Are Readers Abandoning Pitchfork And Gearslutz?

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:09 am

The short answer: "Kinda looks like it, doesn't it? Hey wow, look at that graph."

The long answer: A few thousand words of investigative journalism. (Don't worry, there are pictures, too.)

Are Pitchfork and Gearslutz Losing Readers?

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:28 am

Hmmm... well, I just gotta WONDER WHY.................

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:03 am

Hey Justin,

Interesing article. I have a few nits, which I will try to enumerate cogently in an e-mail or PM.

One thing-- As a long-time freelance journalist, i'm still waiting for a "living wage."

GJ

standup · Post by **standup** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:07 pm

Is it just me, or does it seem quieter around here too? Seriously, this board seemed to have a lot more traffic a few years ago, I thought. Maybe the online forum fad is crashing and burning. Or everyone's moved to Google+. Or unemployment has gotten so bad that no one can afford an internet connection anymore...?

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:19 pm

it's not you, it's definitely been quiet around here for awhile...

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:03 pm

That may be true, morespace. But I think that's okay.

This article was not trying to say "these two outlets are evil! let's see them go!". It just suggests that we take a look at where our attention has been, and where it might be going. Maybe forums have grown to out-scale their usefulness, and it's due time for a little shrinkage?

The climate of the web isn't the same now as it was when a lot of these forums first launched. Today there's a lot of great, verifiable information out there (and some crap, yes.) There are also some excellent services where people who feel cut off from the studio system of yesteryear can learn about recording and technology.

I can tell you this: I've gotten a lot of direct email about this story. Almost more than I can keep up with. One of my sources for next month's "Readers Respond" section is a former moderator from a similarly giant forum. He preferred not to be named. He did have this to say though:

[The] TOMB is better overall, but for some reason they don't get much traffic. I can't figure that out given the quality of their print magazine; it could be that their users realize that once you figure out where the aim the microphones and how to use a compressor, there really isn't that much to talk about, at least on a daily basis.

Amen to that. I think forums are best when they're used as what they're meant to be: as an accessory to traditional press outlets, and a place where the underrepresented and the basement tinkerers can gain some traction or find some uncommon or esoteric info.

When we ask forums to act as a substitute for authoritative information, maybe we do them, and ourselves, a pretty big disservice? I don't know - What do you think?

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 1:34 pm

unnamed dude wrote: [The] TOMB is better overall, but for some reason they don't get much traffic. I can't figure that out given the quality of their print magazine; it could be that their users realize that once you figure out where the aim the microphones and how to use a compressor, there really isn't that much to talk about, at least on a daily basis.

i think that is pretty accurate. also we no longer have everyone's favorite adversary posting ridiculous shit that naturally resulted in a slew of rebuttal posts.

certainly lower traffic+better content is preferable to higher traffic+more bullshit. and unfortunately they seem to go hand in hand. the mastering board at GS being a perfect example...the trolling i've seen there is just amazing. a lot of heavyweight pros have posted there, and almost invariably they get mercilessly trolled by people who've never mastered anything. which of course leads the pros to not post, and the quality of the board plummets.

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:52 pm

Maybe I should start creating a bunch of inflammatory posts and exert a bunch of energy on that kinda behaviour instead of creating a half-decent mag or mixing albums for nice people.

standup · Post by **standup** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:28 pm

With higher traffic comes a higher number of inflammatory idiots, right? So it's a tradeoff. There are some amazing gems here (dub PA thread)(and many others, that's top of my brain for no good reason) and some stupid shit (Radio Shack EQ thread) but really this board is worth reading most of the time.

percussion boy · Post by **percussion boy** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:09 pm

Re Gearslutz:
I still find GS useful, even if their traffic is down or people feel that the climate has changed.

The Electronic Music board over there has taken over from the old Synth Site board as a place to talk synths, and even with newbies and trolls it's a great place to learn. GS also has technical info in their archives that is unique to that site -- e.g., for sorting out different versions of a mic or how to get parts.
--------
Re TOMB traffic seeming to be less:

As was already said, some people pass through here and go use what they learned.

Also, TOMB is not a natural place to post if you just want to hang, even though there is a community feeling here. The paradigm is a Q-and-A about engineering, which means one is expected to either be asking intelligently or answering knowledgeably. Other than Listening to Music, there's not much room here to just converse, unless you've got recording projects or studio building to talk about.

Not a criticism, just the nature of the beast. Having an Off Topic forum was apparently a nightmare for the moderators, so that's one place you can't loiter any more.

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:15 am

This is definitely one of the friendliest forums I've ever been a part of. Yeah things have been a little slow around here lately but it's still great.

Nice article. I also assumed that the rise of social networking sites was why it was slower around here.

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 5:42 am

TapeOpLarry wrote:Maybe I should start creating a bunch of inflammatory posts and exert a bunch of energy on that kinda behaviour instead of creating a half-decent mag or mixing albums for nice people.

At the very least, start banning people indiscriminately and change the rules with every fresh breeze.

Pro Jules · Post by **Pro Jules** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:49 am

The graph is a total crock. I knew it but checked Gearslutz.com google stats and no such drastic dip in visits has occurred. Its an upwards trajectory, probably the same as this good spot.

Last April however there was a web-wide 'mini dip' for a lot of 'content' websites, via a Google algorithm update. Anyone interested can bone up on that here.. http://searchengineland.com/googles-pan ... -com-75145

BTW this whole thing is down to sour grapes by someone agitated that they were disallowed to divert GS traffic to their blog. Ergo - the sky is falling down.

And Joel you were suspended after repeated warnings not to prank about on serious discussions - so it was your wisecracks on someones thread about being ripped off for recording equipment by a fraudster that earned you the infraction that banned you for 2 months. But that wore off a long time ago...

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:02 am

Hey Jules! Thanks for joining the discussion.

I'm also skeptical of the data. A good portion of the article is about discussing whether it's possible to know anything with certainty about traffic online. A few readers wanted even more info about the criticism of the available stats so I even added a few new links to the editor's sidebar to make those criticisms even easier to find.

If you want to share your own charts or a clarification of your newest policies, I'd be happy to share them in the follow-up piece.

TapeOpHillary · Post by **TapeOpHillary** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 4:33 pm

i just compared the messageboard.tapeop.com stats from compete.com with our own google stats and they're not even the same. whatever. pobody's nerfect

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