Hi, Rick...

I'm hoping for the same thing.  Here are my goals for the forums:

• Members-only participation.  Why?  Because I don't want the forums to become filled with spam, as is often the case with user forums.  I want comments, ideas, questions from people who care -- who are committed enough to join and contribute quality content.  If you have to wade through a lot of crap to find anything worthwhile, my purpose is defeated.
• I plan to create continuous new content of my own -- videos, articles, tips -- that draw comment, criticism, suggestions.  You can tell from the site that I am perhaps one of the most active collectors of this kind of information.  The best of these will be attached to a forum topic.  This is a little different approach from most websites.
• I'm thinking about creating a kind of membership that only permits commenting in forums and on content, but I'm not quite sure how to approach it.  If non-members can add content, they should be identified and accountable for what they say.

I fill the 'film strip' at the top of the home page with YouTube videos from non-members that we judge to have some merit. Do check those out for some very inspirational ideas.  (I just added one today from a Mac/Final Cut Pro user who describes his workflow.)

Does this seem a reasonable approach?

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Darrell Icenogle
FlipInFocus.com

It seems a very reasonable approach. I totally agree that the forums should be members only but re my original comments something should be done to encourage members to post comments often. As far as accountability goes I'm sure if you check out other forums there is usually a set of terms & conditions that spells out what is deemed fair and reasonable behaviour.

I find forums invaluable not just for tips and opinions but as a 'barometer' to how my subject of inerest is performing. If I encounter a problem it is often encouraging to see if other people are having the same trouble or if it is a problem of my own making.

Don't forget you can always recruit moderators to help with the forums and make sure they conform to any policies you may lay down.

Good luck with your plans. I'll be watching.

Thanks for your thoughtful perspectives, Rick.  We have the same goals.

My start with computers came as a social scientist working  at Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, in Laj Jolla, CA.  We did a lot of investigation of accountability, anonymity, and behavior, working with Fortune 500 executives in a high-level management program that used computer communication very similar to what we're doing here.  That began in 1981.  My perspectives have been shaped by those experiences, as well as many other attempts to foster cogent conversation in similar settings.

Terms and conditions aren't worth the disk space they take up, because they aren't on people's minds when they're communicating.  The best conversation comes from people who are committed, like you and I, to making that conversation productive.

Yes, people need encouragement.  From experience, the best encouragement is for people to be responded to when they have something to say, or a question to ask.  For the moment, since this conversation only began in August and we have relatively few members, I carry most of the burden of response (though I enjoy it.)

But membership is picking up, and I expect the conversation will pick up as well, and I expect others will begin to share the need to comment, ask, and respond.  I certainly appreciate the contributions you have already made, and look forward to more.

Thanks for your thanks, Darrell (this could go on forever!) and interesting insight into your background. My past life includes careers in both photography and publishing - in a time before the digital revolution began. Like you I have been fascinated by the impact technology has had on society, no more than in the field of image manipulation. Just the other day I found my original home movie camera, a large and very heavy Super 8 model (considered 'compact' at the time) with a maximum shooting time of 4 minutes! Now I hold in one hand a Flip Video camcorder that can fit into a shirt pocket and film for up to two hours. You can't help but be impressed.

To fulfill and explore the potential of this new technology a site such as yours is vital, which is why I hope more people will doscover and contribute to it. However, as this happens it is equally vital that you do all you can to protect and defend the integrity of your vision. I agree with you that people rarely read terms and conditions but, wearing my cynical writer's hat, I would suggest that T&Cs aren't there for your members and visitors - they are there to protect you against any potential misuse or misrepresentations perpetrated by your site. While the internet is still largely a 'frontier territory' such safeguards are important, to my mind.

I look forward to more people discovering this site and sharing their experiences and ideas. Having just 'battled' to upload my first Flip video to YouTube and Vimeo I recognise the need for more information to encourage the first-time user. I'm sure you will be providing this and more in the future.

Have you seen our "Policies" link  (appearing in admittedly small letters at the bottom of each page)?  We have tried to spell out some protections, not only for ourselves, but for our participants -- and also some restrictions.

I'm doing my best to get the word out about the site.  These days, it's "social network marketing," like Twitter and Facebook, but we also hope to build trust and interest through our free weekly tips, and we hope people such as yourself will spread the word.  There can sometimes be, via such methods, a tipping point, where the progression goes geometric, rather than linear.  That would help a lot.

I think small, inexpensive camcorders that shoot HD and make video easy to share will be one of the big stories of the next few years.  As I was with computers, I'm of a mind to make this revolution easy, cheap, and ubiquitous.  I think the biggest stories -- particularly in shareability -- have only just begun to happen, and I think Flip/Pure Digital/Cisco understands the promise better than most of the small camcorder manufacturers.

I'm looking at making stabilization my next "big thing" for FlipInFocus.  Again, the key challenges are small, simple and cheap.  After all, one of the most difficult things about shooting video with such a small device is to hold it steady and pan smoothly.  I have looked at some very sophisticated attempts.  I'm actually in the shop, this week, trying to meet the challenge.

Another near-term focus is editing.  As I wrote elsewhere, No One Watches Unedited Video. Deal with It! However, I also know that 'non-linear editing' is something that is often foreign and intimidating -- not to mention expensive.  But there are some developments that should be of interest to the enthusiast that will make it easier and cheaper for everyone.

I also know that Flip is about to introduce some new technology, and I'm eager to review it.

Darrell