The Scene – A Lost Generation
loading...
The Scene – A Lost Generation
I’ll never forget the first time I got involved in the FM Scene. It was back in 2002 when I joined the SI forums and I soon found thedugout! I was hooked. I’d be posting 20-30 times a day and made some great e-buddies. My posting enthusiasm was then spotted by a certain Mr. Vilius who had just set up Goal-Kick and I stayed there until late 2006. I then lost the heart and needed some time out. I spent a small period of time at Manager Crisis before finally settling down here at FM View in 2007 where I have been ever since.
My story is probably pretty similar to thousands of others of you out there. We join up, start perusing and slowly become addicted. Now and again we might try to break away and escape the Scene life but something always drags us back. Only a special few make the complete break forever.
Those of us who can relate to this feeling of being unable to tear ourselves away from the Scene belong to a lost generation of gamers who found comfort in a life away from their own. A place where we could seek refuge from the everyday strains. For many of us in life we are just another person in the street but on here we have reputations, a name known by thousands and a voice that can be heard.
Sadly, the appeal of the Scene is seemingly dying. Less and less are we seeing younger members break through. The same names that were around 4-5 years ago are still around now like ghosts that haunt a place they are too scared to leave for fear of losing what they once loved and any chance to get that feeling back. Why is it that the same old names are still around and that very few new names have broken through and made a reputation for themselves?
This a question that gets us thinking. Are we an inner circle that refuse to let anybody new have the chance to make a niche for themselves? Are we still under the spell of the Scene? A spell that only attracted a certain generation of gamers, around before Xbox Live and Playstation took up gamers’ free time? Or is it just a figment of our imaginations? Are there others around but we’re so used to listening to certain people, viewing certain places and expressing certain views that we ignore those others who are new to the Scene? Or is the Scene just not as good as it once was and the appeal just isn’t there to the new generations?
It’s a question we will find hard to answer. Sites are struggling more than ever these days to attract new members. It is even harder to make these new members post on a regular basis. It is then almost impossible to see these members post sufficiently without spamming or abusing other members. It begs the question that maybe less prolific members are joining the Scene because there’s been a huge cultural change in society?
Whatever the reason, it is now down to the Scene to make itself more readily available and appealing to the new generations of FM players. We could sit here all day and blame the new players for not taking an interest in the Scene and refusing the broaden their horizons. However, maybe it is the Scene that needs to broaden its horizons? The Scene has landed on hard times with few sites satisfied with the way their progress is going. No matter what their demeanour on the outside is, every site on the inside is fearing the next month, wondering how they can progress and evolve. That is what the Scene needs to do if it is to continue to breathe and draw in the FM players. We can’t survive on the naughties generation forever. It could even be said that the Scene needs to evolve or it may well be at risk of dying. Ultimately though, all the Scene can do is improve itself. The rest is down to how much the members want it to survive. If the Scene can do its part, we all stand a fighting chance. If not, then the naughties generation may well be deemed as a lost generation.
loading...
Popularity: 16%
Zab, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the “scene” is currently bigger than it’s ever been before. It’s just that YOUR definition of what “scene” means no longer applies as much in 2010.
FM2010 is doing record sales, more people are playing the game as ever before… but look at how many avenues of communication there are at our disposal now. We’re not confined by specific fansites or forums anymore. If you want to talk about FM, you can do so *anywhere* and find others who are playing the game.
There are a several thousand people discussing FM currently on Twitter. FM’s page on Facebook has I think 40,000 fans and tons post on their wall. Between a dozen other social media platforms, Blogspot blogs, Google groups, YouTube videos, etc… THIS is the new scene.
A scene that is based around individuals, not big outlets (like fan sites) A scene that gives an easy barrier of entry for *anyone* to create content on their own and have it get out to others who would be interested in it. A scene that doesn’t view itself as a “scene”, but as a collective player base who will communicate on THEIR own terms.
Merely building a soapbox and expecting people to come isn’t good enough anymore. It’s NOW about reaching out and interacting with people on *their* own terms, not yours. Platforms like forums/fan sites are becoming increasingly meaningless because there’s no longer a big need for them to exist. One person who has no “scene points” has the ability to chat & create content all they want about the game anywhere they want without any limit. The gate keepers (those who run bigger fan sites) are no longer in control because of this.
Welcome to the new scene. Embrace it instead of fighting against the change.
It will be no surprise then that I am going to come here and agree with what Jordan has to say. The community is bigger then ever and I see and interact with new faces on the community all of the time. I am seeing people come to my blog that I haven’t seen before and joining my facebook group. Infact I see people in my facebook group who have joined recently that haven’t got in touch with the scene as you think of it for some years now.
The problem with the scene that you think of it is that it isn’t producing quality, it is no surprise that the likes of FM Pundit and FM Britain are performing well. This is because on these sites quality content and discussion is being produced and those who take the lead on these sites go on and interact on the communities terms and not ours, in an effort to eventually draw them in our sites and our community. If you produce quality content that people want then they will come! The internet is bigger and wider then ever, the Football Manager sales are also bigger then ever. There is potentially 1 million people out there, but why dont you try and talk to everyone on the planet! Telling them how good Football Manager can be and how much you enjoy it.
