Haymarket agrees sale of PistonHeads to CarGurus
Discussion
Now that the "will the forum die" discussion has been cleared up, could i suggest a change in style similar to reddit for the forums.
I can hear the blood vessels of more senior members popping as i type this, but there is a reason that reddit is so highly regarded on the internet. I don't think it would take much for most members to transition. In fact, i imagine that most are already on it.
With people raging at their screens i might as well put out the rest of my suggestions (in for a penny...)
- Your social media manager needs a lot of help and money (perhaps hiring someone that was born in the 21st century might help)
- Instagram is where the kids are at, but there is still a massive facebook user base to exploit
- Maybe a pistonheads app where people can post car meets in local areas
- More and more short videos until it hurts (Petrolicious is the Halo site for me on this)
- Bring back Dan Trent
- A section off the first page with small and fast articles may prove popular. People will look for the information that interests them and they prefer to look in one place. So doing something similar to Car Throttle won't hurt as long as you keep it separate from the main page with the more fleshed out content.
- To the best of my knowledge there has never been a Sunday Service in Scotland
i assume that the classifieds will be linked to CGs uk classifieds, but will there be a merger of styles?
I guess the challenge will be that you have years of technology catch up and investment required to get back to where you were and regain the lost readers. The best place to start with that will always be with the younger audience.
However the 20-30 somethings (most of whom are on facebook) are most likely to have the disposable cash and probably your target. (there is a reason why all the 90s films are getting remade or sequels)
I can hear the blood vessels of more senior members popping as i type this, but there is a reason that reddit is so highly regarded on the internet. I don't think it would take much for most members to transition. In fact, i imagine that most are already on it.
With people raging at their screens i might as well put out the rest of my suggestions (in for a penny...)
- Your social media manager needs a lot of help and money (perhaps hiring someone that was born in the 21st century might help)
- Instagram is where the kids are at, but there is still a massive facebook user base to exploit
- Maybe a pistonheads app where people can post car meets in local areas
- More and more short videos until it hurts (Petrolicious is the Halo site for me on this)
- Bring back Dan Trent
- A section off the first page with small and fast articles may prove popular. People will look for the information that interests them and they prefer to look in one place. So doing something similar to Car Throttle won't hurt as long as you keep it separate from the main page with the more fleshed out content.
- To the best of my knowledge there has never been a Sunday Service in Scotland
i assume that the classifieds will be linked to CGs uk classifieds, but will there be a merger of styles?
I guess the challenge will be that you have years of technology catch up and investment required to get back to where you were and regain the lost readers. The best place to start with that will always be with the younger audience.
However the 20-30 somethings (most of whom are on facebook) are most likely to have the disposable cash and probably your target. (there is a reason why all the 90s films are getting remade or sequels)
phoenixz said:
The best place to start with that will always be with the younger audience.
However the 20-30 somethings (most of whom are on facebook) are most likely to have the disposable cash and probably your target. (there is a reason why all the 90s films are getting remade or sequels)
Whilst I'm open to the majority of the stuff you've said, my impression is that most (but not all, I admit) 'younger audience' and '20-30 somethings' in this country neither have any interest in cars (bar whether they can connect their phone to it) or the disposable cash to spunk on one even if they did? Am I wrong? It's a genuine question by the way, not a criticism However the 20-30 somethings (most of whom are on facebook) are most likely to have the disposable cash and probably your target. (there is a reason why all the 90s films are getting remade or sequels)
Jack Mansfield said:
Lots of positive stuff and I really really hope he's right although I might have registered somewhere else last night, just in case
Will I still be able to tell people off for using the word tire when they mean tyre or will I have to accept the spelling since our new American cousins are paying to keep the lights on?Having 17 and a half years on the site, I remember well the stink kicked up when "The Lounge" was created with all its sub forums. A few toys were thrown out of the pram that is for sure.
I would like a few upgrades, a thumbs up or down in some forums might be useful for this relative lucker to interact.
Being able to ignore some posters would also make it a more pleasant experience.
