Are we attracting new members?

C

clicker

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I was wondering if new membership is growing and if not your thoughts on how we may encourage new viewers to our site to become part of the family.
 
I found the site because of my interest in RF camera's but in 06 RFF was all about RF camera's. Not so anymore. Seems that many that are still here from 06 don't even shoot with RF camera's anymore.
 
I guess RF photography is kind of the "slow food" movement of picture taking.:D

Today's world is all about being connected to social media in real time, posting document picture of where people are,what they do and with whom they are hanging out. These billions of pictures are the electronic cloud memory because the visual impressions have grown so exponentially that no one can keep up unless there is electronic evidence.

Taking a picture with a RF camera will require a little more thought than touching a screen on a phone. Cooking a meal from scratch requires more effort than ordering a fast food meal at the corner diner or big chain store.

I am not sure how many people are committed to the effort and even think that this is worth the time...
The numbers of potential new members will be dwindling down, that's for sure:(
 
New members are processed daily, so yes we are attracting new members.

Photography has changed since 06. Now we have 3 major non rangefinder camera platforms to shoot rangefinder lenses on - FujiX, Sony Alpha/Nex, M43. We have so many camera choices now for our RF lenses it can get confusing. For decades for all practical purposes it was Leica M film cameras or nothing.

So the focus of RFF has expanded to include other camera and lenses choices.

Still, we are open to new ideas and ways to expand RFF's web imprint.

Stephen
 
Were digital not a choice for photography, I think the RF popularity here in would be as strong as it was then. Sadly the choices for a true RF camera in digital are extremely limited. One is too expensive for the average person and the other too old for most folks. Still, the fuji cameras in particular have the spirit of things and the compactness of some of the other offerings are similar in spirit.
 
I think the site is doing the best that it can. You have allowed digital implementations, to be included, you have the mentor section. It's just the changing times.
 
Bear in mind that for people who join the photography game younger like me (I'm 20), there is no real way of getting into digital RF photography. Not many people my age can afford even a used M8 and a decent lens on summer job pay and a student loan. We either have to look backward and invest in film RF's, or invest in the only means of digital we can afford (SLR's mostly.) I am the Darkroom master at my university's photographic society, and a successful campaign this year has seen DR membership explode to the extent that there are almost more film shooting members than there are digital. There will always be a place for grainy Delta 3200 images taken with 1950's lenses on rangefinders, just not necessarily digitally (until the Konost rangefinder comes out).
 
back alley said:
it's not new members...are we holding on to the older members?
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There has been a noticeable drift away of established members IMO and I also don't think the new membership numbers are growing at the rate they were a year or so ago. This has resulted in a slow down in activity here which can be confirmed by looking at the home page at various times. Often there will be posts four hours old there and this wasn't really the case a while ago and when you go to the forum page you can see how many members are on line and how many guests are viewing the content ... the figures are pretty lean some days.

I think there needs to be some changes in the way the forum actually works because I don't see the situation getting any better with that growth in membership numbers falling behind and the amount of regulars who keep moving away. Currently active registrations are around sixty one thousand but if you run your cursor over the latest signing that individual is registration number 67692 which means nearly seven thousand have gone for whatever reason and are no longer registered. When I came here in 2006 the membership was just over six thousand and the place was very active ... there was obviously far less 'idle' accounts and the 'buzz' on the home page was very noticeable.

How to combat this I wouldn't know .... but for me the place peaked some time ago and growth has been nearly non existent since that point.
 
back alley said:
it's not only new members...are we holding on to the older members?
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If so, the number of photographers online on the website should be steadily increasing... right?

Most photographers ever online was 4,587, 03-23-2015 at 21:46.
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That's from the bottom of the Forum listing and it's pretty recent so that's a good thing I suppose.
 
Youalwayzlooksocool said:
Bear in mind that for people who join the photography game younger like me (I'm 20), there is no real way of getting into digital RF photography. Not many people my age can afford even a used M8 and a decent lens on summer job pay and a student loan. We either have to look backward and invest in film RF's, or invest in the only means of digital we can afford (SLR's mostly.) I am the Darkroom master at my university's photographic society, and a successful campaign this year has seen DR membership explode to the extent that there are almost more film shooting members than there are digital. There will always be a place for grainy Delta 3200 images taken with 1950's lenses on rangefinders, just not necessarily digitally (until the Konost rangefinder comes out).
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Well it's hardly any wonder, really, that people are not signing up or staying. Youalwayzlooksocool posted this, his first ever post, two hours ago, and there have been five posts since then and no welcome.

