Rebranding and Merging: The Hot Trend in Communities? (2 Viewers)

[Cedric]

Have you noticed how rebranding and merging seem to be the thing lately? It feels like every time I turn around, another platform is getting a fresh name or joining forces with a competitor. Not saying this is a bad thing of course. I've done both a rebrand and merge myself. Here's what I've spotted so far:

Rebranding:

• ForumDir is now Administrata.
• Chatosaur decided to switch it up to ForumIsland.
• CrowdTopics became DiscussBB.
• NerdZone is currently rebranding as XenForums soon.

Merging:

• Agora found a new home with Administrata.
• AdventureAds teamed up with Chatosaur.
• The Blogging Collective joined forces with AnotherAdminForum.

And all this has happened within just a few months!

Is it just me, or is everyone trying to shake up their identity to stay relevant? What do you think about this trend? Smart moves or just try to keep it fresh (not a bad thing)? What merges do you predict will happen?

 

[frm]

• Agora found a new home with Administrata.

Did you notify all members on Agora that they were going to be merged here? I don't seem to recall getting any notice whatsoever of this action.

I am pissed beyond belief that my data could be used over here too.

/s

What merges do you predict will happen?

ForumPromotion into one of my forums if @Cam takes me up on my open 5 or 6-figure offer.

https://forumpromotion.net/threads/roflmao.184512/page-2#post-1859759

 

[2TonWaffle]

Would constant rebranding eventually lead to member confusion? Unless the forum was in its early days than I would think that would be an issue.

 

[Cpvr]

Would constant rebranding eventually lead to member confusion? Unless the forum was in its early days than I would think that would be an issue.

Social hideouts was a small forum when it merged with SWC as was another forum, so I don’t see a big issue there.

Forum mergers have been happening for years, but I do believe it can lead to member confusion especially if it’s done on a more larger scale.

Just imagine if Digitalpoint or WebmasterWorld merged.

TheadminZone was merged with AnotherAdminForum back in the day along with AdminExtra.

Having more than one forum in the same niche is vital for the growth of an industry.

 

[Bawse]

I've been laughing on the sidelines at all the small communities merging together. Don't start a forum if you don't plan to see it through.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Thee Zone was a merger of three of my existing communities so I think merging and rebranding can really help a community out! It is interesting that a few different communities have done this within the past month or so, perhaps seeing it happen often is giving the same idea for other admins and they decide to jump on the rebranding/merging trend while it's hot.

 

[Arantor]

I've been laughing on the sidelines at all the small communities merging together. Don't start a forum if you don't plan to see it through.

You have no idea of the story behind some of the mergers. Do not assume it was a lack of desire or time. Other reasons exist.

 

[fdk]

Merges aren't a new thing, but I certainly agree that there seems to have been a bit of an explosion of them lately. As long as they're being done for the right reasons, which in my view would be to build a more long-lasting and larger community base with more resources/features/activity than each individual site offers, I don't have a problem with them.

Not quite sure how I feel at this time about the whole "one login, many forums" idea I've read about... I remember something sort of similar being tried back in the early 2010s, and if I recall correctly it ended promptly when one malicious forum owner decided to add what was essentially a keylogger to his forum's login page to harvest logins to access other user's accounts on other forums... and I'm not quite sure I'm aware of a technological solution, short of mandatory activation of 2FA (which will put off a lot of forum users) that could counter this at the current time.

I've been laughing on the sidelines at all the small communities merging together. Don't start a forum if you don't plan to see it through.

I think that's somewhat unfair. There can be many reasons for a merge to happen - not necessarily someone "not seeing it through". Sometimes it's a good thing for two similar communities to join forces and work towards "breaking through" a bit. I certainly don't laugh at admins who want to take that step to potentially elevate their community to the next level. That being said, I take on board what I think might have been your point - there have been a few very small forums lately being merged into others, and I personally find the practice of merging old/inactive forums into newer ones just to bump up the stats a bit off-putting.

ForumPromotion into one of my forums if @Cam takes me up on my open 5 or 6-figure offer.

https://forumpromotion.net/threads/roflmao.184512/page-2#post-1859759

What an entertaining read that link was, thank you.

 

[frm]

What an entertaining read that link was, thank you.

I try my best.

 

[Nomad]

About a month ago, I merged my phpbb forum with another phpbb forum and then we started using XF. The forum has grown really big. So, I think merge is good. I have also been on a forum that rebranded, and the rebranded forum looks better. So, I also believe rebranding is also good