Bernard GorePortfolio, Programme & Project Professional| NZ PoliceWellington, New Zealand
I've been a member of gannthead for a very long time, but never active - just read the email newsletters.
Quite recently I got interested in expanding my repertoire from OGC-based (Prince2, MSP, MoP, P3O) to the PMI stable, so got back onto the site, and while I'm loving a lot of the content here, i have to say it is rather quiet - veyr few discussions etc seem active, and those that are seem to be the same handful of people.
So I've got a few questions:
Is this normal? or have we recently gone all ghost-town here? or is it a seasonal thing being summer vacation time in northern hemisphere?
Is it just that we have a lot of lurkers who watch and read but don't contribute, and if so what could we do to get a few more active? - I'm not going to criticise them, being a lurker myself for years, but it would be good if we could find a way to liven things up.
Is it the economy, stupid? I would have thought when things were slow we'd see more people spending a bit of time here to sharpen their skills and knowledge, and get themselves out there and visible, but maybe there's an aspect i'm not seeing.
Or is it the social/networking sites - are we being outplayed by LinkedIn and Facebook and the others, in which case what can we do about it - setup a strong presence on those platforms with excellent links that drive people to the content here? Saving Changes...
Sort By:
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I hope it is down to summer - I've always thought the forums here were quite good but then I'm probably one of the people you see posting relatively often, so I might not be representative of everyone. Saving Changes...
Managing Editor| ProjectManagement.comArlington, Va, United States
Hey Bernard! Thanks for checking us out more...we need enthusiastic members like you to spread the word, and appreciate the kind words on the content.
The discussion forums here can go through some periods of silence, sometimes a week or 2 where it seems sparse, followed by higher activity. It might be a combination of the factors you mentioned, with perhaps the social media angle one that can be particularly challenging--although we try to send more people here from our Facebook presence. We also highlight discussions in our PM Insider newsletter to give the discussions more exposure--and hopefully let our readers know that they have access to a much wider set of eyes and experience to help them solve problems. I know these forums have helped users with questions and with poll responses, so hopefully that will increase even more.
In the meantime, we appreciate your contributions and ideas, so keep 'em coming! And let me know if you have an interest in blogging or writing; sounds like you have a great story in expanding your skills. Thanks again! Saving Changes...
You know, it's summer and I must admit I was heads down working on a few projects, on vacation and just didn't have time to share and network on the site. I'm back now and expect to see more activity for the Fall.
I love your ideas; the site has so much content and a great cast of pm experts. Many times; ideas and thought flow via the blogs, discussions, articles and interest groups over to SoME and back.
Just reach out to the community here; glad to have you onboard! Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
No doubt about it, there is no shortage of social/networking sites, each with their own value to offer to those who participate. Many folks have told me that what they like about ProjectManagement.com is that the site promotes idea exchange, thought leadership, professional development, and oh by the way networking among like minded professionals. I have even heard ProjectManagement.com referred to as LinkedIn on steroids and for project management practitioners. I must confess that with so many wonderful and regular articles and blogs that provide us with new insights, I find myself increasingly lurking (as you call it) through it all rather than contributing..! So, motivated by your fine post, I am making a commitment to contribute more and to do so in a way that will foster commentary. Cheers for now..! Saving Changes...
Paul HollingsIT Project Manager| Self EmployedHerne Bay, Kent, United Kingdom
I'm a relatively new member, and have not had the time to keep up with all of the articles/blogs until recently.
It is great to read the thoughts and insights of others, and then to test things in practice. My thanks and appreciation to your many contributors.
And to follow up on the social media aspect, comments posted here and on LinkedIn remain separate, so following a thread can mean bouncing between the 2. Is there a way to tighten the integration? Saving Changes...
PMI Team Member
