This is interesting -- probably interesting to some but also detrimental to the long term future of this forum.

Marko_Mrko wrote:

]  Agree completely. Personally I like the forums, I worry the days are numbered. Hopefully not, but Barry is likely in the best position to know the changes in numbers over the last few years.

For me, the online experience has changed phenomenally over the past quarter century. Before AlgonquinAdventures got its own domain name, it was personal space on my service provider's server. I was able to scrounge complementary extra space from a women's social server in Boston and I was moderating Bell-Sympatico's Outdoor Adventures Forums. In those days, email was also very much used to communicate one-on-one. Emails came in from all over the globe .. Taiwan, Israel, Germany, Texas, etc. .. even the odd phone call, and even the odd house visit!

Looking back, I'd call 2005 to 2015 the website's peak decade. John Winters and I were having phone chats. A forever-memorable AA get-together occurred on Booth Lake in 2007. And with the ABR forming in 2008, there were regular in-house meetings with group executive, periodic in-park meetings with senior park staff. There was even serious progress regarding LNT. Participation in website competitions became regular .. involving poems, photography and trip-logs. And numerous regular park staff were known to be following the forum.

However, with the rise in the popularity of social media (such as Facebook), there has been a pronounced drop-off in participation by "newbies" and "peripheral" individuals. Emails and phone calls from readers have become a thing of the distant past. Website and forum involvements have become more the realm of experienced "Algonquinites" .. submitting, sharing and discussing their experiences and opinions.

When I wander over to some Facebook group pages, I see the "beginners'" comments and questions that used to be the staple of Algonquin Adventures' early days. However, the casual and brief nature of FB's conversations deters me from jumping into that fray. AlgonquinAdventures' main content is now its Trip-log Inventory and  PCI Project. That's what it has evolved and distilled into. And its forum discussions have become the territory of more experienced and "wordy" individuals. 

"Social media?" was the OP's subject-heading. I believe that social media like FB has drawn many casual and brief communicators away from protracted forum discussions.

If I may be a bit cheeky, "A place for everyone, and everyone in their place."

Cyberspace seems to have room for everyone.  Personally, I'm an AA guy, and don't have any social media accounts (I guess this is a social media account...).  

My tripping started in 1980 and I was pretty regular about it until 2000.  Then a 16 year layoff....(raising a family and had limited vacation time).  In 2016, when I needed to catch up to equipment, and had all kinds of general questions - this was my place.  I've tried to return the favor when the opportunity has presented itself, but I can't tell you  how grateful I've always been to the many contributors on this site.  Often times people enjoy a hobby in the same way they enjoy a secret fishing hole, but not here.  Here, the willingness to share, the patience for simple questions....fantastic.

I notice that the overall traffic isn't what it was a few years ago, but this remains the go-to site for me.  Not discounting the usefulness of other folks using social media, also great resources.  But I'll always have a special place in my heart for AA.  

Where else would I post my inane trip reports?  Where else could I make terrible guesses at WIA?

BarryB wrote:

If I may be a bit cheeky, "A place for everyone, and everyone in their place."

Let me start off by saying I love this forum, and appreciate all of the work that goes into maintaining it.
I also appreciate the people here who use it and make it what it is. We may not all agree on some things, but I believe we agree on most things. 

I don't have a massive social media presence, as I don't really have the time (kids and all), but I do lurk in the interwebs to consume as much content as I can. I think one of the downsides of this forum is that it is easier for "newbies" to find what they are looking for on reddit, Facebook, Youtube etc. 
You can find good routes, recipes, tips etc. on these platforms, and they are more familiar with them already.

What they are not getting is the deeper insight into the Park, the history, the PCI project, and the lived experiences that this forum provides. Any chance I get I will recommend this site and hopefully they enjoy it as much as I do. 
It is fairly rare to have such a concentration of like minded people focused on one goal, dream, location. 

Thanks again!
 

MartinG wrote:

Sort of diverging away from Drew's orginal post, soorrry.

   

Meh, I think the conversation that’s developed out of this is much more interesting than my original post.