Declining Participation

[Lou Van Anne]

Is it just me or is anyone else noticing the declining participation here.....

[Mike Sal]

I think the weather has an effect....I've notice the same on other auto sites.

[Chris Pile]

It's declining on nearly every forum I visit on a daily basis..... People hate the internet.

[kmul221]

All clubs have the same fate,there is the Doers & complainers plus a lot of us are not getting any younger.I will be 75 in a few weeks & don't make it out to events as often.

[Garthok]

I don't post unless there is something constructive I can add, or if I need advice. Many of the questions I have are answered in old posts, and replying to old posts is generally frowned on. There are probably many others in the same position, I know I lack the knowledge to contribute to most of the open threads.

[acolds]

I look forward to something of interest to me during the winter especially when the weather is bad and I stay inside . This is a nice place to spend some time when we can't get out outside and have contact with people of same mindset. A group of guys from car cruises meet for lunch and discussions during winter. Our group has Studebakers Packards Hudsons and even a couple of outsiders who have Corvettes

[wittsend]

Studebaker is a brand that hasn't been manufactured in 53 years. You have a predominant age of members between 60-90. You have a season of people being occupied with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years..., Taxes coming up. You have uncomfortable weather affecting a large portion of the country. All these things factor together for the decline. Decline is nothing that can be prevented. There will be fewer Studebaker's and far fewer people interesting in them going forward.

The good old days were yesterday. Rather than concern about declining members, what can be affected is the quality input of those who remain. Frankly even accounting for inevitable decline and seasonal causes this is a rather active and vibrant forum. I'm on another forum (the only existing one for the specific car) with total build numbers on par with Studebaker. So, there is justification for comparison. Over there we get one..., maybe two posts a day. That happens in about five minutes here.

[Lou Van Anne]

The AOAI forum is not very active either....

[rockne10]

..... People hate the internet.

I seriously doubt that's true, nor any reason for Lou's observation.

[Joe V]

I belong to a number of different forums with the strongest ones since 1999. Some of these forums barely have a pulse now since most members have transitioned to Facebook or Instagram. I honestly think this forum is very active in comparison but I've only been a member for a couple years. The Stude FB and IG pages that I subscribe seem to have minimal activity but then again, I'm not on FB nearly as much as I used to be.

[2R5]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Facebook, a lot of Studebaker owners frequent Studebaker Addicts

[packard352]

Joe, your observations are correct regarding SDC and Facebook. I am honestly amazed by the casual and limited content posted there.

The Studebaker Owners Club UK has a Facebook page, which took off shortly after it was setup with members around the globe.

Activity needs to be frequent and one would have thought that with the clout the SDC could bring to the table, the Museum, the Archive and the ability to link stuff to the Forum, it would have a real edge.

I’m astonished that SDC hasn’t set up a Twitter account either in which content and activity could be orchestrated.

It is little excuse to abdicate responsibility when continually complaining the membership is dwindling year on year, or SDC isn’t attracting a younger audience ~ little wonder really.

And that’s not to forget activating a YouTube channel that could be prolific with content.

Seems to me the directors of SDC shy away from a truly digital strategy and tactics that could make a difference to and for SDC, but prefer to offer banners and trying to incentivize a dwindling membership with inducements to try and find a new member. The tactic is okay, but this won’t drive the scale and volume required to turn the corner... just my very humble opinion, of course 🙂

[t walgamuth]

I don't post unless there is something constructive I can add, or if I need advice. Many of the questions I have are answered in old posts, and replying to old posts is generally frowned on. There are probably many others in the same position, I know I lack the knowledge to contribute to most of the open threads.

I am not ashamed to reply to an old thread if it looks pertinent. Folks who like to make fun of us can go jump in the lake! They're just trying to show off in a silly way.

[ddub]

I agree that activity is down. When I come on I click the what's new button to see new posts on all pages. In the past I would often get more than one page. Now I usually get 12 - 15 new posts. I visit the Face Book groups but find this format more useful.

[StudeRich]

Not to mention the Horrible lack of logical Format, the problem I see with most Studebaker Facebook Sites is; there are more casual Looky Lou's, curiosity seekers, "Studebaker Historians" and Studebaker wanna-be's, than Actual Owners, that lend no value, except maybe Pictures, with no description or information.