What Forum Subject Hasn’t Been Done Before?

 

 

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 bet you most of these have been done at some time or another; there was an era where forums were pretty much the only general site building tool.

 

Though the more specific the niche, the smaller the target demographic.

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. :p

 

As [mention=79]Arantor[/mention] 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)

I didn't know that Arantor.

 

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)

Everything has been done.

 

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.

It's nearly impossible to come up with a niche that hasn't been done before. The only thing I can think of is creating a community based around a big project you're working on, such as a game but most companies unfortunately use Discord for that these days. There could be a community based around a specific game that is so obscure, that there's not a community based around it. Again though, most gamers sadly use Discord for that these days.

Forums about specific human fetishes, perhaps? 😅

Forums about specific human fetishes, perhaps? 😅

Any fetish with any commonality already has places to discuss it, assuming it's legal; if not it will have other places to discuss it where it might not necessarily be a forum for the sake of privacy and internal security.

 

Any fetish not so popular might not have the support to sustain a forum - because some are just that niche that you might never find another person who feels even remotely the same way. It's quite self-selecting in that respect.

Any fetish with any commonality already has places to discuss it, assuming it's legal; if not it will have other places to discuss it where it might not necessarily be a forum for the sake of privacy and internal security.

I track domains that I want to purchase, and can certainly say that I've come across some weird fetish forum domains that go to auction.

 

The last one, I had to look up the word for. That being said, it was a word [i forgot] that was the enjoyment of wearing other people's skin [word]forum.com.

 

I don't know if it ended up expiring, or what, but someone had the bright idea to register the domain in the first place. I don't know if they were freak enough to put it to use, or thought someone else might, but it's certainly the oddest fetish forum domain that I ran across. Suffice it to say, I did not bid on it...

I did not bid on it

You can tell, we don't judge. :ROFLMAO:

You can tell, we don't judge. :ROFLMAO:

I mean, I still need to make the announcement post on the forum. Care to share some skin so I can share my experience? :ROFLMAO:

I mean, I still need to make the announcement post on the forum. Care to share some skin so I can share my experience? :ROFLMAO:

Sure. From where? My foot and toes? :ROFLMAO:

I track domains that I want to purchase, and can certainly say that I've come across some weird fetish forum domains that go to auction.

There was a time, and still is to a lesser degree, where every wannabe domainer was registering everything and anything that had words in it. And if something popped up in the news, another flurry of stupid regs.

 

That's why I quit watching the drop lists. Mostly all junk domains.

And if something popped up in the news, another flurry of stupid regs.

I'll have to admit that I rush to register the new phrases; I've yet to be the first at a popular one though. You can catch a real winner... Take Covid-19.com for example [iCODE]Registered On 2020-02-11T15:13:12Z[/iCODE]. The person who picked that up could've easily flipped it for 6 figures within a month, and maybe had a 7-figure silent bidding war between Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J within 4-6 months. Now? It's pretty much worthless. You could probably set up an informative site on it and make a couple hundred bucks a month, but nothing like what you could've done with a flip. (Edit: I'm sure one of the 3 would still offer 6 figures for it just because they're going to continually sell boosters).

 

There are also sometimes domains used in movies that aren't registered, and getting it before someone else can get immediate traffic. Traffic = money, if you know what you're doing with it.

 

Those are just two examples of things that pop up that can be immensely profitable, whether you park it or sell it, in the short term. You definitely don't want to hold the bag (unless it was a movie reg that might get you 10000~ visitors rushing in each month until it dwindles down) on something like Covid-19 though.

Edited December 15, 2024Dec 15 by frm

Sure. From where? My foot and toes? :ROFLMAO:

I'd like to experience wearing your foot skin like socks, if at all possible. I'm sure that would be a great article to kickstart the forum!

You know, after giving it a bit of thought after my last post earlier on the subject, I realized that that is where forum opportunities may exist. The "narrowed down" niche. By that I mean, a subject you enjoy, that you participate in like minded forums that generally have a lot more forums. Focus on your interests or entertainments. I think I kinda did the same lately.

Forums about specific human fetishes, perhaps? 😅

NGL I have one and I really have no clue how to promote it. Plus there's already well established forums that exist on the fetish, so mine has been stagnant and only has 5 members on it. It's a very specific fetish, one I don't want to go into detail because it can be a controversial one I'll just leave it at that. :P