31 replies to this topic

[Walter]

Bill,

I agree with your points. The homey setting here is one thing we love about Single Divers. OTOH, we also don't want to know each other via cyberspace. We want to travel and dive together. This will only happen if we run trips. Everyone's schedule is different, so we can't all go on the same trips all the time. Because of this and because everyone has different places they want to dive, we need to run several trips each year. The more trips we can run to different places, the more members we can satisfy. We can't run several trips every year unless we have a larger member base from which to draw dive buddies for these trips. For that reason, we need to recruit members.

I don't believe we'll see much (if any) of "the nonsense that permeates a few other boards" because we have a totally different atmosphere and while it may not appear so, we work hard to maintain it. We have dedicated Moderators and Administrators who are working for their love of this site to keep it fun. It was fun when it was so small we didn't need Moderators. As we grew, we added 2 Moderators, it was still fun, we now have 4 and it's a blast still. If the growth continues at this rate, we'll need to add more Moderators as well as more Administrators to help with the day to day growth. It'll still be fun because of our approach.

Of course, we want to keep our membership as close to 50/50 as possible. The fact is, there are many more men in diving than women. We may always have more male members than female, but double points for recruiting women as well as some very interesting ideas on which we're working will help us to keep closer to the 50/50 mix than we'd otherwise achieve. If we were sitting at 50/50, I would be against the double points for recruiting women. We aren't. I don't have the exact stats right now, I've not been able to keep that (and a few other things) current. Sometimes, it's all I can do to upgrade the new members as they join without figuring stats. I've never kept age stats.

[drbill]

Thanks Walter for yours.

I realize the site is in part a commercial dive travel operation. It offers a good opportunity for us to get together in groups and the more we have to draw from, the more likely the group trips will fill up... and the more we can have.

Although group trips are fun and I hope to participate in one (San Andres? Red Sea? Galapagos?), I got involved because of the opportunity to meet single divers in my area (and elsewhere) who might want to be dive buddies or participate in local group dives as well.

As for stats, I just assumed (as a former database programmer) that given our membership info is in database format, it would be easy to generate stats automatically. Perhaps this is not the case and Zen would be kept even busier coding for such stats generation.

Two more hours of editing and it is off to the Dive Park for the first time in nearly 4 weeks!!! I will promote SD there... but only to the higher point gender! No need for any more competition!

Dr. Bill

[Walter]

I just assumed (as a former database programmer) that given our membership info is in database format, it would be easy to generate stats automatically.

One of those "nice to have features that ZD hasn't had time do. I don't have the expertise to do it.

[triggerfish]

i agree with doc...i like the intimacy (gee, now THERE'S a stretch of the imagination, huh?).

but, i also haven't a clue as to the behind-the-scenes goings on of a website. are a lot of members a good thing? if it helps you founders out in some way, then great.
i think that, no matter how many people sign up, there will always be those who neither post nor visit often. i, for one, have logged on to other sites (photog, orchids, veterinary) and haven't been inclined to do more than just read a few listings. this site has been completely different, and i've told kamala as much. i originally thought there were some folks online who were a little pompous, but i was wrong. i think i've made some real friends...sight unseen, even!....and have learned a lot about diving.

uh...there WAS a point to that....
sorry............time for more lamictal...

[scubahoney]

TF- I totally agree about the other sites. I've joined other boards (vet, biology, canine, poetry, etc) and found myself reading a few posts and never returning. This prob. happens at every board (including ours ) But our site is different because of the atmosphere you let us have. Even with thousands of members it can still be intimate. The great idea behind this site is to allow us to discover each other and potential dive buddies on our own.

[drbill]

ScubaHoney, I can just see it... intimate with a cast of thousands! Sounds the "love ins" of the late 60's (I was just a scientific observer of course, not a participant).

Dr. Bill

[triggerfish]

Sounds the "love ins" of the late 60's (I was just a scientific observer of course, not a participant).

Dr. Bill

see post.."i'm such a duffous"......

[scubahoney]

ScubaHoney, I can just see it... intimate with a cast of thousands! Sounds the "love ins" of the late 60's (I was just a scientific observer of course, not a participant).

