What are we missing...?

[Zemke Fan]

It being August and hot/humid, I've been clicking around the cyber-universe from the comfort of my air-conditioned home office and it's gotten me thinking about the limits to the various kinds of digital experiences I seek/find/enjoy....

And, the more I've thought about this, the deeper my conviction has become that something's missing. It's like a whole galaxy has disappeared that I never knew was there...

1. Blogs

Where to even start on this topic. Blogs have gone from zero to a zillion in less than 10 years. Now everyone with a thought in their head and a digital camera in their pocket (yeah, they really ARE glad to see you) can be a blogger. So, how does a guy/gal decide what (if any blogs) to follow?

Plus, and maybe it's just me, but the whole newest > oldest posts, scroll down the page, then on to the next page (ad infinitum) routine just seems (still) so cumbersome and limiting. And, I can NEVER find what I'm really looking for, so I just keep wading through posts, looking at the photos and never (really) reading the prose...

2. Forums

As you can see, I've been a member here for almost five years and a bartender for about half that time. So, you don't have to sell me on the value of places such as this. But it's not a perfect fit for me either. When I sign on (at least three or four times a day) there are generally 60-150 threads with new posts. Who can keep up with all of that?

And SO, SO, SO many threads REALLY DO deserve the smilie: worthlesswithoutpics

And then -- on the other extreme -- are threads (such as "What hat are you wearing today?") that DO have lots of photos but are burdened down with a gazillion useless butt-pat ("nice hat!") replies.

Of course forums are great ways for like-minded people to get together in a community, but once they reach a certain size in users/rooms/threads/posts it gets to be a little overwhelming (both for the users and the moderators).

3. Cool Stuff (Catalog) Sites

Wouldn't it be great to have a way for a community such as this to have a spot where we could keep track of either cool modern (new) things for sale or great vintage items up for auction on eBay? Something like a constantly updated catalog where you could find the things that make you drool? AND, wouldn't it be wonderful if the apparel, shoes, and accessories were shown on actual people?

So, here are my questions for ya'll:

• What kind of digital/mobile place would you like to have built just for you?
• Would it be a mobile app? A digital magazine? An image-rich forum? A multi-company/site catalog?
• What would be the defining characteristics of such a spot?
• Would it be heavy to photos/video and light on prose? Or, should it have longer articles written by pros/experts?
• Would you be willing to pay for it?

DISCLAIMERS:

This is just me asking you guys for some thoughts. I'm NOT trying to change The Fedora Lounge. I'm just thinking that I'm missing something from my online experience. Something that I'd probably be willing to spend a few bucks a month on if I just knew what it was...

 

[Marc Chevalier]

IMO, as fora grow, they eventually reach and pass an invisible "tipping point." Problem is, no one knows for sure where that point is until long after it has been crossed. By then, it's too late: the fora become increasingly watered-down ... less a community than a large rest stop. I'm not saying that the Fedora Lounge has passed its tipping point yet, but I'm not ruling it out, either.


To answer your question, I'd like to "have built just for me" (yeah, right!) a vintage forum that would be structured like The Fee Verte Absinthe Forum. http://www.feeverte.net/forum/ Look at the horizontal menu strip just below the website's title. You'll find an "absinthe buyer's guide", "galleries", and "reference", as well as the forum itself. It would be great to have something similar for, well, a place like the Fedora Lounge.


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

No thoughts on this at all? Perhaps it's a rehash?


.

 

[Paisley]

Something that combines the sublime and the ridiculous.

 

[Mav]

Fred, maybe I can help- not to the specific questions, but to an overall philosophical approach to what you're talking about.

I've been messing with 'net discussion since the usenet days, on boulder freenet originally, for g-d's sake (the internet in DOS- not pretty). I'm also an admin and mod on several (mostly Masonic) fora.
There's been sort of a de- evolution. It's moved from discussion within a given interest (bb's and forums) to individual preaching in short bites (blogs and so- called "social networking" sites). It's resulted in a larger, post- modernish "all opinions are equally valid" internet culture, that is actually starting to bleed over into meatworld. Earnest discussion devolving into complete narcissism. I don't dig it, which is why I'm searching for a small island with no online access or cellphone coverage to move to.

