Posts: 31054
-
Karma: 29,240
My favorite thing about newschoolers: it IS freeskiing.
Freeskiing is still in its infancy, and is by no means a large sport yet. However, I cannot think of another site that has a similar influence in the discipline it revolves around, where the participants can express their thoughts and the industry can (and does) grow upon that feedback.
Think about it, there are THOUSANDS of kids, adults, industry members, content creators, brands, and sponsors all connected through this one site. There are members from all over the world who are able to pitch in their thoughts, ideas, videos, photos, words, anything they want into the mix. That means that in theory, and often in practice, any member with an idea can have a ripple effect that is heard throughout the ENTIRE sport. Whatever is consumed by some of the youngest visitors can also be seen by the big wigs at any of the major ski industry companies, and whoever wants to build upon the idea is more than able to do so. EVERYONE PLAYS A ROLE.
It's fucking fantastic that as a site, Newschoolers realizes the power it holds within and plays to its strengths. The home page and rating system are a damn good example that the members (aka the ones passionate about the sport) are the ones that determine what direction we head in. It's not a select few given the power to decide what's cool and what isn't, its everyone has the ability to join together in pushing the latest trends. NS has taken this standard concept of media control, ripped it up, and tossed it out in the garbage.