Okay men, you all got that out of your system now. There is going to be no more he said this and he replied that. We are going to talk about woodworking.
I work in a factory that makes wood products. New people get paid the same as I do and I get to teach them the difference between cherry and alder.
Let me tell you wood is a fascinating medium and gen Z is go to be the next big discoverer of wood as a medium. Boomers this and boomers that, yes, they had money but they lacked art. Gen Z has heart, and that is about all they got. No they are not going to build concrete workshops, but if we do this right they will become intrigued with our work, our art, our tools.
You're OK Moses, . . . man. I look at what [you/he] said and just had to say something.
I look at Fine Woodworking and see that G. Hack is using Doug fir for his primary wood, with exotic highlights and accents in rarer species. He does a lot with domestics. It wasn't too long ago that a commentary lambasted FMW for devoting an issue to Southern Yellow Pine (SYP). The general sympathies seemed to be with the disgust showered upon SYP. I grew up comparing Douglas Fir and SYP in house framing. Maybe, my supply of SYP, salvaged from dismantling a Seattle commercial building door frame should have been mahogany. But that species is extinct. Or, poached to feed the voracious appetites of FMW readers.
Peter is busy picking up beer cans by the side of the road to save up for the next Taylor Swift concert and has left me in charge of admin duties.
Alright, folks, let's take a deep breath and gather 'round the virtual sawdust pile for a moment of zen amidst the chaos. Yes, we've noticed the creaky joints of our beloved woodworking forum, and sure, the social media giants are strutting around like newly lacquered peacocks. But fear not, fellow chisellers and sanders, for we are not in the business of folding faster than a bad table saw.
Now, I get it. Social media is all the rage. It's where you can showcase your latest dovetail masterpiece and get more likes than a celebrity cat video. But let's not forget the unique charm of our humble forum, where the banter is as smooth as a freshly planed board and the camaraderie runs deeper than the grain of aged oak.
Sure, our demographic might be aging faster than a vintage mahogany, but let's embrace it! We've got wisdom and experience oozing out of our wood glue-crusted fingertips. Who needs youthful agility when you've got the steady hands of a seasoned craftsman, right?
So, here's the plan, folks. Let's inject some fresh blood into this forum, metaphorically speaking, of course. Reach out to your woodworking buddies, your neighbors, heck, even your grandma who whittles like a boss. Let's show those social media whippersnappers what real craftsmanship looks like!
And hey, if all else fails, we can always resort to bribery. Who can resist the allure of free sandpaper or a freshly sharpened chisel? Trust me, it's the woodworking equivalent of catnip.
So chin up, wood warriors! Let's keep the sawdust flying, the jokes rolling, and the forum fires burning brighter than a well-oiled lathe. Together, we'll carve out our place in the digital woodworking world, one hilarious forum post at a time.
The provided link showcases the latest updates from over 160 websites dedicated to woodworking. By monitoring the daily engagements across forums, blogs, YouTube channels, and sub-Reddits, it becomes evident that traditional woodworking forums like WC have experienced a decline in traffic and engagement, while platforms such as YouTube channels and sub-Reddits are witnessing growth. This trend isn't exclusive to woodworking; numerous forums have emerged and faded away over the past two decades, with many ceasing operations long ago. Facebook lacks RSS aggregation capabilities, making direct comparisons challenging. However, the presence of woodworking groups with millions of members on Facebook suggests a shift in user preferences away from traditional forums.
The landscape has evolved, plain and simple. When someone seeks transportation today, they're more likely to consider a car rather than a horse-drawn buggy. Despite personal preferences for the latter, the reality is that the former is the preferred choice for most. Similarly, to ensure WC remains active and relevant, the focus shouldn't solely be on preserving the preferences of established users but rather on attracting the millions who engage in online communities through different formats.
IOW, the issue isn't changes, but not changing fast enough.
Added later 15 d 2 h 09 min 24 s:
@John in NM, >I can't figure out why you have that video page.
I created it for my own use. I hated searching for and bookmarking and subscribing to the woodworking channels I found and thought, why isn't there a nice curated list of woodworking channels where I don' t have to hunt for them? So I created it, then expanded on it where I can view the most recent 15 uploads to each channel without leaving WC. Then added commenting capability, etc.
It's getting a fair about of traffic from search engines. The views in the last 24 hours was to track that for my purposes (since removed). Now it's just an alphabetical (and searchable) list of channels where any of them can be easily viewed right here on-site.
