Has AJ Taken Over Radar (I know he owns it)

[al would]

Or is it simply the summer doldrums in basketball? I think I went through 4 pages of topics to find something that wasn't originally posted by him. But for $3.33 a month everyone should be on 4C.

 

[Steat]

Or is it simply the summer doldrums in basketball? I think I went through 4 pages of topics to find something that wasn't originally posted by him. But for $3.33 a month everyone should be on 4C.

Al, agree with you 100%, but I think there are some other factors to consider. The challenge is getting folks to "try" premium. I think most that experience premium do not go back, or like rotating back and forth. I enjoy rotating back and forth, especially producing the Prediction Contest each year.

Contrary to what some may believe, some can't afford the $3.33 a month (39.96 annual).

I've recently conducted some research on the age demographics of fans participating in college basketball chatboards, and I found some interesting insights. While there isn't comprehensive data specifically on this topic, I can infer some trends based on available information about college basketball fans in general:

General College Basketball Fan Demographics​

College basketball fans tend to skew older compared to some other sports:

• The main age bracket for college basketball fans in 2020 was 35-49 years old.
• A significant portion of March Madness fans are in older age groups, with 32% over 65 and 38% between 45-64 years old.

Online Engagement Patterns​

When it comes to online engagement:

• Younger fans (18-29) are underrepresented among March Madness followers compared to the general population.
• College basketball fans are less inclined to use casual social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube compared to the general population.

Chatboard Demographics​

While not specific to college basketball, some observations about sports forum demographics suggest:

• Many active participants on sports message boards tend to be middle-aged or older fans.
• There's an indication that fans who are most vocal about program issues on forums are often over 40 years old.

Key Takeaways​

Based on this information, we can reasonably infer that college basketball chatboard participants likely:

• Skew towards the 35-65 age range
• Include a significant number of fans 40 and older
• Have fewer participants from the 18-29 age group compared to other online platforms

It's important to note that these are general trends, and individual forums may vary. Additionally, the demographics of online participants may not perfectly mirror the overall fan base, as online engagement can differ across age groups.


Steat

 

[al would]

AL, agree with you 100%, but I think there are some other factors to consider. The challenge is getting folks to "try" premium. I think most that experience premium do not go back, or like rotating back and forth. I enjoy rotating back and forth, especially producing the Prediction Contest each year.

Contrary to what some may believe, some can't afford the $3.33 a month (39.96 annual).

I've recently conducted some research on the age demographics of fans participating in college basketball chatboards, and I found some interesting insights. While there isn't comprehensive data specifically on this topic, I can infer some trends based on available information about college basketball fans in general:

General College Basketball Fan Demographics​

College basketball fans tend to skew older compared to some other sports:

• The main age bracket for college basketball fans in 2020 was 35-49 years old.
• A significant portion of March Madness fans are in older age groups, with 32% over 65 and 38% between 45-64 years old.

Online Engagement Patterns​

When it comes to online engagement:

• Younger fans (18-29) are underrepresented among March Madness followers compared to the general population.
• College basketball fans are less inclined to use casual social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube compared to the general population.

Chatboard Demographics​

While not specific to college basketball, some observations about sports forum demographics suggest:

• Many active participants on sports message boards tend to be middle-aged or older fans.
• There's an indication that fans who are most vocal about program issues on forums are often over 40 years old.

Key Takeaways​

Based on this information, we can reasonably infer that college basketball chatboard participants likely:

• Skew towards the 35-65 age range
• Include a significant number of fans 40 and older
• Have fewer participants from the 18-29 age group compared to other online platforms

It's important to note that these are general trends, and individual forums may vary. Additionally, the demographics of online participants may not perfectly mirror the overall fan base, as online engagement can differ across age groups.


Steat

Interesting research Steat. Thanks !! I would have thought the younger group would be better represented but I guess they have other interest at those ages.

 

[DSouthr]

There has been a very noticeable drop off in 'New Threads" , in part due to a lot of what used to be discussion of a topic that in the past would have been a New Thread is not simply piggy backed on to existing threads. A lot of these threads are now going for a lot more pages because multiple topics are being discussed as opposed to the discussions just being about the opening post.

There has been a drop off of posters posting that used to post a lot, maybe they are just reading without commenting. It does seem harder now days to discuss without being snipped at, folks seem extra sensitive to someone not in agreement with them. It is very clear that there is far less moderation since Mikey passed. Over moderation is a problem, folks should feel free to express their opinions but under moderation I believe is also a problem and I feel that maybe we are now in more of a under moderated place that allows rational discussion to devolve in to wars of words. The balance between over and under moderation is hard to achieve, the path isn't always clear because there are always folks that feel short changed.

I don't find fault with AJ at all for trying to push as many as he can to premium, he has a business to run and it takes $$$ to do that and "free" Radar does not provide those dollars. But one of the reasons we have a "FREE" Radar is we have paying members to premium. I see a lot of posters say, I love Radar, even if they don't say it they are constantly reading it but why would I pay for premium when I can get the same news a day later on Radar? Seems like a legit argument but where do you get your news when this site is no longer able to afford giving you Radar for free, as many other sites have? Truth is there is only 2 sites that consistently get fresh and factual information about UNC sports, this is one of those 2, this one to me feels more like home than the other one.

I will be honest, I prefer to post on Radar, my first visit to this site every day is to Radar, I may check the 4Cs a couple times a week, it isn't to me that the premium page discussions are better than they are on this side but I do very much enjoy David Sisk's information sharing, he is a major upgrade to basketball recruiting for UNC fans and most often what he says stays on premium. IN addition, I would very highly encourage every UNC fan to watch the pod casts AJ does, the daily drops, ect. Today is game day and AJ is in Minnesota digging for information to share with YOU, at least watch and subscribe to his pod casts that cost you nothing but could provide some additional income for this site to allow even more information for you in the future.

 

[Ozheelfan]

All good points Dave. And you’re right, there has been a shift in posting style and the reception of posts which has lead to a drop-off in membership.

I am not a premium member, for the simple reason that I don’t come to radar for “info”, I come for discussion. Let’s be brutally honest, all info is eventually free so paying to get it two days earlier really doesn’t make sense…. But to talk about that info, or to joke around during a game, that was why I signed up.

 

[gary-7]

Or is it simply the summer doldrums in basketball? I think I went through 4 pages of topics to find something that wasn't originally posted by him. But for $3.33 a month everyone should be on 4C.

I would imagine that, other than visit schedules, there ain't much of interest happening on any basketball board.

 

[KeeLo]

FWIW, and idk about premium, but it is a lot more active on Radar than on Blitz