Hello everyone!
I've been trying to revamp TeaChat here and there.
I have some ideas in the works for AMAs, contests, etc...
But I want to hear it from you! What do you want from TeaChat? What would make it better? What are you looking for?
Can't wait to chat!
Re: How can we make TeaChat better?
I'm not looking for a new place to talk about tea, I just checked to see if this place was still active. I stopped discussing things regularly here at least a year ago, probably more like two, or maybe longer.
The problem is going to be getting this forum to "fit in" in relation to the other groups out there, to get the form to match interest and demand. Facebook tea groups are what's happening now, and Instagram picture sharing is even more active. I admin for a tea group on Facebook that has over 12,000 members, and it's only one of a half dozen that are active. Steepster is more or less dead now too; turnover in where people are active is just normal.
The problem of figuring out who would be interested in a dedicated tea forum isn't so simple. Tea Chat worked at one point because there was a space for it then, and in general dedicated forums made more sense. Building up to a dozen active members would be a good start for breathing life back into this channel, but prior to that it kind of needs a theme. Tea is more than one thing now. Shifting to include more Adagio marketing function is going to push this outlet closer to lower-medium quality tea and blends range. It had been diverse in the past but that may not work well now that tea groups with clearer cultural forms have evolved.
Linking with people who see themselves as some sort of informal journalist might work, the modern equivalent of bloggers, which is kind of a dead idea now (although I do write a tea blog, and people do read it). Any activity has potential to lead to more activity and a community feel. Someone first exploring tea and finding this forum through Google is only going to have them stick around so long.
The problem is going to be getting this forum to "fit in" in relation to the other groups out there, to get the form to match interest and demand. Facebook tea groups are what's happening now, and Instagram picture sharing is even more active. I admin for a tea group on Facebook that has over 12,000 members, and it's only one of a half dozen that are active. Steepster is more or less dead now too; turnover in where people are active is just normal.
The problem of figuring out who would be interested in a dedicated tea forum isn't so simple. Tea Chat worked at one point because there was a space for it then, and in general dedicated forums made more sense. Building up to a dozen active members would be a good start for breathing life back into this channel, but prior to that it kind of needs a theme. Tea is more than one thing now. Shifting to include more Adagio marketing function is going to push this outlet closer to lower-medium quality tea and blends range. It had been diverse in the past but that may not work well now that tea groups with clearer cultural forms have evolved.
Linking with people who see themselves as some sort of informal journalist might work, the modern equivalent of bloggers, which is kind of a dead idea now (although I do write a tea blog, and people do read it). Any activity has potential to lead to more activity and a community feel. Someone first exploring tea and finding this forum through Google is only going to have them stick around so long.
Re: How can we make TeaChat better?
Hello John,john.b wrote: I'm not looking for a new place to talk about tea, I just checked to see if this place was still active. I stopped discussing things regularly here at least a year ago, probably more like two, or maybe longer.
The problem is going to be getting this forum to "fit in" in relation to the other groups out there, to get the form to match interest and demand. Facebook tea groups are what's happening now, and Instagram picture sharing is even more active. I admin for a tea group on Facebook that has over 12,000 members, and it's only one of a half dozen that are active. Steepster is more or less dead now too; turnover in where people are active is just normal.
The problem of figuring out who would be interested in a dedicated tea forum isn't so simple. Tea Chat worked at one point because there was a space for it then, and in general dedicated forums made more sense. Building up to a dozen active members would be a good start for breathing life back into this channel, but prior to that it kind of needs a theme. Tea is more than one thing now. Shifting to include more Adagio marketing function is going to push this outlet closer to lower-medium quality tea and blends range. It had been diverse in the past but that may not work well now that tea groups with clearer cultural forms have evolved.
Linking with people who see themselves as some sort of informal journalist might work, the modern equivalent of bloggers, which is kind of a dead idea now (although I do write a tea blog, and people do read it). Any activity has potential to lead to more activity and a community feel. Someone first exploring tea and finding this forum through Google is only going to have them stick around so long.
I appreciate your insights - and I'm sorry I was slow to reply! I think I mentally replied and never got down to getting it online (happens all the time to me with texts too!).
I've got a few ideas tucked away that I'm going to try to get off the ground. Perhaps giveaways, AMAs with team members of Adagio, etc...
I added a new Tea Meme forum as well!
Thanks for your thoughts!
Adagio Online Community Manager