With the vast number of forums out there, it might feel like every possible subject has already been covered. Gaming? Done. Books, movies, tech, hobbies? All checked off the list. But is there still untapped potential for new and exciting forum subjects?
Think about niche interests, emerging trends, or unconventional ideas that haven’t been explored:
• Hyper-specific hobbies: Forums dedicated to unique crafts like miniature dioramas, custom fountain pen ink mixing, or speedcubing (beyond Rubik’s cubes).
• Futurism and emerging technologies: A space focused solely on speculative tech like AI ethics, bioengineering, or space colonization.
• Cross-disciplinary creativity: A forum blending two fields, like science and art, or food and history.
• Everyday life hacks: A forum purely for sharing obscure, niche tips and tricks for everyday situations.
• Personal growth challenges: A community centered on self-made challenges like learning a skill in 30 days or breaking bad habits.
Many forums stick to broad topics, but hyper-focused or hybrid subjects often find enthusiastic communities. What’s a subject you’ve always wished had its own forum? Let’s brainstorm the unexplored!
I've been wracking my brains this morning trying to think of a forum subject I haven't seen covered before. I'm still yet to think of one, a good 10 minutes on from first reading this post.
As @Arantor said, I also come from an era where forums were the go-to tool if you wanted to create your own website, as they were the most simple software to use once installed - so I'm sure any idea that someone comes up with would have been done in some way, shape or form before, even if we're not necessarily aware of it.
I don't think I could sit down and come up with a forum subject.
I would need to be passionate about a subject first - and then think 'Would it be fun to start a forum about this?'
I just tried it, and put two random subjects in Google, Indiana Jones and James Bond.
I enjoy both, but am not passionate about them, and I think I'd struggle to be creative with these subjects (even though they should be easy).
Interesting results, take a look at http://raven.theraider.net/ and https://www.mi6community.com/ and compare them, they both ranked well in Google.
Study them a bit more closely, why do they work, or not work for you?
Indiana Jones is what happens when George Lucas isn't allowed to make a James Bond film (no, really, he tried to get the rights and the rights holders were like... no)
Indiana Jones is what happens when George Lucas isn't allowed to make a James Bond film (no, really, he tried to get the rights and the rights holders were like... no)
But look at them, one has an old skool look, isn't even https, but invites me to explore.
The other simply has me clicking back to Google.
I'm asking myself why? Can I learn from that?
I once wanted to do a general forum where you unlock forums to post in once you reach a certain post count. Although this wasn’t unique. It’s been done before.
I also wanted once to do an awards forum for forums, it was called Forum Showbiz, but discontinued shortly after.
You can think some crazy things, and most probably it’s been done before.
Actually, thinking on it, I think the biggest forum I used to run had one very unique aspect - I'm pretty sure we were the first forum to integrate a live Sportsbook with full betting functionality on live sport events using forum currency. Not only could you bet on pre-game results, you could bet live in-play on goal, corner, card & handicap markets, thanks to a live data feed from Betfair API. This was in 2012, when sports betting online was popular, but nowhere near as popular as today.
It was also likely unique due to the high costs involved - we paid around $500 a month for our access to the live data feed from Betfair API, and this was super cheap for us as we were able to take advantage of some discounts and had a contact within Betfair that was able to give us a substantial additional discount on top; I highly doubt if many other people were able to get the access we had for anything less than $1,500/month back then.
Betting on pre-game results or whatever fantasy events you want wasn't new - vBookie comes to mind - but the live integration? That's a twist I haven't come across before, and I personally would have been very wary of playing that game for being awfully close to actual gambling law (at least in the UK)
I used a few criteria when deciding my latest niche.
1. I had to have a domain that worked with the subject matter.
2. I wanted it fun and/or entertaining. Mostly for me.
3. I looked over the competition to see what they were doing.
I noticed in my current choice the competition often was on old dated software, some didn't have a mobile view, and many are just lost in websites with broad spectrum categories and forums.
That might limit my target market, but that is my intent.
