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Change of forum name

Gulfalan67

Gulfalan67

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Hey call me dumb, but when did this forum change name? I only just noticed it now.

Does the change suggest a shift in focus or will it be Business As Usual?

Why the change? Curious.

Alan
 
Hi Alan. It changed at the weekend. Actually it is not really a change but a change back to its original name. My personal opinion is that the change to 'Life in the Wilderness' was an experiment in diversification that failed. We lost people and new people almost stopped joining. If there is a shift of focus it will be small and subtle, mostly led by which way the conversations go. Nothing will be lost. I'm sure Matt can give you the full info.
 
I almost got lost in the wilderness so the old name is far more suitable for what we are about
 
Thanks fellas…

Fair enough.

I don’t consider myself an avid bushcrafter, just somebody who lives out bush. I’ve always been more interested in the homesteading discussions and general thoughts on wilderness living than specific bushcraft techniques or pieces of equipment.

Oh and the ‘Preppers corner’ is usually good for a chuckle…

I suppose the new/original name is a better representation of interests and activities within the forum, and if it can grow membership then so be it.

Incidentally, I am a member of one other forum. That one happens to be a forum for private pilots. And that forum has a very similar problems to what you describe (Paul). Small core of members, mainly old guys, very few younger people or new folks joining.

Over there it was concluded that these old style discussion forums have become less popular compared to more instantly gratifying, less text-based forms of social media.

So something like a bushcraft Facebook page might attract a bigger audience. Perhaps some of you blokes should become ‘influencers’ to draw the crowds in… 🤣

Alan
 
Bushcraft is a very broad church. You may not be interested in the finer techniques and equipment (getting a stone out of a horse's hoof using a Boy Scout)....or are you? Got an axe? Know how to use it and sharpen it? Bushcraft! Know the plants and animals that surround you, and which are venomous/poisonous, which are edible? This is certainly one aspect of bushcraft. Know how to tell the approx. time without looking at your watch? Bushcraft! Tie a few useful knots? Bushcraft! Find North without a compass? Bushcraft. Cut down a tree safely, and without injuring yourself? Bushcraft. Most of the skills and knowledge that you need to live where you do would comfortably fit under the bushcraft roof. So you may not be interested in the finer points of bushcraft or be interested in a book with 'Bushcraft' in the title, but many of us Poms would consider you to be actually living a bushcraft life. I, for one, am jealous.

Consider this: If you were to take the average city-kid, remove his/her smart-phone and set them to work on your 'patch', doing the things that you do, how do you think he/she would fare? I reckon that 90% of the things that you know, and they don't, would all fit comfortably under the bushcraft heading. You may call it country living, small-holding, living in the wilderness, or something else - I call it bushcraft! 😂

A couple of years ago Matt started a Facebook group to mirror the forum - it bombed! I think there was only about five people who joined the group and only Matt and I did any posting. I totally agree that these days social media is considered much more sexy, especially by younger folk, than old fashioned forums, but there are a large number of people who won't go anywhere near social media and find comfort in a forum. The same sort of people who are in your PP forum, I would imagine.
 
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Almost every Face Ache group or page has been infiltrated with spammers, hackers and bots. Facebook is dying a death, and not a moment too soon IMHO.
But as its been mentioned above, maybe we should do more videos and reviews etc, try and re energise the forum? I've tried youtubing before but I'm naff at video editing but still willing to give it a go can't hurt to try
 
cuckoo996 said:
Almost every Face Ache group or page has been infiltrated with spammers, hackers and bots. Facebook is dying a death, and not a moment too soon IMHO.
But as its been mentioned above, maybe we should do more videos and reviews etc, try and re energise the forum? I've tried youtubing before but I'm naff at video editing but still willing to give it a go can't hurt to try
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Hey fellas!

Just read the above. Thanks Paul for your comments and takening my early post in the spirit it was made.

That other forum I mentioned is similar to this one. It probably has a core of about 15 active members and a total of about 50 occasional contributors. Main regular contributors are Aussie but there are also contributors from UK, the States, Italy, Germany , Philippines and even Taiwan!

A discusssion was had many times as to why active membership was declining and so demographically skewed to old blokes. Exactly the same challenges as you describe this forum as facing. The conclusions were pretty much as I gave above ( that discussion forums are ‘old school’), and that other types of media might be more engaging for occasional users ( although probably less informative for people with a serious interest in topics).

Anyway, that forum hasn’t resolved the issue yet and remains built around a small core of active members. If anything, that forum probably has less general appeal than this

Mike’s YouTube clip of the poor girl who lives so austerely that she can’t afford a bra and needs to chop wood is a great example of a content creator who may know little about bushcraft but obviously has awesome powers of social media manipulation. I’m sure she has more followers than this forum has members, all hungry for her bushcraft tips… 🤣

Cheers

Alan
 
Gulfalan67 said:
Hey fellas!

Just read the above. Thanks Paul for your comments and takening my early post in the spirit it was made.

That other forum I mentioned is similar to this one. It probably has a core of about 15 active members and a total of about 50 occasional contributors. Main regular contributors are Aussie but there are also contributors from UK, the States, Italy, Germany , Philippines and even Taiwan!

A discusssion was had many times as to why active membership was declining and so demographically skewed to old blokes. Exactly the same challenges as you describe this forum as facing. The conclusions were pretty much as I gave above ( that discussion forums are ‘old school’), and that other types of media might be more engaging for occasional users ( although probably less informative for people with a serious interest in topics).

Anyway, that forum hasn’t resolved the issue yet and remains built around a small core of active members. If anything, that forum probably has less general appeal than this

Mike’s YouTube clip of the poor girl who lives so austerely that she can’t afford a bra and needs to chop wood is a great example of a content creator who may know little about bushcraft but obviously has awesome powers of social media manipulation. I’m sure she has more followers than this forum has members, all hungry for her bushcraft tips… 🤣

Cheers

Alan
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Tips….yeah
 
I follow her on various social media purely for the tips. To be fair her videos, whilst a tad repetitive are a good reminder of niche skills to follow.

It is possible that she is every bit as skilled as she portrays; if she genuinely loves an outdoors life in an Eastern European nation then it is entirely possible that she practices a range of lifestyle skills that we regard as bushcraft but are just part of everyday rural life. We are in a strange era where traditional skills exist side by side with modern technology and communication networks.

In terms of her bra wearing she did explain that she goes without as she finds it easier to shake bugs, wood chips etc out of her vest tops (off camera) rather than trapping them in multiple layers.

38
 
But to gently steer this back onto topic, you tubers like this young lady are the popular face of bushcraft on social media. Short impactful videos that show simple, usable skills presented with a little smile at the end. We may have to accept that we need to offer more to get people interested, things like the meets draw attention and interest. Paul’s courses in bow making and ancient skills or simply an opportunity to camp with a like minded group.
 
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Ystranc said:
But to gently steer this back onto topic, you tubers like this young lady are the popular face of bushcraft on social media. Short impactful videos that show simple, usable skills presented with a little smile at the end. We may have to accept that we need to offer more to get people interested, things like the meets draw attention and interest. Paul’s courses in bow making and ancient skills or simply an opportunity to camp with a like minded group.
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I've got photos and videos of the bow making course, a 10 minute video of me on the shave horse and a video of Mark and Glen working on their bows. A short video of me and mark shooting our bows.
Anyone any good at video editing?
I've tried making videos in the past, got my own YouTube channel, just no followers, subscribers etc.🙄
So I'm not the fella to make them fir the forum, but can certainly take pictures and videos and give them to someone who knows what they are doing.
 
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