Welcome Youalwayzlooksocool, and your observations about the cost of entry for young people are certainly valid. Great to hear that you are keeping the fires burning for darkroom work, too, and I couldn't agree more about the beauty of a fine print taken on fine film. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I encourage you to post some of your work.
 
Keep in mind that you will find a wealth of general photo and film knowledge in this group. I also shoot a Nikon FG - hardly an expensive option.

And as was pointed out - welcome to the forum. As a whole they are sometimes short on manners but long on knowledge.

John
 
I am more of an slr/dslr guy so you don't see hardly any snaps from me here. I do read a whole lot of stuff coming out of RFF and have for several years now. Lots of photography knowledge here and it is sort of a niche kind of crowd for lack of a better word. I like it that way personally...if I want something dslr I gravitate to those sort of sites (I watch it here too)..if I want to confirm some arcane piece of knowledge about photography I heard on the dslr sites I come here... :) I do not believe anything about film unless I have heard it here. haha

Thanks Stephen and mods and members that keep the candle lit.

If I ever get a digital M I'll probably end up being banned. lol
 
Not too long ago if you had a question about a piece of equipment or a process the only option was to go to a camera shop and hope the right person was working that day. If you were lucky, they had an answer, maybe even the right one. Today with a few minutes of searching both new and experienced photographers are lead to a forum such as this and the question is answered quickly by a group with a large knowedge base. This alone will continue to bring new members to the forum.
 
madNbad said:
Not too long ago if you had a question about a piece of equipment or a process the only option was to go to a camera shop and hope the right person was working that day. If you were lucky, they had an answer, maybe even the right one. Today with a few minutes of searching both new and experienced photographers are lead to a forum such as this and the question is answered quickly by a group with a large knowedge base. This alone will continue to bring new members to the forum.
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Dear madNbad,

That accurately explains my reason for joining. My first posts were about a Kodak Retina I just purchased along with several FSU rangefinders I purchased a rather long time ago but scarcely used.

I got answers quickly both on the message board and via PM. As someone who is attempting to return to film photography that was important to me and all the welcome that I need.

I enjoy reading the daily banter and commenting occasionally but I'd be lying if I didn't say that most of what I do here is read, research, and try to learn. There is more than enough to keep me entertained and I'll stay for a good long time.

Regards,

Tim Murphy :)
 
I frequent a site (not camera / photography related) and observed the following:

01) individuals start frequenting a site for some special interest
02) social nature aspects become more important than the initial interest
03) the special interest areas become stale, one-sided, microscopic
04) sponsorship & promotion at alt.sites start pulling membership...
05) the accounting team forms a plan (creates new interface)
06) churn of individuals looking for Big Foot included in new site metrics
07) mods blamed for lack of creativity... member's hate new interface
08) the fat-lady can be found warming up off-stage...

I think it's the nature of the internet that there tend to be or appear to be similarities... friends frequently opting out of social media for periods of time etc. Photo books becoming preferred over online viewing etc... my experience is that 'members' leave and return in cycles. No big deal... except blaming mods for which there is no excuse ; ).
 
shimokita said:
I frequent a site (not camera / photography related) and observed the following:



01) individuals start frequenting a site for some special interest

02) social nature aspects become more important than the initial interest

03) the special interest areas become stale, one-sided, microscopic

04) sponsorship & promotion at alt.sites start pulling membership...

05) the accounting team forms a plan (creates new interface)

06) churn of individuals looking for Big Foot included in new site metrics

07) mods blamed for lack of creativity... member's hate new interface

08) the fat-lady can be found warming up off-stage...



I think it's the nature of the internet that there tend to be or appear to be similarities... friends frequently opting out of social media for periods of time etc. Photo books becoming preferred over online viewing etc... my experience is that 'members' leave and return in cycles. No big deal... except blaming mods for which there is no excuse ; ).
Click to expand...


I think there is much to this analysis. But I would argue much more important is where people are in their own evolution/state. When others mention that some of the old guys on this site have left there's a large chance that those people simply want less of the Internet/online banter. I know I do sometimes.

I have learned a great deal from this site but it can only take you so far. Not to say I'm done with the site, far from it.

I've also met really amazing people through this site (through the NYC meetup) and have been lucky enough to be in a place where the local club is very active.


www.stillthrill.com
 
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