Wakeworld site activity
 

Over the last year or so I have noticed the activity on this site slowing down (just my observation, zero statistical data), has anyone notice the same thing?

Big time. I think the golden era of Wakeworld and wakeboard forums has passed. It's kind of a shame, the old days of WW were great.

Social Media has changed SOOO much since the incarnation and heyday of Messaging Boards. There are still a ton of wakeboarders out there, but most of the discussion activity is occurring on other social media platforms.

That is exactly what I was thinking.

I want to say that I am not affiliated with WW, just want to figure out how to keep this place alive.

What do you think we can do in order to help generate more traffic for WW?
More Videos?
Tutorials?

Swift troll removal would help. A 1,2,3 strikes you're out would be great.

It seems the site used to be geared towards the actual sport of wakeboarding or DIY mods. Now almost all the discussions focus on new boats or surfing/surf waves.

That's all true. Wakeboarding has slipped a bit in popularity and back then, wakeboarding was still relatively new and boat makers were still figuring things out. That frontier has largely been passed. Now, it's the surfing getting the attention. DIY threads don't exist as much because the boat makers have listened to the consumers and made it unnecessary to even have to do many projects. Most stuff that people were doing to customize their boats back then come as stock or optional features now.

Yea I hate to jump on the wakesurf bashing but it seems like every post is which boat makes the best wave or how to dial in a surf wave

I don't mind jumping in on that. Its such a let down when you see a post about WAKE set up or WAKE picture etc. and it turns out the post is about the boat's wave.

As for lack of content, I wonder if there are others out there like me. I'm not good enough that people would want to watch some home made edit nor is there a lack of information out there on how to complete a trick that I am working on. That sort of encompasses my online activity with the sport. I watch those that are better and then research what I want to do next.

Also its not worthwhile to comment on boat threads because everyone is a "fanboy" if they happen to love their boat or a particular brand.

Really about the goals of the site owner I guess. Is it to sell ads, in which case the popularity of surfing can't be ignored, or is it to be a purist wakeboarding site, in which case it can probably maintain a niche like ballofspray and foilforums.

The fact that the wakeboat manufacturers themselves are also very focused on surfing doesn't really help the purist wakeboard-centric vision tho.

Surf boats are more difficult to dial in these days, so there are more questions related to that topic. Almost every boat can throw a decent enough wakeboard wake with little effort.

+ 1 The ideas listed already. Also:
- Many people have simply moved on, and younger generations aren't aware/interested in forums.

-Forums often have the same/similar questions asked over and over, and after a while people tire of answering the "which board should I buy", "how do I get wake to wake...". I don't mind answering them, but they sometimes get repetitive. Many people can just google /youtube what they want, taking away the need for the forum also.

-Hating on tricks, gear, boats, style and anything else doesn't tend to breed happiness or return visitors. Not mentioning any names, but there's way this stuff can be said more tactfully. I remember another popular forum and website that I stopped going to for that very reason.

Forums are not a thing of the past. I'm not sure if you guys have other hobbies, but if you do, you would know that the forums are bursting at the seams. So many users and so much activity. When I got into wakeboarding, that was one of the biggest disappointments. There is almost zero discussion online.

The biggest thing for me has been the lack of discussion on products. It sees like everyone is a fanboy on their brand and thats it. Noone actually discusses whats good and whats bad. Anytime I've needed a replacement board/binding/line/jacket all I have struggled to find any information. In my opinion that really brings the sports and community down. We all want to pretend to be able to wakeboard 7 days a week, but in reality we have other things in our lives that stop us from going more than X days a week/month. Talking about equipment is usually a good outlet....

I split my time between WW and r/wake now ; https://www.reddit.com/r/Wake/

Mostly because I was already a reddit user...but also because I'm sick of the "Board buy suggestion tips" threads that flood this site.

I remember the good ol days of WW. I was VERY heavily involved in these forums circa 2002-2010ish (Top 100 poster under a different account name which I now can't remember." murrayair", or something like that). WW was a HUGE community, with thousands of new comments/posts every day across tons of threads. Around 6 years ago, I kind of drifted away from the online community (although, not wakeboarding itself) due to college, work, girlfriend, multiple severe knee injuries, etc. I came back to WW about a year ago and was completely shocked and saddened at how big the falloff in forum activity has been. It's a ghost town now compared to what it was.

