We were debating this internally in spurts, and I have a basic question - why a blog? Why not the forums? just start a topic when you do have a creative idea and get the juices flowing there. Look, we don't have a large user base, so I would be worried we are sending people to multiple sites when it can all be hosted here in a "one-stop-shop". we have the ability to post any fan generated material and social media it so people know it exists as long as we are notified. Hence I am very reluctant to go to a blog much beyond the one Colin runs for news-like notifications and the occasional musing. But...
What do you all think?
Why a blog?
A blog is a continuum of ideas, it has a theme. It is more like reading a regular column in a favourite newspaper. A blog has a reognisable author but it also invites comment directly on the page where ideas can be either challenged or applauded. A post is a visually rich format where media can be placed directly within the content. A blog is a connected medium being able to communicate directly to social media and search engines to announce new content. Blogs are more timely and more often reflect the authors state at that time whereas forums are timeless and it is not uncommon on the forum for a new question being met with a suggestion to search the forum as the question has already been answered.
In the specific case of these forums. You have facebook pages for shadowworld which is one community and you have us here but there is very little crossover. My shadowworld GM follows the facebook pages but never comes here, I visit here daily but do not use facebook. Content is published in the guild companion but then is discussed here. Surely it would be better to have the discussion in the same place so both can be seen in the same context?
You aready have an official blog but you have turned off the option to comment. This post
http://ironcrown.com/blog/2014/10/15/memories-of-minas-tirith/, if you had allowed people to comment probably would have recieved a flood of comments about how wonderful all of those products were, how people are still enjoying them and so forth. The same comments put on Amazon about a current product you would be pleased as punch about. You have Terry actively soliciting positive reviews for RPGNow in one place whilst ignoring a free opportunity to get the same goodwill in print and indexed by the major search engines.
The blog I set up has been live for little more than 24hrs. I have attached a screenshot of the Google Analytics and it has already had 2 organic visits. People who have searched the Google index, seen a site called rolemasterblog.com and wanted to know what was on it. Those two may or may not have been new potential customers, they may or may not go on to become active members of this forum. The point is that the there are thousands of rolemaster sites out there but they were looking for a blog.
Some media channels are all about broadcasting a message, that is what email marketing is all about, some channels are about discussion and that is where an active forum is excelent but some channels are about connecting with people and if you have complex ideas you want to get across such as the directors briefing or TGC articles then in the first quarter of the 21st century a blog is the best tool for the job. It is not the only tool for the job admittedly but then I could bang in nails with a rock but I choose not to.
I think having a section on these forums for fan blogs is a good idea and getting someone to scan them for negative content is a must. I am suggesting that a blog is a good idea and I am prepared to test my assertion by doing it and sharing the findings. It is good that you are discussing it. There is no strong reason for you to leap right in, setting it up for TGC would involve an expense with no proven increase in revenue. Any revenue you are missing out on you have been missing out on for the past 5-10 years so is effectively moot. Let the blog mature, let me publish more content and we will see if it has legs. I will happily give one of the guys from ICE shared access to the analytics account so you can see over time which articles are gathering the best responses, which are ranking the best and the visitor demographics.