Forum Plans

Every point Salathe raises is perfectly valid, we need blogs, we need to branch out to other areas and we do need to lose the marketplace.

Talkfreelance needs something novel. Sites like dribbble and forrst are doing well as they combine discussion and more importantly excellent examples of coding/design. There is a sense of competition which TFL lacks, there is no reward for having 5 thousand posts. I'm not even talking about monetary reward, just something as simple as badges, new privileges or advertising. The bar needs to be raised for entry, and this may mean that lots of activity is again cut (not that it could get much worse) to prevent all the useless spam and get professionals on. The sites mentioned earlier such as Forrst were/are invite only and would only accept the best talent.

Some random ideas:
- More focus on badges for rewards (everyone likes to level up )
- Community blogs, have an editorial team that write and accept community articles. This could even just be suggestions for articles, things users won't to know about.
- Personal advertising, many people will come onto a forum and want to get their name out about their business. Find some way to link posting rewards with advertising privileges. (guest blog posts etc)
- Job board (but lets not make it free, if you want quality then you can't accept everything)
- Utilize social networking more. Competition where by tweeting a link will enter you into a draw to win some prize. But make it a good prize. For professionals winning $50 is hardly worth it, for me cash prizes are best to be avoided. Subscriptions and products are quite appealing (you may even get sponsors).
- Goodbye marketplace.

Salathe has some very good suggestions, It would make TF a viable freelance site. If they are actually listened to and implemented is a totally different story.

Originally Posted by Immersion Talkfreelance needs something novel. Sites like dribbble and forrst are doing well as they combine discussion and more importantly excellent examples of coding/design. There is a sense of competition which TFL lacks, there is no reward for having 5 thousand posts. I'm not even talking about monetary reward, just something as simple as badges, new privileges or advertising. The bar needs to be raised for entry, and this may mean that lots of activity is again cut (not that it could get much worse) to prevent all the useless spam and get professionals on. The sites mentioned earlier such as Forrst were/are invite only and would only accept the best talent. Some random ideas: - More focus on badges for rewards (everyone likes to level up ) - Community blogs, have an editorial team that write and accept community articles. This could even just be suggestions for articles, things users won't to know about. - Personal advertising, many people will come onto a forum and want to get their name out about their business. Find some way to link posting rewards with advertising privileges. (guest blog posts etc) - Job board (but lets not make it free, if you want quality then you can't accept everything) - Utilize social networking more. Competition where by tweeting a link will enter you into a draw to win some prize. But make it a good prize. For professionals winning $50 is hardly worth it, for me cash prizes are best to be avoided. Subscriptions and products are quite appealing (you may even get sponsors). - Goodbye marketplace.

I like this guys suggestions

Given our user-base we have a chance to make the Marketplace work.

There are some concrete suggestions here, and this is a good idea.

As I've said before, I honestly can't see the logic in removing the marketplace. As freelancers, it's vital to connect, hire, and trade services among other freelancers. 50% of being a freelancer is connecting and sharing ideas, and keeping up with the latest advancements. The remaining 50% is actually, hmm, obtaining work perhaps? Beef up the marketplace rules perhaps, but I'd strongly suggest not removing it. Doing so would be a pretty big blow to this community. Case, in point: someone literally just asked me yesterday if I knew of a great place to hire reliable freelancers. TF was my first recommendation.

Originally Posted by The Rover As I've said before, I honestly can't see the logic in removing the marketplace.

The market place as it stands at the moment is, to be polite, absolutely awful. It isn't doing anyone any favours, especially those who try and make use of it.

That's not to say a dedicated and well-made place for business people to do their business dealings wouldn't be a great asset, but absolutely not based on the forum system we have now. So as I hinted at earlier, I really wouldn't shed a tear if the current marketplace implementation went the way of the dodo.

There have been some good suggestions via this thread. Immersion I liked yours as well!

Now if the owner and staff will take some of these suggestions and run with it, I wont hold my breath.

Oh, I agree that the marketplace needs to be completely revamped. Clean it up. Put restrictions. Hell, perhaps even charge to post. Boost the quality of it. However, my experience tells me that removing the marketplace entirely will more than likely greatly decrease nearly any forum's overall participation. Just ask Sitepoint. There's a reason they've revamped and reintroduced their marketplace.

Originally Posted by The Rover someone literally just asked me yesterday if I knew of a great place to hire reliable freelancers. TF was my first recommendation.

I'm sorry (and this is no disrespect to the handful of talented individuals on here), but what on earth? This place, in particular the marketplace, would be the last place I'd send someone looking for a reliable, professional freelancer. Its riddled with rubbish.

In terms of keeping the marketplace or not, think generally. Stand back and ask if it actually adds any value to this place. It doesn't. If I were a new user and contemplating signing up, one look at the current marketplace would send me packing.