I know a ton of people still wakeboard, wakesurf, and wakeskate, so the involvement hasn't gone down that much. It's just, like Tom said, that people have migrated to less centralized places– i.e. individual company/rider FB and IG pages. It's a real shame, too. Some of the best people I've met and the best times I've had in my life were a result of the WW forums.

I've been a member here for about 10 years and before that was lurking the site since the early 2000's. What got me here was the non-community content, specifically the wakeboard reviews. There aren't any anymore. The powers that be didn't even bother to put up a section for 2016 boards. 2015 only has Liquid Force boards. 2014 is empty. 2013 is missing some notable players like Slingshot. Couple that with wakeboarding waning in popularity due largely to the rise of wakesurfing and the waning popularity of discussion forums in general and I'm surprised this site still gets as much traffic as it does. It's a testament to how devoted this community is. We are now in the unenviable position that slalom skiers were in around the turn of the century. We were the "in" watersport and now we're not.

We've also for all practical purposes hit peak equipment performance. We don't really need bigger wake. Boats today put out as much wake as most of us can handle. The suction battle is over. Bindings today lace sufficiently tight. We've done flexboards. We've done all of the cores we can. We've done as much as we can with rockers and fins. We've done cable boards vs boat boards. Progress will still happen but it will be slow. I imagine this community will still exist but I don't expect to to expand. I'm very grateful for everything I've learned here but as other people have mentioned, its heyday is over.

I have been here since before the beginning and still pop in almost every day. I think it is just a matter of time. We have seen the site get big/small/big over the years as times change. I personally find myself more not he Non-wake discussions than the wake. I think with equipment/boats not changing a ton year to year, there is less to talk about. I do get sick of all the bashing and nonsense, but that happens on all the forums I am on. I belong to many BBQ/Traeger/Smoker and Auto forums and it happens all the time there. I appreciate that I can learn about the topic and talk with similar minded folks and I just ignore the non sense.

WW is still a great resource IMHO.

Honestly it may sound weird but I sorta like the "trolls". One of my favorite places to read wake content is alliance video comments. There is a whole lot of hate on peoples style and what not there. I think its hilarious! To me wakeboarding is really undergoing a style overhaul. Over the years the progression has been focused on boat tech, equipment and getting that extra 180 in. All of which is still happening but I think the new frontier is not what you do but how you do it. Everyone is realizing that to keep the sport alive we have to get creative and make wakeboarding look good/cool and most of all fun. The real game is just getting started. I don't think forums are dead especially not this one. It's just slow.

^^2nded. @wakezeach is what's up

I too have been coming here for a long time and dropping in is part of the fabric of my life. A little break from the office work during my day.

Since joining in 2002 I paid off my student loans and purchased my first new boat, purchased my first water front home, started my own company, purchased a vacation home, marriage, kids. It is amazing the number I times I gathered pieces of information on any and all of those subjects from Wakeworld's forums. There is an incredible amount of information deposited under the search button and I like the varying topics.

At times I would wander away for months, like when I got into dirtbikes and spent a lot of time at my other favorite daily drop in forum KTMTalk. Now things seem to be coming full circle as my 9 year old has caught the watersports bug big time and I find myself more active again.

For me there is not a better place to gather information. When the boat breaks down, when purchasing new equipment, to teaching your kids, to battling the Toytoa dealership or researching coolers.

I may be a little old school in the social media game but when you need some real information you cannot beat the post or search button here at Wakeworld.

Don't get me started on the search button... most of these "how much ballast" and "which boat" post could be resolved if people would do a couple of searches and make their own opinions instead of letting someone else tell them which boat is right for them

I agree with Tim. Generally I ignore the trollers and there is no way to stop that. The wealth of information and quality of the discussions are awesome. I have met so many people here that are still friends after all these years with WW being our connection and wakeboarding being at the core.

True but I can skip over the repeat threads. Everybody at some point is new to the sport and site and stoked about the possibilities, that is what generates these questions.

...but search to find out why your oil buzzer is coming on while the gauge is correct. $10 at autoparts store with 5 min install.

