and they'll filter back in as we get started season wise.

I hate the new format.  Not to sound lazy, but it seems a lot less convenient to get to the forums (although bumping the latest forum topics will help).  I dont like how many more ads there are (or at least seems like a lot more), etc..

I am sure once the season starts people will jump back in, but I personally havent been posting as much because of a distast for the new setup.

[Roy Hobbs]

I'm surprised people dislike the ads so much.  I'm not giving the "company line" here (ask Jeff; I'm not a shrinking violet about these things).  Rather, I just don't think the advertising is much different than the prior version of the blog.  Yes, there's the big ad in the upper right, but is that worse than the prior ads down both sides of the page?

(As for the "pop out" ad...  I can see why people don't like that, but I've only accidentally scrolled over the ad once, so it hasn't been a big deal.  And hey, I was looking at Angelina Jolie, so how bad could it really be? )

I like the Latest Forum Topics module where it is now.  Further recommendations, though, on improving the site are appreciated.

[Bankshot]

I'm baaaack!

I've just been waiting for the new season to begin.

[Celtic]

I was very put off by the new site when it went up and that is the sole reason for my initial absence. I was not interested in any of the SBNation additions and inclusions, and just wanted to be associated with Celticsblog. My major gripe was the new fanposts and comments, I felt like all my activity and posts on Celticsblog were now wasted. It still seems like the forums aren't the centerpiece the way they once were. I don't like that all of our posts and TPs and avatars only exist in one sub-section of the site. These things are a part of my presence on the site and I don't like them treated as an afterthought. It also took a very long time to get used to the new format. My initial reaction was that I might be done with the site, but I decided to get over it.

Now that I have had a few days to let it sink in, it's really not that different, most of the old stuff is still here just in a different place. I still think the layout and formatting is a little convoluted, and maybe there should be a few more looks back at the old site for suggestions as to how to construct the new site more effectively.

I also have not been able to log onto SBNation since my initial log in, for some reason my name and password works for the forum but not SBNation. This is the type of thing that leads to frustration since I was so familiar with the old site, and now I have to deal with new problems. For me it was simple I just want the old site back, but it ain't gonna happen, so either delete the bookmark or adapt to things the way they are.

[Casperian]

One thing I don´t like is that the "latest posts" are not on the forum page, it only shows "latest topics".

"Latest posts" is a much better feature than "latest topics", since it makes the forum much more interactive. You can write a post in "Where is everybody", for example, and once you´re done, you can see which topic has a new post and move on to that thread.
Currently, you´d have to go back to the main page, which is not very user-friendly.

IMO, that´s a big part of why the forums became so silent.

That, and the fact that the "latest post" widget had less exposure on the front page in the last days.