Dr. Bill

I'm sensing some sarcasm here... :dltears:

What I meant was that we can still have our fun conversations, yes with thousands...because it's all about establishing that sort of environment first...we've already got it, and when people come to the board they already see that we like to get to know everyone, not jsut put our two cents in and run.

[WreckWench]

Hey gang....wow! Lots of good feedback on this thread and yes even some recruiting ideas!! LOL!!!

1. I think Walter summed up the double point system for women quite well...when I tell people that we average 50% single and buddyless women on dive trips the guys go nuts and the girls are thrilled! This is WAY off the industry standards. (In fact I was approached by a resort who was trying to do a singles trip and has had to cut the men off as too many men have joined up and not women. He wanted to know if we could help him recruit women....I just laughed and said it was my mission to recruit them for my own site and trips! He was aware of the fact that we have averaged 50% women on our trips so far with 18-26 people on each!)

2. Also as it has been duly noted ....we are fun site and since we know that women make things MORE fun....gotta get MORE of them. Besides...its EASY to recruit a guy to join a singles diving group....it takes some skill to recruit a women who is also concerned about the numbers....safety....and comfortableness. So it only makes sense to reward you TWICE for recruiting said lovely creatures. Besides are there REALLY any guys out there that would complain about recruiting more women???? (I didn't think so!!!)

3. As for growth....yes Walter summed it up perfectly. The surface interval is only part of our diving community and online presence. Almost 30% of the divers on the Bonaire trip have never posted on our message board or posted once because I asked them too. Other boards are only a board with no organized group trips but in our case we want our Board to be the best SURFACE INTERVAL you can have meaning its the place we hang out BETWEEN dives...not the place we go cyberdiving! And we do need new and fresh members to keep the board exciting...fill trips and keep us fun...honest...and on our toes!

4. And growing helps us to ensure that Dr.Bill and others get to meet MORE divers in their local area...

Although group trips are fun and I hope to participate in one (San Andres? Red Sea? Galapagos?), I got involved because of the opportunity to meet single divers in my area (and elsewhere) who might want to be dive buddies or participate in local group dives as well.

So no, we don't need a contest to encourge recruiting but why not? Contests are fun and we are a fun group! Besides it gives our new members a fun way to jump right in and participate and meet our older members....ahem despite having had a birthday a few days ago...I am NOT referring to age when I say 'older' members!!! LOL!!!

So I hope everyone thinks up ways to help spread the great word about Single Divers .com and you help tell others about us so we can continue growing which we need to do to fully support our goals and efforts!

-Kamala aka Wreck Wench!

[drbill]

Aaaah, it is nice to be back "home" here on SD. After a less than enjoyable experience on my old favorite SB site, I truly appreciate our "little" group more and more.

By the way, ScubaHoney, I was just teasing ya... not trying to be sarcastic at all, it's just my type of humor (why is it no one laughs at my jokes?).

Dr. Bill

[Marvel]

By the way, ScubaHoney, I was just teasing ya... not trying to be sarcastic at all, it's just my type of humor (why is it no one laughs at my jokes?).

Dr. Bill

Gotta use those emoticons more....

[drbill]

Never been a fan of emoticons myself, Marvel. Perhaps they can be of use on occasion since e-mail and digital postings don't reveal the inflections of live conversation.

Dr. Bill

[AliKat]

Hey, do you have business cards? Or better yet, can I download the logo and make my own?

I'm hosting a big blood conference next week and I have attendees coming from DC, CA, Japan, Guam, Korea, and Okinawa (not all single and not all divers, but they all know other people). It would be great to have some cards to hand out.

Ali

[Marvel]

Never been a fan of emoticons myself, Marvel. Perhaps they can be of use on occasion since e-mail and digital postings don't reveal the inflections of live conversation.

Dr. Bill

Exactly! Despite my prolific use of them these days, I was never a big fan until I realized that many people were not getting the fact that I was joking, etc. Rather than risk hurting someones feelings, I started using them & now, well, let's just say I'm an emoticon monster......

[WreckWench]

Yes we do have b-cards. I can send you some via second day priority mail or I'll see about the downloading concept. Let me know what date you need them by? Kamala