Invited Guest Posters

Zaph0d

I don't know if this has been done before but....

What about inviting famous people to do 'hosted web chats' on boards? They would work the same way as on the BBC.

You'd create a forum for web chats with all posts approved by a mod before posting. It would be billed as an 'event', taking place over n hour. One thread per guest.

It might attract new members to boards and it's pretty easy work for the guest compared to a live interview. You could have guests from sport, politics, rockstars, authors, whatever.

You'd need:
an adult trusted mod
someone to invite guests (someone on boards who works in media or pr)
a new forum
a pinch of salt

and that's it!

what do yiz think?

halenger

Zaph0d wrote:

It might attract new members to boards

The admins will have a heartattack if they see that. Poor guys.

Anyway it's a very interesting idea. Those web chats can be very intensive on the servers though. They've caused no end of trouble for some people - it really depends on the guest. As I said though, interesting idea.

Given the size of the userbase/hits/etc/etc/etc boards.ie should have a fairly big punch PR wise and could get some big names. Also there's undoubitdly many people with many connections.

breadmonkey

That's a great idea

Kevin_rc_ie

yeah this sounds entertaining enough.

let's get bertie in

uberwolf

I can see Bertie trying to do a web chat, he'e be half way though his first post and the hour would be up!!

Tis a fascinating idea though.

Kudos are winging their way to you right now

BuffyBot

TBH, webchats are ok (as in those which take place within a chat environment) but doing it via a bulletin board would be a bit of a pain.

As for saying webchats are ok, I mean that they are good in some aspects, but not so great in others. They are great for making an "event" out of a chat, but for the most part they tend to attract people into that particular topic only, and as soon as it is over most don't stick around to participate in the community - so if it's hoped that that it would be a draw for new members, it's a double edged sword. It might bring new people in, but if they go away again, what is the point?

uberwolf

BuffyBot wrote:

It might bring new people in, but if they go away again, what is the point?

dirt and wall?
/I think thats the cliche

prob not the emphasis here though, just an alternate event to the debate idea which never quite took off

pwd

dunno how prudent the idea of letting new users participate in such things would be.
Bubbles Kold The Maverick and that type would be likely to set up numerous accounts just for such an event.
Perhaps having a specific forum created (with access initially by request) for the particular guest. Threads could be posted before the event for them to respond to, and then further replies could be posted etc while they werre there.

Nukem

Interesting idea. - be a nice way to encourage people to join the community (Cult;))serious though great idea.

Nukem

parasite

how about the the head of eircom, on a plate

breadmonkey

We had a "celebrity" discussion thread on the UCD board a while ago, but I think Uberwolf bashed him

blondie83

Nah it was Syke who drove him off in the end - pity too, was quite an interesting thread

damien

This is kind of like the Slashdot Q&A they have now and then. Have people submit questions. The mds choose the best 20 which are then emailed to the interviewee who emails them back.

Not really live though and can allow the interviewee to deliberate a lot on questions. This can be good or bad depending on the guest.

I like the idea though. Two thumbs up.

Gordon

Yeah, nice idea. If it was premoderated then it could be possible. Know any famous people Zaph0d?

Talliesin

BuffyBot wrote:

TBH, webchats are ok (as in those which take place within a chat environment) but doing it via a bulletin board would be a bit of a pain.

I remember participating in an interesting thread on a coder board with Bjarne Stroustrup following an interview with him being published on another (non-board) part of the same site.

The thing here is that he's not a major celebrity, though he is very well-known in his field (he's not an A-list celebrity or B-list, more like π-list). Such people don't bring hoardes of screaming, knicker-wetting, fainting fans, and aren't particularly worth trolling any more than anyone else, but they'd have things to say of interest to people with an interest in a particular topic.

The transcript of an interview also gave a focus to the resultant thread, rather than having a complete free-for-all.

billy the squid

The only way I could see this working would be to announce that a celebrity was going to come on and answer questions, get users to post their questions and then have that celebrity post and answer them all in one day.

other than that a what based q and a session is another alternative.

I was giving this some thought with the regard to the board i moderate, having a local politician on to answer questions, but Im not sure how to work it.

It would indeed generate more traffic

Talliesin

billy the squid wrote:

It would indeed generate more traffic

Yes, cause we need that!

