The Future Buzz

Software companies, such as Ableton use forums as part of their community building strategy.

Prior to Web 2.0…

Before blogs, before social media, before Facebook and MySpace — message boards and forums reigned supreme. For the uninitiated, they are fragmented, niche communities of like minded people who came together around a common interest.

It’s no surprise that sites like Ning have sprung up in popularity and blogging has taken off in the last few years. There are countless people creating content, trading expertise and working together to learn and socialize around things they are passionate about.

Message boards (or message forums, which ever you prefer) were the start of the modern social web. In fact, they still thrive today and are some of the best resources of information on niche topics around. Continue reading...

As a student in high school, I certainly was thought of by my peers as a “geek” (as if you didn’t guess that already). Putting tags on people is something I never personally understood, although I’ve noticed most do it unconsciously. My peers perceived me as a geek, but the funny thing is it never bothered me. I always embraced what I saw as true to myself and never sacrificed my beliefs or values purely to fit in.

What’s the point of opening this post like this? Well, on the net – what wins? Certainly not the vanilla, not the middle-of-the-road, and not the content that exists purely to fit in. There’s far too much of that in our world, and the web sees through it.