This forum (and I've only been a member since Jan. of this year) still retains the vitality of the old days, due, I think, to the intense interest in a certain sort of lifestyle, by pretty cool people with something of an old- fashioned sensibility. Most forums are slowly dying. This one isn't.

I have no conclusion to this, and I'm not even sure it's on- topic. Just sayin'. FWIW. YMMV. ROTFLMAO. Or something.

 

[Pompidou]

Personally, I wouldn't change anything. This site gets the job done. You need an answer, you get one. You want to see what a hat looks like, you can. There isn't much you can't do with a simple forum site and a diverse enough community.

 

[Mav]

Personally, I wouldn't change anything. This site gets the job done. You need an answer, you get one. You want to see what a hat looks like, you can. There isn't much you can't do with a simple forum site and a diverse enough community.

What he said.

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's been sort of a de- evolution. It's moved from discussion within a given interest (bb's and forums) to individual preaching in short bites (blogs and so- called "social networking" sites). It's resulted in a larger, post- modernish "all opinions are equally valid" internet culture, that is actually starting to bleed over into meatworld. Earnest discussion devolving into complete narcissism. I don't dig it, which is why I'm searching for a small island with no online access or cellphone coverage to move to.

This forum (and I've only been a member since Jan. of this year) still retains the vitality of the old days, due, I think, to the intense interest in a certain sort of lifestyle, by pretty cool people with something of an old- fashioned sensibility. Most forums are slowly dying. This one isn't.

I agree with this 100 percent. I *intensely dislike* maybe 90 percent of the "Web 2.0" internet -- which seems to me to revolve around people who don't know anything preaching authoritatively to those who don't even suspect anything, the level of discourse being about equal to what you might find in a parking lot behind a bar at 3 o'clock Saturday morning. That's a big part of the reason the Lounge is the only online forum I currently participate in -- there are lots of opinions here, but they're by and large *informed* opinions, and those that aren't don't stick around long.

The Lounge isn't perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than the alternatives.

 

[Vintage lover]

What he said.

Agreed. And if you are specifically looking for something, the search tool has always worked well.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

That's a big part of the reason the Lounge is the only online forum I currently participate in -- there are lots of opinions here, but they're by and large *informed* opinions, and those that aren't don't stick around long.

And of those people who aren't informed, some (such as myself) are willing to learn. For example I thought old appliances were universially power hogs until you, Lizzie Maine informed otherwise. Now that I know that, I would have no problem using an old fridge in a house. :eusa_clap

 

[Mav]

people who don't know anything preaching authoritatively to those who don't even suspect anything,

That's a great description. I'm going to unashamedly steal that.

 

[Zemke Fan]

This is NOT...

I repeat, NOT, a Fedora Lounge criticism thread. Here's my point: Say you're a guy interested in learning about everything related to men's style. How do you handle all of the Internet overload/noise? Do you wade through it on your own? Rely on an aggregator site to help you stay current? Just give up and go live on an island with no Internet? (Not a bad idea, BTW.) And what about other medium: print, video (TV), etc. Is it / has it all been said and done?

My point is that there are a LOT of people thirsting (I surmise) for something more, something real... Where can we find it?

Marc, I looked at the Absinthe site and agree that it has many of the elements that I'm talking about. But it's STILL not there. Where are the interesting photos? Where are the provocative essays?

 

[Beaubeau]

My point is that there are a LOT of people thirsting (I surmise) for something more, something real... Where can we find it?

Marc, I looked at the Absinthe site and agree that it has many of the elements that I'm talking about. But it's STILL not there. Where are the interesting photos? Where are the provocative essays?

My theory is that this is why printed media will never truly go completely away.

