Since the Dell Axim is going away, it's time to look to the future. I have been trying to grow Mobilitysite.com as the future for Aximsite for quite some time, but my plan has become too difficult for me.
My plan was to merge the forums, but let the individual sites operate independently still, just using the same user database, posts, etc. Over the last 6 months, I have spent 100's of hours trying to make this work. I have enlisted the help of some "real" programmers to make this a reality too but they haven't had much luck either. I have a 4th person looking into some ideas to make it work too, but his ideas have me maintaining two databases still.
I am looking for some input on what you guys want to see. This site was originally created with ALOT OF USER INPUT to make it just the way we all like it, so I ask again where do we want to go with it.
What I don't want to see if changes made that make my life as the admin easier drive folks off. I have no troubles maintaining this site and Mobilitysite independently, but I need to make a move before we all wake up one morning and ask, "where did everyone go".
We have a great community here that goes well beyond the Dell Axim and I am sure that the community can strive for quite some time on this alone, but we have to look at keeping it going beyond this. I am not much of a business man, but I know that the traffic of the site makes money to pay the hosting costs, so if we lose LOTS of traffic, we lose income and thus we will have a tougher time making the payment. On the other hand, if we lose traffic, we can drop one of the servers and reduce the cost of hosting.
My second idea if the 1st one eventually hits a brickwall is to merge the sites period. Maybe taking on the Mobilitysite name or maybe even merge the 2 into 1 new name. I am in the air about all this right now. Since I do this as a hobby at night mostly, It takes longer to implement ideas now, but I am just looking for some feedback now.
I am going to add a poll with some ideas to this thread, but feel free to chime in on what you think "I" should do. The last thing I want is for this community to just die out with the wind eventually. We have too many great folks here.
Thanks everyone!
UPDATE:
After reading each and every post up to page 15 in this thread and leaving some comments along the way, I have an idea that may very well please the masses. While the numbers supporting merging into Mobilitysite are very overwhelming (to my surprise), I am beginning to second guess some of my thinking.
Here is an idea, I am making a post on Mobilitysite today to ask their opinion on this too...
Leave Aximsite the way it is. Merge the forum content (ipaqhq stuff too). Narrow the focus of the Smartphone and PPC Phone categories. Leave the focus of the forums mainly PPC, PPC Phones, and WM Smartphones and have some general forums covering UMPC, Tablets, Laptops, and Music Players.
Leave Mobilitysite online as a blog (which the front end of the site already is). Instead of the comment threads for the news over there pointing to the mobilitysite forums, have them handled over here in a category called Mobilitysite News.
Combine the Review Section (which is basicly already done) and host it here too.
When the time comes and the focus of the forums is starting to shift away from PPC/Axim for the most part, maybe move it all to mobilitysite and redirect from Aximsite. (1-2 years down the road potentially)
This is just a idea I am tossing around from the input.
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Last edited by Chris Leckness; 04-04-07 at 09:47 AM.
I guess the forums are the key to either site. Here the forum is one of the best I've seen on the technical side. Other sites (HoFo, BBForums, etc) look eerily similar to this site. To be honest, I haven't been to Mobilitysite much so my opinon about the site is limited.
Merging Mobilitysite into Aximsite isn't too far out of the question either.
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Honestly , I would say to merge mobility site with one adding their forums into this one. I think aximbigfan had the right idea to keep the aximsite name for the history.
I don't think the actual name of the site is all that big a deal, really, Chris. If management of it by putting it all under MobilitySite would be easier, then why not? It's really the group that assembles here that makes it what it is. As a developer my credo is "less is more" and K.I.S.S.
Even though the Axim might be "going away" - mobile devices certainly aren't and there's going to be tons of Axim (as well as other PDA users) around for a long time.
I can certainly appreciate the "part-time" aspect of this, too. I'm in the process of trying to (slowly) develop a side business developing custom software myself and I agree, it ain't easy to summon the energy after 8pm any more. I dunno about you, Chris, but I ain't a "spring chicken" any more. I can't go at it until 3am all week like I did back when I was 25. Seems to me like the best approach would be to try to maximize your efforts into one solid work rather than trying to maintain two.
