Raspbernie Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 So, I posted our annual "Happy Birthday" message to Eric yesterday. 38 hours later we have generated: 14 Birthday Messages This morning, I posted a similar "Happy Birthday" message on the EricCarmenForum Facebook page and in 12 hours generated: 2,961 Engagements 141 Birthday Messages (and counting) 31 Shares Just saying. 😕 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Woo... And here I was afraid when the title said State of the Website, that we were going to be hearing some very bad news! Thank you Bernie! A great day to be a member of this site! Thanks for those generated statistics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspbernie Posted August 12, 2022 Author Share Posted August 12, 2022 Rhonda, I took down the EricCarmen.com Message Board a while back due to lack of fan involvement and was lobbied to re-open it. The point of my post was to show how little engagement the website Forum seems to garner in a world of social media. People just aren't using Message Boards any more. Ergo, the above statistics. In other words, bad news. Let me enlarge that emoji for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Ellen Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 I enjoyed my years here notwithstanding some rough spots 😄 and made a couple of good friends in real life. Thank you!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlFan Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 I think I’d rather stay on here I’m limiting my time on Facebook because I don’t enjoy Facebook very much 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Bernie…is this gonna get ugly again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew C. Clark Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 STATE OF THE ART!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew C. Clark Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Yet, I consistently see hundreds, if not thousands of visitors to the site based on how many hits certain posts generate. I don't know why we have so many lurkers, but the people are stopping by and are interested in what's going on here. Those are hard numbers that can't be dismissed! Hang in there, Bernie!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Bernie...Gotcha...embarassed though. Totally missed the word Facebook and how my mind played tricks on me thinking that was happy face. Geez, where are those reading glasses? And actually the cobwebs on the windows picture hadn't surfaced yet when I first looked. No excuses. But glad for all the people that are still here and posting though.. it seems like they are the dedicated few. I did think it was going to be an announcement about taking down the messageboard. So I was glad to see you didn't say that at least. Not a fan of facebook really. Thanks for everything. Can't blame a girl for having a positive attitude.🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 We've definitely had better state-of-the-website reports. When you reopened this board, Bern, you noted people were abandoning FB, while message boards like this one, depending on the topic, were starting to get more action again. There was a Facebook backlash for reasons that some here have touched on above. But FB is still Grand Central Station—a flurry of activity, with people coming and going. Message boards like this one are for longer stays. Just tough to get people to come by! The FB pages have the benefit of volume and reach. They're omnipresent, and they get the benefit of auto-generated emails lures that drag people in. One advantage EC.com always had was the presence of EC himself. I'm sorry he doesn't feel it's worth his time to pop in and do some of that great conversational writing he used to do. It's been almost 10 years since his last writings. So, left to own our devices, we've chewed on every aspect of EC and 'berries fandom possible, and then some: We've ranked and rated songs with creative angles.... We've done revisionist and "hindsight" history.... We've reminisced.... We've shared photos, rare and common.... We've enjoyed audio and video rarities.... We've seen Kirk's steady presentations of EC-related YouTube efforts.... We've pounced on anything and everything that could be classified as news (from Eric's tweeting career to the sale of his catalog).... We've had Bundles turn into a Hall of Fame researcher, digging through the Internet's vast archives for related mentions.... We've started acknowledging (more than ever) those who have passed away, and set off our own virtual cemetery for tributes.... And, of course, we've sliced and diced the EC and 'berries catalogs every which way—and in the grand scheme, they're not very deep catalogs in terms of quantity. Like Rhonda noted, we appreciate all who do show up. Especially when we're dealing with sweeping curveballs life is throwing at us. Yet as you note, Bernie, the size of the crowd continues to frustrate. It's especially puzzling as to why the aforementioned Facebook pages are overrun with former EC.com board posters. Where'd everybody go? We need a membership drive. 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susie b Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 A few months ago we talked of a master email list of members. It's likely that the list may be stale with some email addresses being defunct or abandoned, but if a mass EC.com reunion invitation could be sent, that might bring some folks back. Could the FB Raspberries/EC forum be used as a platform for an EC.com membership drive? I know some of the Raspberries forums have merged and consolidated on FB. Maybe run a post in the Japanese FB EC forum. Have seen Adventurine here, but not Hossy in a long time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspbernie Posted August 12, 2022 Author Share Posted August 12, 2022 I'm open to suggestions. As for Eric, I called to wish him a Happy Birthday yesterday. He's doing great and has some interesting things in the works. Nothing to reveal right now, but you should be hearing some news soon. He's currently not on social media at all, and enjoying the break. 😎 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Ellen Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 So glad to hear EC's great personal news. M.E. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Thanks Bernie for the update on Eric. Above all, even the musical aspect, I am so relieved in knowing he is doing well and thriving. So to hear that he has something in the works, yay! It is interesting how some posts can gather 40,000 views out of nowhere for a seemingly minor topic (but no comments). But others gather only a few views with no replies for what I'd say is a major topic. But that's how these things go. Very curious what's in the works from Eric right now. I always said, even if he just put out an instrumental piano-based album, that would be so amazing. It's not easy to keep up your vocals as you get older, you have to be using your voice steadily and protecting it. One thing I've observed from being on the site, was the many videos that weren't accessible but placed here. In some of them, when you watch Eric doing piano instrumental parts, you see how music moves him. Even on the reunion videos when he's playing piano instrumental parts, you see how the music moves him greatly there as well. It's a thing of emotional beauty to watch him play piano. I always thought... the music is always in him...he must be creating. How can he possibly walk past a piano every day and not be touching it? Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Thanks Bernie. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Ive heard that Music is Eric's Mistress. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen G Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 13 hours ago, Raspbernie said: I'm open to suggestions. As for Eric, I called to wish him a Happy Birthday yesterday. He's doing great and has some interesting things in the works. Nothing to reveal right now, but you should be hearing some news soon. He's currently not on social media at all, and enjoying the break. 😎 Thank you, Bernie, for that update! Rest assured, there are many of us who come here to cut straight to the chase to hang out with the EC "diehards". Even though I post on FB, it's such a time suck in general, that I only check in there about once a day to see if anyone has contacted us about obtaining music, commissioning an arrangement, etc. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyletx500 Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 As somebody that has long abandoned social media, I'm thankful that this site exists. Not only have I enjoyed posting here, but also have found some great nuggets of information from previous threads, particularly when Eric used to post on here. Thanks Berine for all you do. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 It's a great site. I think it needs a regular event to draw in some people. Kyle, what if you played a couple songs on piano live, every Friday night? Live-streamed at EC.com.... Hey, Bernie is open to ideas! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyletx500 Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 On 9/7/2022 at 7:18 PM, LC said: It's a great site. I think it needs a regular event to draw in some people. Kyle, what if you played a couple songs on piano live, every Friday night? Live-streamed at EC.com.... Hey, Bernie is open to ideas! That's something I would be willing to consider doing. Just fair warning, I can't sing 'em as well as Eric does though 🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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