Sure, Twitter and Youtube'll give you the latest on the Iran protests and the Pakistan floods, but when it comes down to it, the old adage is true: "Good things take time". To be provocative, you simply have to think about anything more than a spilt-second 99% of the time. Heck, 95% you'll have to think about whatever you thought about even more than you thought about it before, and refine it several times.

To make others think, you yourself have to think, and that is what the role of the printed media will likely end up being in the days to come: Less of an information source about things, more of a source about how and what to think about the information source about things and why we should be thinking about these things.

 

[Lady Day]

I dont think there will ever be one paramount of that type. Isnt the accumulation of knowledge a lifelong journey? The internet just makes wading through all the shluck more difficult, but like with shopping, its the hunt, baby.

I mean there are a lot of places, blogs websites, rich with content. Generally they have a large user base, and you take from there, pick from here, and build on your personal mountain of knowledge, right?

Thats how I see it.

LD

 

[Zemke Fan]

The FL, isn't perfect...

The Lounge isn't perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than the alternatives.

Here's what I'm driving at... Say you are really, really, really interested in Stetson hats from the 1940s and 1950s. We have a LOT of great threads here that have been started and nurtured by the whole community. BUT, the whole look at all the posts on one page, go to the next page, skip over the FIVE "nice hat" comments which (inevitably) include ALL of the original photos, go on to page 37...

How do you get to the meat of any topic? How do you reconcile some good photos with many bad? Some authoritative/useful posts and some that are just -- how to put this nicely -- totally useless? Forums, blogs, and MOST awfully comments on blog posts just don't do it for me. There's got to be a better way to slice/dice/organize all of this.

Isn't there???

 

[Zemke Fan]

I'm with you brother bear...

My theory is that this is why printed media will never truly go completely away.

I think that magazines have a place, but magazine publishing economics is a VERY arcane and convoluted discipline that's currently as topsy-turvey as the newest ride at a Six Flags theme park.

Take the men's magazines I read -- Esquire and GQ -- for example. Because of their astronomical ad rates only luxury brand makers with their incredible markups can afford to advertise. So the editorial, too, gets skewed towards that extreme high end. $500 flannel shirts? $5,300 suits? Come on. Get real. Where are the publications for the rest of us?

 

[Zemke Fan]

Yeah, but...

I mean there are a lot of places, blogs websites, rich with content. Generally they have a large user base, and you take from there, pick from here, and build on your personal mountain of knowledge, right?

Thats how I see it.

LD

Who the heck REALLY has time for that? It's like a full time job! And what if you're interested in a wide variety of subjects? Do you just say peruse the NYT and call it a day?

 

[Zemke Fan]

Well, not exactly...

Agreed. And if you are specifically looking for something, the search tool has always worked well.

Ready, set, go... Give me a side-by-side comparison of every Stetson Stratoliner hat from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s that's ever been posted herein. Tell me -- better still, show me -- every possible variation of the hat (high res/in focus photos, please), give me some comprehensive data on how the model changed over time, and give me a statistical analysis of what the eBay market has been like over the past three years.

Now, every single piece of data is here (save the photos)... But good luck putting it together into something REALLY useful in a week or less! (And that's just one example!)

 

[Fletch]

Who the heck REALLY has time for that? It's like a full time job! And what if you're interested in a wide variety of subjects? Do you just say peruse the NYT and call it a day?

The renaissance personality is outmoded. Diversity is suspect. If you can't specialize - and refocus your specialty at the snap of a finger - you're of little interest and no use.

This is why I don't blog. Web 2.0 cuts both ways - you can do your own thing only as long as you can reach others who share your own thing. And it better be searchable thru easy keywords, and give the folks a lot of what they came for.

Busy people don't have time or the mind set for serendipity, and nowadays, if you ain't busy, you ain't people.

 

[Zemke Fan]

I don't blog...

Because when I'm writing a feature-length article (1,500 - 3,000 words) I'm writing and rewriting it right up until the deadline. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to stuff that appears under my byline. Or, put another way, I favor quality over quantity. (Boy, you wouldn't know it by this thread, would you?)