Is anyone going to chime in about positive or negative points of expanding the focus beyond Axims here if we go with a merger of Mobilitysite into Aximsite?
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I don't visit this site much anymore. But it has helped me much in the past. In fact, I use the forums as a reference from time to time. I would leave it as is.
I bought and still have my Axim X5. I bought it right when it was released. I learned a lot from this site that I never would have on my own.
Thanks for everything!
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"Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body" -Unknown
The impetus behind all of this is the fact that the Axim is going the way of the dodo, so to speak. As such, I'm not sure how much sense it makes to retain a name of a product that is soon the become obsolete. In a few years, "Axim" won't mean much to new mobile device users and the name Aximsite will be a liability from a new traffic sense due to lack of name recognition.
As has been said, the heart of this site is the fantastic community and forums. Those things will remain no matter what the name of the place is. I think that the smart play at this point would be a pretty large scale overhaul and consolidation of the two sites. Perhaps a new site title is in order. Certainly, as long as the user base exists, I'd like to see all the detailed support for Axims (ie - all the existing tech forums) remain available.
The option closest to what I envision is "merge Aximsite into Mobilitysite".
Ultimately, the most important thing is to retain the fantastic community that is already in place. If that is accomplished, we could call it www.bunchofchuckleheads.com and folks would still drop by. Having said that, I think it is important to realize when it is time to move on. As tech geeks, we're supposed to always be looking for the next big thing, right? Bring on the change!
Also, I call dibs on www.bunchofchuckleheads.com if it isn't already registered. Has a certain flair to it....
I sold my axim long ago ,but I benefitted from the expert users here too much to see it go.
Chris in my opinion you should see aximsite as a BRAND it has a value which you and users here have built up, add more forums for other mobile devices and you have a useful site for everyone.
IMHO mobilitysite could just as easily redirect to here, sometimes URLS that contain keywords bring in traffic that otherwise would be missed but as far as I can tell mobilitysite has nowhere near the traffic etc of aximsite??
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gave up on x51v due to lack of bluetooth
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Seems to me the PDA as technology is going to slowly disappear as mobile devices proliferate. Axims might be in the front of that disapearing trend since they are no longer produced. So I would look toward consolidation of Axim info with other similar resources.
Ideally, a generic PDA site would exist with sub-forums addressing specific models, like the Axim. This site would be specifically for PDAs, and not include all sorts of mobile devices. Ideally, all the Aximsite forum data could be moved there.
If you are not prepared to create a generic PDA site, you might be able to work under someone else as the lord of your own kingdom within a kingdom... You would be bringing all these Axim eyeballs to the revenue stream...
I think that merging Mobilitysite into Aximsite is a bad idea... mostly because the term "Axim" won't mean very much once you can't find them anywhere. This shouldn't become a legacy site...
Perhaps a third community could be started that merges the two domains into one new site? The two old domains could still redirect until they expire, and then you'd be left with one new site. Although people may not like that concept, it gets rid of the issue of who is coming to whose site.
(i.e. , I don't want to be just another one of the Aximsite users that came to Mobilitysite and feel like an outsider.)
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Lawson Culver
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Don't merge the two names of the forums or produce a new one... It would be hard to remember the URL unless you start a nice third name that both aximsite and mobility site directs to.
I like aximsite for its pocket pc focus, and well I never actually visited mobility site much but I know they have a lot of other general stuff.
I guess since aximsite seems to hold on its own, leave it and let fate run its course... I know your psp site and dell dj site both slowly disappeared but and I claim its cause was too specific of a focus. Perhaps the legacy of Axims will be the next kleenex brand for tissues.
btw big forum, tiny subforums for specific things only works when there is a huge userbase...
Keep the comments and ideas coming. This is something I am taking very seriously at this time and I want to hear all the voices. I am in no way close to a choice right now, I am teetering as I am enlightened by comments.
Keep em' coming.
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Chris Leckness, Microsoft MVP Windows Mobile To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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