Find out why your Malibu gauges are fogging and the solution or why your oil pressure needle jumps.

Find out who is producing good quality replacement skins or the best staple gun for the job.

Find out about a NC lake vacation rental that you are thinking of taking your boat along.

Learn that your Toytoa transmission will fail becasue the torque converter in a picture is not taken apart correctly.

There are people from every walk of life who take the time to provide solid information and advise. Sometimes you don't know the question but you learn something just by lerking.

That is why I have hung around since 2002 and maybe one day I will figure out if my earned points are worth anything.

I am new to WakeWorld (relative to others on here) and i find this forum very difficult to use. Posting phots, replying, etc has been something I don't do to often just b/c of the hassel involved in it.... I enjoy logging in and connecting with other folks who wakeboard, but if there is concern about this forum slowing down maybe it is a sign that WakeWorld should adjust to the times and make the software more compatible with all of the cell phones, tablets, laptops and desktops. Along with the adjustments WakeWorld can also consider how to make it more attractive to new comers.

Interesting point Alex. Got me thinking, like most forums and social media, ultimately we're the ones who have to generate content and then interact with it.

Yes it has gone downhill since we lost Da Moose

Da Moose - Is live and doing well. He often checks in here, but got sick of everyone bash him so he chooses to stay away. He often chimes in at Wakeboarding Hall of Fame and posts alot on his social media.

A few years all of the old guys (I'm so I can say that) pissed off all of the cable riders and the young guys packed up their stuff and left. Now it is an older group. When you get older you are more interested in healthcare and politics that wakeboarding.

History has proven that it is all wakeboarding and that was the biggest goof in the history of the site. Heck, I got slammed in that thread for standing up for the future (youth) of the sport...

Good point, kind of forgot how all the keyboard no-it-all's who now just wakesurf were always experts on what was legit or not on cable.

To many 100+k boats making it harder and and harder for entry level riders to afford the sport. And those white collar guts for the most part are not diy 'ers which slows down all the good threads leaving the site with zero substance. Then there's the trolls..,those bastards!

I've always been on the young end of things (still only 20) but I remember even being around on the old forums and beta testing this new site for Dave (what seems like) a long time ago. I remember seeing the same names helping out in the boats and accessories section and the trick tips and the sense of community was prominent. I feel like a handful of the guys who really checked in everyday and had constructive things to add to threads have either lessened their presence or disappeared. I'm not saying they're obligated to or that their job was to contribute but I feel that the WW OGs if you will were the ones that kept it alive. IMO most of what I read now is bickering about what boat has the tallest surf wave or which one of nine different surfboards is going to be the best riding board for riding without the rope, and a lot of the pure wakeboarders sort of turn their nose up at that. So while a lot of our community is wakeboard only, yet the content or at least forum activity is tipping in the surf direction, we see a slowdown of participation across the board.

giving a shout out to all that ride boat, cable, board, surf, skate, barefoot, etc. This is called WAKEworld not wakeboard world. Surfers, skaters, barefooters, should all be welcome to just chime in and catch the lake vibe online. Whether the lake vibe is riddle with cable rats, boaters, or just people trying to chill.

^^^Word!

It can be a river vibe or bay vibe too though, right?:)

Same observation from 3 years ago:

"A decline in WakeWorld? Or a decline in the industy?"

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=798718

What's Wakeworld?

The young wakeboard party shredders and outlaws have moved on as above to Instagram , not concerned with posting their riding as their hang group and the ever famous selfie with their gangs

Also, even though lots of youngsters from parents on this forum go ahead and take and enjoy their beatings, but this very young generation of would be wakeboard shredders have grown up watching our crazier generation slam and the really don't want that for themselves, same but age appropriate for the older surfers and the self employed who have to climb that ladder on Monday, even Spencer at wakemakers said, " we open same time Monday whether I'm hurt or not. I still relish the air and next year after my femur nail butterfly fracture repair(from a Flowrider I had 21hours and thousands of falls on till plus one of 23rd hour) may be ready , went to work as a contractor bookkeeper on crutches,l last year , boss liked my dedication 1week after surgery, but some bosses don't want to see that either, so your wakeboard activity/posts decline is severely affected by this