Using Forums

In this age of social media and web 2.0, trading, selling, and marketing has evolved tremendously. The exchange of information between consumer and seller are now mostly done through blogs and social media sites. WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo are but several of the many tools an internet marketer has in his or her arsenal in selling his or her products and/or services. The portals I mentioned are the top four go-to mediums when it comes to modern internet marketing.

With that said, some greenhorns, ( and even a few old dogs ) seem to have forgotten one of the oldest, but most effective website format used by old school internet marketers. I'm talking about the use of public forums.

Online forums have been around since god knows when. It was one of the first real "social media" platform introduced on the web. It was a powerful medium before, and it still is up to now. That is "if" you understand how to use it to your advantage. But in order to harness this time tested medium, you must first understand the structure behind it.

What is a forum?

A forum is a website application that lets people discuss a variety of topics through posting. This information sharing method is presented chronologically or in forums speak, through "threads". Forums are designed as open communities, with different levels of membership, and is overseen by moderators.

The bonds that are created inside this web community are strong since each forum caters to a specific niche market. Be it sports, politics, gadgets, music, etc.

For a person to become part of this virtual community, he or she must register first.

Registration

The steps in registering to a forum are pretty simple.

Age - Most forums only accept potential members that are, or over 12 years of age.

Terms of Service (TOS) - As a security precaution, and for legal matters, a forum will present you with its terms of service. A forum's TOS varies from site to site. You must be willing, and say that you agree to their terms of service in order to continue with your registration.

Web Form - After finishing the first two steps mentioned above, you are then given a web form which includes at the very least; a username, password, email and CAPTCHA validation.

A CAPTCHA code is used in order to filter automated bots which can spam the forum.

Rules and Regulation

As in any community, be it real world or virtual, rules must be applied and followed. The people who apply these rules inside a forum are the moderators and administrators.

As a newbie, you will be directed to a thread that holds the rules and regulation of the forum your are in. Forum rules include the aim, and guidelines by the forum creators. These rules are enforced by the moderators. Users also have the power to police their ranks by reporting, or "flagging" a post made by a forum member who violates the rules and regulations of the forum.

The standard operating procedure in forum moderation is for the moderator to first give a warning to a user though a private message. If the user still continuous violating the rules, he or she will be "bay being banned" for a few days. By being banned, a user will not be able to access the site. The last option in forum policing is to ban the IP of the user. A user that is given an IP ban won't be able to log into that website as long as he or she is using the banned IP.

Unlike modern social media websites that pops up then fades away in a span of a few years, there is a reason why forums are still active. Like what I said, it's a virtual community made up of people that shares a common interest.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc, are nothing more but modern versions of a forum. The difference between these social media sites and a regular forum is the reason as to why people are there. Social media sites are mainly for interaction. As a member of such sites, you still need to look for people that share your interest. By using a forum, you immediately become part of the community.