Is Newschoolers taking a hit from social media?

IMO - Since NS is big on insta and FB, their posts and stories likely drive a lot of people back to the forums to read about something happening. They do a lot of “swipe up to join the discussion/see what the news is.” That easily throws new users to the forums. Website media may be taking a hit, but if they have social outlets set up there’s a great opportunity to drive traffic back to the home base.

STEEZUS_CHRI5TI noticed on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube that you can follow all kinds of skiing related content (shocker). Ski clips, memes, gear review, video blogs, crash videos, photos...etc. It’s a really good way to stay and the loop and I feel that the best content is on these platforms. Does anyone else feel that this is taking away from the NewSchooler community? Has anyone noticed a change?

Yes. In the past things here were much more active.
Now I post some videos and very few views and folks rarely leave a comment anymore. Kinda sad.

It's not at all what it used to be. Still, I will do my part by continuing to post my silly video series "Bachelor Parks Real Laps" and others.

This has been posted about many times it seems.
Looks like Instagram is all the rave now. As for me, I'm not going there. I don't even have a "smart" phone!

This isn't even up for debate. Social media has done significant damage to many forums and web-based communities. I used to browse so many different forums for topics like skiing, computer hardware, networking and security, chans and similar sites, airsoft, anime, Runescape and other games, bmx, skateboarding, etc. I literally can just go to Reddit or use something like Facebook or Insta and find more active communities and sub-communities than what's left of these websites. I don't use either Facebook or Insta due to privacy and political reasons and Reddit is 99% trash and turning every post into an anti Trump post (Orange Man Bad). I hate where the internet is going but there is no stopping it. People are lazy, trendy, and aren't tech savvy. Social media is convenient for them and they will sell their souls and privacy for it.

WoosThis isn't even up for debate. Social media has done significant damage to many forums and web-based communities. I used to browse so many different forums for topics like skiing, computer hardware, networking and security, chans and similar sites, airsoft, anime, Runescape and other games, bmx, skateboarding, etc. I literally can just go to Reddit or use something like Facebook or Insta and find more active communities and sub-communities than what's left of these websites. I don't use either Facebook or Insta due to privacy and political reasons and Reddit is 99% trash and turning every post into an anti Trump post (Orange Man Bad). I hate where the internet is going but there is no stopping it. People are lazy, trendy, and aren't tech savvy. Social media is convenient for them and they will sell their souls and privacy for it.

This guy basically nailed it, NS in 2009 was huge, just like every other forum/online community, it WAS social media before social media

I recently started using Newschoolers again since 2014/2015. It felt very different and I had my suspicions. The feedback is bitter sweet, thanks for the input guys but this confirms what I dreaded.

Times def. changed. But we are the "roots". We won`t die first ;-)

The last few years I took on too much adulting which left me with less time to jump on NS. I've returned more frequently this winter to see that things have definitely changed. The uptick in content and NS acting as a media content platform is great and very important for the long term sustainability of the site. It was a smart move to double down on this direction.

That being said, I do miss the forum conversations (once you cut through the troll clutter). To me, NS was always kinda like the information ticker of freeskiing and quick spot to get the latest info about what's happening. Despite everything being scattered all over the internet today, I do see an opportunity for NS to reclaim itself as the go-to spot and for ppl to converse about freeskiing on a more granular level.

Are there ways to help encourage more thoughtful forum convos and eventually start pulling more ppl back in?
1.) I've noticed less threads in Ski Gabber being pinned to the top surrounding strategic topics like key events (ie XGames, FWT), 20XX ski movie trailers (sure this could hypothetically go in M&A), etc.
2.) Maybe it's time to migrate or merge some forums? Funneling users into less places will probably spark more conversations. For instance, Regionals used to be humming but now it feels too fractured. Times have changed and there's probably no need for 3 or 4 subforums under locations like UK or Mid-West. Also, California (ie West) would probably be better bunched in with PNW.
3.) Should news and other content creators be encouraged to post links of relevant content in a respective forum thread. They obviously can now but would it help bridge things within the site to spur more convos? Right now, things feel disjointed and similar conversations seem scattered all over the site.

“2.) Maybe it's time to migrate or merge some forums? Funneling users into less places will probably spark more conversations.”

Totally agree on this. I’d also like to have the user interface of Facebook or instagram. Being able to upload photos from my phones library would be so much easier than coding. Also, replying to somebody’s comment should be placed underneath the original. I don’t like how a response can be found on the next page separately. Outdated.

A "recent threads/posts" button would be good too. Most forums have this feature. If it exists on this site I can't find it.

WoosThis isn't even up for debate. Social media has done significant damage to many forums and web-based communities. I used to browse so many different forums for topics like skiing, computer hardware, networking and security, chans and similar sites, airsoft, anime, Runescape and other games, bmx, skateboarding, etc. I literally can just go to Reddit or use something like Facebook or Insta and find more active communities and sub-communities than what's left of these websites. I don't use either Facebook or Insta due to privacy and political reasons and Reddit is 99% trash and turning every post into an anti Trump post (Orange Man Bad). I hate where the internet is going but there is no stopping it. People are lazy, trendy, and aren't tech savvy. Social media is convenient for them and they will sell their souls and privacy for it.

I know we haven't agreed in the past, but I think we agree on a lot of things here. Just got into reddit and it pisses me off how a post about anything turns into a Orange Man Bad, Conservatives Bad npc clusterfuck

STEEZUS_CHRI5TI noticed on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube that you can follow all kinds of skiing related content (shocker). Ski clips, memes, gear review, video blogs, crash videos, photos...etc. It’s a really good way to stay and the loop and I feel that the best content is on these platforms. Does anyone else feel that this is taking away from the NewSchooler community? Has anyone noticed a change?

Social media is learning from NS
Not the other way around