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What's going on / health of HCSW


mbfrancis

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How many songs do you think get posted here in a given week for review? Is it a healthy volume to maintain a 'songwriting workshop'?

 

Ran some numbers:

 

* New songs posted to HCSW in '15 to date = 46

* Avg new songs/week = 2.4

* New songs posted by 'regulars' = 32

* Avg songs/week by regulars = 1.7

 

So maybe I should stop being disappointed and view this as a place to check in a couple of times a week (vs a daily stop). Maybe I should be grateful for the stuff that does get posted. Seems like it's been more active at some times vs. others, though. Do we just need more people so there's always something to review?. Should we have a regular challenge - deliver a new song, every week (or every two weeks)? God knows I need to finish songs.

 

Here's the trend if you're interested:

 

fetch?id=31505619

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This forum was a lot busier before it was turned into a Songwriting workshop by the votes of a few vocal members.

 

Maybe not being able to post new threads or reply to any using Google/IE/Firefox just discourages people from even bothering.

 

Or maybe HCSW is just dead like all the other forums.

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I miss Lee. We could use an active moderator. Or if not a moderator, someone else to keep thumbing the lighter.

 

I have a ton of material, just not quite ready to post for suggestions. I'll be back with new stuff before the summer is out - maybe a lot of stuff.

 

Please hang in there, all you longsuffering regulars. If there was ever a place where "thinking makes it so" it's forums like this.

 

nat whilk ii

 

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This forum was a lot busier before it was turned into a Songwriting workshop by the votes of a few vocal members.

 

Maybe not being able to post new threads or reply to any using Google/IE/Firefox just discourages people from even bothering.

 

Not sure I follow - I *want* a songwriting workshop, just a more active one. You're right that technical weirdness hasn't helped.

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I have no problem posting with firefox.... formatting is a bit rubbish if i use my phone though.

 

Where has Lee Knight gone?

 

Honestly..... im just not songwriting much.... work is busy.... home needs lots of painting and other jobs doing.... im enjoying photography and this coupled with some better weather means i can tie photography in with a walk in the countryside.

 

I guess if it WAS busier here id be more inclined to visit more often.

 

I do check in quite a lot but usually see that nothing has been posted in the time i was away so just leave.

 

 

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I miss Lee, too - a consistent positive presence is great, and probably makes for a more welcoming place. But how much of a difference does it make if no one is posting songs?

 

@ram Never had to use Tableau - it's a lowly pivot chart in Excel. :)

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The output currently is not enough to keep people consistently engaged and it's a cycle, when people aren't engaged the output gets lower.

 

If I'm at my desk I'll usually pull the site up out of habit. I still write pretty regularly, but I don't bother posting stuff that I know isn't going anywhere or stuff that I'm not going to change.

 

I miss Lee too, hopefully he's alright. I also miss Oswelk. Those two jokers made this place feel busy for a while, but even then there was lots of talk of how do we add people etc.

 

A few more consistent posters would be great, but it's tough to find new people. It seems when new folks show up with their latest greatest, they're just sort of looking for a virtual hand job. As soon as we start in with our style of feedback, the constructive criticism gets taken as criticism and we're told this place is so dead because we're a bunch of internet jerks.

 

It takes actually spending time here to realize this is a community of people that really do mean well. That's hard to make happen when the place is as dead as it is.

 

 

 

 

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So what do we do about this - should I post more or less? What can we do to increase participation?

 

Part of this is selfish sure - my last track got three responses, which seems anemic, given responses I and others have received in the past.

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I am working with Lee Knight and others to help this forum.

The best way to help is submit songs.

And if you are posting music, it will inevitably be "self-serving" but also may serve as an inspiration to others (isn't that why people write music?)

Hey Dendy--

The thread is not at all a knock on HC, but more a look in the mirror for us regulars who don't seem to be participating as much. And it seems lack of activity begets lack of activity. Not sure what you can do, although it's true Lee has not been active for several months, and is very much missed.

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Maybe there is not a lot of participants because of the techniques problems? I say that because I myself have a problem with writting and posting comments on the site. It may decourage a lot to post. I know that I am not the only one having this problem.. so, maybe it is another explanation. I am a new arrivant here, and I like this forum! I am consulting the site very often. If I didn't have this problem to post an answer in the right box, and if english was my first language, I will participate more.

Well.. It probably don't help a lot... :/

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  • 3 weeks later...
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There are lots of reasons it has slowed...people are busy, people have no new material, people get bored, or don't need help, or the internet forum use is old school... or any number of things. It is this way for all the sites I used to go to...some are still active but not as exciting as it used to be...or I don't know, just the way it goes I guess. I don't think its personal.

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Definitely wasn't taking it personally, but genuinely wondering if there's something different we were doing before. As recently as last year tracks would get 8-10 people responding, now it's like 2-3. (Very grateful to those people who always respond.) Dunno...

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It has fizzled for sure.

I joined 4 years ago and it was buzzing pretty solidly for a long time.

It was its own energy - people were enthusiastic writers and contributors. I really looked forward to looking in on a daily basis.

 

I guess there are any number of reasons in combination for the batteries running down. But run down they have - and I have no idea how to get the pot back on the boil.

The only way I can think of is for 4 or 5 people to commit themselves to contribute articles, ideas, new songs etc, and see if that is sufficient to create the critical mass needed to get it moving again and attract old-timers and new-timers alike.

 

Whatchathink?

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Yeah, things are dull and dead for the most part. People are attracted to things people are already attracted to....them who has gets, etc.

 

It's just coincidental that I haven't gotten any material to the level of completion I usually attempt before posting. Maybe I should post more stuff in a rawer state.

 

This is also a very lyrics-oriented site. But instrumentals are songs, too.

 

Ideas -

 

1 - start posting instrumental stuff with the chord progressions typed out instead of lyrics. Bass figures for those inclined/so skilled.

 

2 - post those little song-starter ideas that you have sitting around unused for eons. Maybe someone will find a use for them, or have an idea that starts a little sprout of an idea growing again

 

3 - feature one of "us" once a month or a quarter. Have a thread with a collection of material - no matter if we've heard it all before. No matter the state of completion or studio-perfection. Just to generate another look at someone's material and another opportunity to comment/praise/critique, etc.

 

 

nat whilk ii

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Those are great ideas. Should we have deadlines / contests.... song/week... song/month? Dunno...I get that some of you are not always writing (I took Dec-March off), but we can't all be not writing at the same time, can we? :)

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I used to enjoy thoroughly when stickboy used to post his stickboy challenges. Write a song with the word XYZ, or write a song that is 30 seconds or less, or here's the lyrics write the music etc. One of the reasons I liked so much is it forced me out of my comfort zone quite often.

 

At any rate, thought I'd mention that.

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