But most of all get the classifieds working, I haven't looked at them for years, I used to browse all the time, but most of all we used to create posts with links to actual cars on the site. Get that right and the forums drive traffic to the cars for sale on the site. Cheap private ads might not make much money, but the bargains allowed more linger time on other vehicles.
I've just had another go at the classifieds, truly dire, 0xboring cars, 1x bargain barge, still no site map style with vehicle types and numbers of ads on site - probably too embarrassed at some of the low numbers. How can you generate content about non existent cars.
Given the good natural rankings on search engines, the sheer stickiness of posters hanging round the site on a regular basis, the new owners would be cutting their noses off to spite their faces if they change the forums too much, as it doesn't take much to see kill a site with stupid changes to functionality.
I would like a few upgrades, a thumbs up or down in some forums might be useful for this relative lucker to interact.
Being able to ignore some posters would also make it a more pleasant experience.
But most of all get the classifieds working, I haven't looked at them for years, I used to browse all the time, but most of all we used to create posts with links to actual cars on the site. Get that right and the forums drive traffic to the cars for sale on the site. Cheap private ads might not make much money, but the bargains allowed more linger time on other vehicles.
I've just had another go at the classifieds, truly dire, 0xboring cars, 1x bargain barge, still no site map style with vehicle types and numbers of ads on site - probably too embarrassed at some of the low numbers. How can you generate content about non existent cars.
Given the good natural rankings on search engines, the sheer stickiness of posters hanging round the site on a regular basis, the new owners would be cutting their noses off to spite their faces if they change the forums too much, as it doesn't take much to see kill a site with stupid changes to functionality.
Edited by thepeoplespal on Thursday 6th December 21:10
I know forums are old Skool but they have their place and some of us can't be bothered with Faceache, Instas
te or Snapcrap and feel more comfortable with something familiar that works.
Hopefully CG will take the opportunity to overhaul the forums to make it slick and something that isn't prone to breaking down or slowing to a crawl whenever a pigeon flies past PH towers.
It seems that ads cause many of the problems on here and whilst I know they are definately not going away and help pay for the free to use site, there must be a way of integrating them into the site that doesn't affect the user experience. Phers use adblockers because of way it slows everything down. Phers also know that ads pay for the site and are willing to put up with ads if it doesn't affect the site's usability - the current setup is a nightmare, even now there's a thread in website feedback about the slow performance and people are switching to browsers that block ads.
I appreciate that this frustrates the people running the site as much as its users so maybe a push to modernise at the start will start us all on the right foot. New broom and all that.
te or Snapcrap and feel more comfortable with something familiar that works. Hopefully CG will take the opportunity to overhaul the forums to make it slick and something that isn't prone to breaking down or slowing to a crawl whenever a pigeon flies past PH towers.
It seems that ads cause many of the problems on here and whilst I know they are definately not going away and help pay for the free to use site, there must be a way of integrating them into the site that doesn't affect the user experience. Phers use adblockers because of way it slows everything down. Phers also know that ads pay for the site and are willing to put up with ads if it doesn't affect the site's usability - the current setup is a nightmare, even now there's a thread in website feedback about the slow performance and people are switching to browsers that block ads.
I appreciate that this frustrates the people running the site as much as its users so maybe a push to modernise at the start will start us all on the right foot. New broom and all that.
Tankrizzo said:
Dr Interceptor said:
Whenever a car site that I've been on has been taken over, it tends to mark the beginning of the end.
Usually I would agree but PH is a crap site apart from the community. Articles are mostly rehashed press releases, the classifieds are ste and it's built on dinosaur technology, and the forums are antiquated, cluttered and aimless, so this can only be a good thing. I can't really see how it could be made worse.I don't want like buttons, embedded video, post signatures or anything else... what makes PH so good to use is its simplicity. Keep that and they'll do just fine.
If they must introduce new tech then an image uploader that auto-resizes images might be useful.... apart from that I can think of nothing that needs changing.
Is there an alternative to PH out there? The closest that I can think of is DigitalSpy (and that's not very close).