The internet has changed, the community has changed and for the better, we now have more tools then ever to interact with people. Lets do it!
I have to disagree that the Scene is smaller than ever, it’s actually bigger than it’s ever been. The problem is that people want more and expect more than they used to; this is because of the changing culture of the Scene. More sites are around than there used to be and because of this people are split over a number of sites – this means that sites have to work harder than ever to maintain their membership and activity.
You’re speaking from the point of view of an FM-View admin. From your perspective what you’re questioning is the reasoning as to why people aren’t signing up to FM-V and sticking with the site. You’re not speaking for the Scene on a whole because you’ve not talked about any other outlet than fansites either.
The Scene is considered to be a collective of fansites who support the Football Manager brand. Jordan has stated that the Scene is fast becoming a collective of fansites, blogs and social media – but social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook are dictated by these fansites and blogs, they’re not a seperate entity.
Jordan and Levo aren’t wrong in what they say with regards to the Scene being bigger and expanding in a different way. This isn’t the reason for the Scene’s problems – the reason, as I’ve said before is because more sites are being created, the members are being spread thin and everyone is doing the same thing. There are some exceptions to this and they’re the sites who are active – they’re offering something which people which they want to come back for.
Because more forums are around, because everyone knows everyone on the Scene and they commune together you’re going to see this happen more and more. The only solution is to downsize and to merge until you increase quality.
We’re all somewhat elitist at times, we spout about “quality over quantity” yet most people are too ignorant to see that this relates to the Scene more than anything else. If the Scene sites worked together man-power alone would allow you to produce more content and discussion in one place. If people stopped trying to do the same things other people do then we might find a site with something original about it.
Ultimately to answer your question, FM-V need to find something people need and do it better than the competition. If you can do that you can attract a market who will support you. The problem is that members aren’t loyal to a brand, they’ll switch at the drop of a hat – this is why anyone will struggle in the current climate – because people, sites and members are in so many places that you have to work extremely hard to be successful at what you do and to get those people to come to one place.
Game – Me, you & Zabs were around way back in 2005. You cannot seriously be telling me there is more sites now as there was then! There’s more blogs around these days but less of the generic ‘Fansites’. So in that sense the scene is smaller but in so many other ways it’s a whole lot bigger.
It feels like it. I’m not saying a multitude more but I’d say there was more. I can only think of Goal-Kick, Susie, The Dugout, Throw In, Core FM, FM-Britain, FM Underground and FM Old Timers – there was probably a few more kicking around too, can’t name them all. Today, Los Wonderkids, FM-View, FM Discussion, Susie, FM-Base, FMGLive, Fever-Pitch, FM-Britain, The Dugout, FM Formation and Simply FM – the numbers are probably fairly even if you break it down…
The problem is, regardless of the numbers, they’re all fishing in the same pond and they’re all using the same bait. I know that’s always been a constant but these sites are far more visible now than in the past. A lot of the sites are working Social Media, they’re networking and picking up SEO skills – this means sites are more available.
I can honestly say in the past you’d go to a site and most of the members there were different from the previous one you went to. Now you’re lucky to find ten different regulars at most sites. It’s very incestuous and because of that people expect more from a site if they’re to make it their home site. Only Susie, FMBase, The Dugout and possibly Fever-Pitch have members who are mostly on their own respective sites.
Everyone else will be all over the shop; most are satisfied with the community element – because they all know each other from other sites, if you give them good banter they’re very happy to stay – whilst guests only want content and that’s the the reason some sites are cliquey and can’t attract new members. If you offer both then you have the opportunity to get an active site but it’s totally dependant on what you can offer that is original but most people can’t offer anything other than forum posts in an off topic section and that’s why they die when their members decide to stop coming.
The real loss from the Scene is a generation of writers – that’s the difference from the old school member-base. Every site had a main site and people focussed on the forum for discussion, now owners care only for post counts and member numbers. The mentality of a lot of sites is to do everything but a lot of them can’t even do some of it because they’re trying to become king; they want downloads, they want GFX, they want guides, they want tactics, they want scout reports and they want a fun off topic on top of it all. It’s nigh on impossible to achieve and most sites don’t recognise that they’re pissing into the wind.
Even my own site fell for the same trap – trying to do everything and doing it all in a diluted, strung-out manner. We’ve definitely rectified the situation, gotten some focus and drive and I’m hoping that LW will be the final point to backup what I’m saying, unless you can do something different, do something exceptionally well or somehow do everything in one place; you’ll be left behind. Now is the time sites must raise to the occasion because people are realising that the members are raising the bar constantly, they want more if you want them to stay.
So to surmise, the Scene is reeling from a lost generation but it’s not the new generation not coming through, it’s the mentality of the fading generation, the mentality of the new kind of member and the distinct lack of effort and vision of some sites to be original, exceptional at a niche or clever enough to spot a gap in the market. – in my opinion anyway.
Does anyone actually not miss the old days?
I been around for 10 years and things are better then ever!
The reason why scene isn’t doing too well is because people are lazy simple as, How many of the FM View staff have actually bothered to reply to the comments here? Q is the only one, it says it all really.