Hi all
After three or four years now constantly updating and trying to drive this blog forward I have hit a bit of a brick wall. I am getting bored with this blog now. Very few people actually post on here except me and sometimes Rob but any other interaction from anyone else is minimal. The blog was set up for everyone to use and share and it just seems that I am the main contributor to the blog so what's the point ??
I have created a new Facebook group called 'Slope Soaring Sussex'. I already have a very active Facebook account with over 450 RC related friends from all over the world. I am hoping that a new group page specifically for RC slope flyers in Sussex may reach a bigger audience and encourage people to be more interactive and share more than currently we are getting from this blog.
Any group member can post pictures, video and comment on anything within the group. It may be a closed group where you need to request to join and then when accepted you can see what's happening within the group. If you have a Facebook account then just type Slope Soaring Sussex into the search box and hopefully you will either find me or the new group page. Click the 'join' button and hopefully we can grow the group and carry on from there.
So, I will keep the blog running in its current form but I will concentrate on the Facebook side of things. If anyone else wants to take on the blog and keep it updated then please feel free to contact me and we can have a chat about the blogs future.
Its a pity because we have had over 130,000 views but to be honest I fed up listening to my own voice week in - week out !
Either you guys help out with the posts and build on what we have currently got or the blogs stays as it is and doesn't get updated - the power is in your hands!
Slope Soaring Sussex is a friendly group of RC glider flying enthusiasts based in Sussex, UK. We slope soar at various locations on the South Downs and have a field for thermal soaring. ‘Slope Soaring Sussex’ is a BMFA affiliated RC Glider-only flying club. We fly many types of RC gliders from conventional slope soarers to Scale, DLG, F3B, F3J, F5J, PSS and more. Our aim is to encourage and promote safe, responsible and enjoyable radio controlled model flying. New and experienced flyers welcome.
I can't see Facebook on my computer at work. At home I rarely have time to turn on my PC.
ReplyDeleteThat's not my problem now is it Rusty!!
DeleteI'm not saying it is Paul, I'm just thinking about ease of access to the SSS blog content. Do I need to buy a trendy 'smartphone' now to keep in touch with group activities? Every other rail commuter seems to have one.
DeleteI think these expansive responses have answered your question!! Cheers, Russell H.
Hi Paul. I'm in a similar situation as you regarding the A470Soaring blog, as to being the main contributor. However, with 1200 views per month on average I feel it is well worth my while because I know that people are looking at it, even though they rarely interact or contribute to it. And strangely, it isn't my local guys in Wales who are viewing the blog so much, but viewers from overseas. I'm sure they must take an interest in what we do here flying wise in the UK. So for me, whilst people are still viewing my blog in numbers, I'm happy to keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThat's my two pennith worth.
Thanks Steve. I appreciate your input as a fellow blogger.
DeleteGood point Steve. You may well have a huge audience of wistful armchair RC pilots who, like me, love the idea of model slope soaring but whose circumstances prevent regular participation. I've always assumed a blog was just a way for an individual to share his or her enthusiasms... After 6 months in the workshop I've only just begun to cover my latest balsa beauty, so my RC model activity is not really dynamic enough to warrant regular reports, but I still like to know who's flying what on the local slopes. Cheers, Russell H
DeleteHi Paul, This blog is our interface with the rest of the world and has been incredibly successful. The bulk of our members have come from reading the blog and without it, they would not have known about us. I personally add BMFA posts up there and posts about flying reports whenever you ask me to, but I haven't got a video camera and can't put up films.
ReplyDeleteI registered the blog as our club website with the BMFA and I also got it added to their club map so people can find us.
If every member were given the authority to add posts they might be inclined to put stuff up there, but history shows us that the shout box is the most popular way of communicating.
The blog is the way people get their flying information and keep in touch with each other.
I have thought about Facebook but have decided that I don't want to expose my details to that particular forum.
Lets be honest here Rob, we have 8 authors already able to post on the blog but still I seem to write 95% of the content that goes up on here. With regard to the 'Shout Box' again who's voice continually seems to be heard on there - mine! With regard to Facebook - that's your choice..........................
DeleteHi Paul
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind me giving my perspective as a new member. I found the blog online last year and read with interest the articles. I then made contact with Rob and joined the club as a complete newbee to RC flying. I have enjoyed my time in the club and met some really good people and friends - in some ways that has been more fulfilling. If it wasn't for the blog that wouldn't have happened. I do agree with Rob that the blog is the clubs communication channel for new and existing members. That said, I sympathise and agree in that when it is the same person posting and there is not much reciprocal communication then it is disheartening. I guess initially as new member and new to the hobby I didn't feel confident in posting articles as I didn't really know much about it all, but I am learning all the time. I do like the idea of the FB group too as it is another form of communication which may suit others. I read every single blog post and find them interesting and I should imagine every single member of the club does too, you just don't know it because there is no feedback. I say keep the blog. People shouldn't feel they have to update it, they should want to update it because of the enthusiasm for the hobby and the club. I will have a go at writing a blog post!
Thank you Andrew. I very much appreciate your valuable comments and I think your experiences and views will be most welcome with any post you do on the blog.
ReplyDelete