I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
pingu393 said:
Is there an alternative to PH out there? The closest that I can think of is DigitalSpy (and that's not very close).
I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
CTF? I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
I have been a member for years on this site, the first forum i was a member of was seloc, around the time I sold my Elise(05) i joined here, forgotten my password many times, and had to rejoin with new name etc,and for around a year I couldnt log in due to it not liking my search engine/browser?. I am just a little over 50 years old and I do like to read to gain a bit of knowledge.
As a child i loved comics ,lots of pics and not many words, nowadays I spend my down time reading the old classics ,the only pictures being on the cover!
I joined facebook when it began , but its not for me , signed up for twitter ,,again not for me even if i like the idea of getting your message across in a txt like format.
Not done snapchat,reddit or any other social media .
I like the look of PH
Always use an adblocker so have no complaints about pop-ups ads,
i have never bought a car from the classifieds as I can never get more than 2 pics to load , i get pissed of and browse Autotrader /Ebay or foreign sites like Mobile De/Au etc.
For me I like the forums when you get see something special..ie Popbangabang? and his 911,
There is so much i still havent read , I only started to read Flemke last month!
Went to every Sunday service for a year ,enjoyed the locations and especially the early morning drive across country to get there ,didnt like the boy racer mentality on arrival though and would slip away before the exit displays ....i detest the sound of screeching tyres and audi farts!
So if there is a way of preserving the forum layout for semi-oldies like me and having a comic style forum running parallel for the teenagers, i will still visit ,if not and the site goes all trendy i am out.
As a child i loved comics ,lots of pics and not many words, nowadays I spend my down time reading the old classics ,the only pictures being on the cover!
I joined facebook when it began , but its not for me , signed up for twitter ,,again not for me even if i like the idea of getting your message across in a txt like format.
Not done snapchat,reddit or any other social media .
I like the look of PH
Always use an adblocker so have no complaints about pop-ups ads,
i have never bought a car from the classifieds as I can never get more than 2 pics to load , i get pissed of and browse Autotrader /Ebay or foreign sites like Mobile De/Au etc.
For me I like the forums when you get see something special..ie Popbangabang? and his 911,
There is so much i still havent read , I only started to read Flemke last month!
Went to every Sunday service for a year ,enjoyed the locations and especially the early morning drive across country to get there ,didnt like the boy racer mentality on arrival though and would slip away before the exit displays ....i detest the sound of screeching tyres and audi farts!
So if there is a way of preserving the forum layout for semi-oldies like me and having a comic style forum running parallel for the teenagers, i will still visit ,if not and the site goes all trendy i am out.
Tankrizzo said:
Dr Interceptor said:
Whenever a car site that I've been on has been taken over, it tends to mark the beginning of the end.
Usually I would agree but PH is a crap site apart from the community. Articles are mostly rehashed press releases, the classifieds are ste and it's built on dinosaur technology, and the forums are antiquated, cluttered and aimless, so this can only be a good thing. I can't really see how it could be made worse.At the time I suspect the principle draw was that its used car sales was actually a hell of a lot better than Autotrader for performance cars, not least because you could look for an E90 BMW or similar which you have only just recently been able to do on Autotrader.
soad said:
pingu393 said:
Is there an alternative to PH out there? The closest that I can think of is DigitalSpy (and that's not very close).
I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
CTF? I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
pingu393 said:
soad said:
pingu393 said:
Is there an alternative to PH out there? The closest that I can think of is DigitalSpy (and that's not very close).
I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
CTF? I don't see PH as a motoring forum. I see it as a life forum. I came here as I have an interest in cars, but I very rarely ask a question about my cars - there are model-specific fora for that.
PH's usp is that it is NOT an echo-chamber.
Blib said:
Chew the Fat. Populated . amongst many others, by a handful of banned or disaffected ex-PHers, it actually started as a forum for players of a relatively unknown online game.
EFAI reckon you could literally count the number of regulars over there on the fingers of your hands, these days. And those are mainly people who think that use and occurrence of the C-word is the most sophisticated humour known to man.
It's dead in the water.
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