RuggieBear

maybe it could be broadcast on the boards radio....wasn't there some talk of that a week or two ago...?

flogen

yeah, I cant see a live interview of any discription working via bullliten boards... a q and a session, with selected submitted questions being put to people would be best IMO, although it would lessen any possible discussion...
An IRC chat, maybe? !!!

Nukem

RuggieBear wrote:

maybe it could be broadcast on the boards radio....wasn't there some talk of that a week or two ago...?

Sweet idea - now boards radio mmmmmmmm...............dead in the water isnt it,some licence stuff and all that.

Nukem

flogen

Nukem wrote:

Sweet idea - now boards radio mmmmmmmm...............dead in the water isnt it,some licence stuff and all that.

Nukem

I think it fell on its arse because music licences would be too costly... but maybe it's worth looking into an online radio station that only operates from time to time, for example for special interviews

Nukem

Remember the Admins were pushing for sponsorship and all that to boost boards as a community a few months back. Could they operate the online radio as normal radio station and get people to sponsor the station - ya know with adds and that. Surely would pay for the licence fees? Know little of this but willing to help.

Nukem

billy the squid

you don't need a licence for an online station, but you might have to pay IMRO or IRMA or one of those cartels for rights to play the music .

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

flogen

billy the squid wrote:

you don't need a licence for an online station, but you might have to pay IMRO or IRMA or one of those cartels for rights to play the music .

yeah, that was the problem, it did arise that the station could consist of new and upcoming bands but after much discussion it was decided it wouldnt work..

anyway, back on topic.. I'm sure a webchat on a temporary online radio station could work, someone (admin or something) could actually conduct the interview and ask questions posted in a special forum from us from the week or two before hand. That way the interviewer could deviate slightly from a question in order to perhaps press the interviewee more on something or, of course if the interviewee mentioned something interesting in one of his/her answers. Would be better than them just replying to posts or something, especially if its a politician and they're dodging awkward questions!

regi

Might not be a bad idea at all. Hardest part would be getting people to agree to being interviewed tho.

Zaph0d

Regi wrote:

Hardest part would be getting people to agree to being interviewed tho.

You would do this in the same way that community radio stations and student debating societies manage to get appearances by famous people: you write them a letter and make everything as easy as possible for them. Some well known people will only give their time when a large fee is involved, but others are happy to do so when they feel the interview will be good for their public image or will be an opportunity for them to influence young minds or is being done for a non-commercial organisation (I presume boards is not very profit making)

You get the address from 'Who's Who in Ireland' or you write to the person's agent. In the case of politicians, their addresses are a matter of public record. Ask the mod of each forum for suggestions of whom to invite, along with what they are famous for and what achievements they have had. Then write to a bunch of them, quoting flattering details of their lives. My experience is that famous people almost expect flattery from everyone because they are so used to it and so ego-dependent.

The letter is sent by an official of boards on letterhead paper and goes something like this:

Dear <famous person>

On behalf of the internet discussion group boards.ie, I would like to invite you to take part in an online questions and answers session. Boards.ie is the largest internet discussion group in Ireland. We have chosen to invite you as we feel you are an important figure for many of our 5,700 active members, most of whom are aged between 18 and 26.

You are a recognised authority in the area of <x> with your many years of experience as <y> and <z>. We feel that this has given you a unique insight into the world of <something> which would be of great interest to our young members.

We would need an hour of your time for the online interview. We would meet you on a day of your choice in Dublin and pay your travel expenses. Mr xyz will host the discussion. Questions will be submitted over the internet by the members to the host, who will choose which questions to pass to you. You would dictate your answers to the host, so there is no need to understand any of the technology! Unlike in a TV interview, you will have time to consider your answers and won't have to dress up for the occasion. A selection of the questions will be sent to you beforehand with others presented on the day.

If you wish to accept this invitation please contact us on <tel number> or write to us or email us and we wil arrange a suitable date and time for you. If you have any further questions about boards.ie or the format of the interview, we would be happy to answer them.

In the hope that you can find the time to meet us,

Yours sincerely,

<boards rep>

Kevin_rc_ie

Concerning the internet radio thing:

Wasn't there some discussion about people on boards playing their own music (music they wrote/perform themselves) this could lessen the cost of royalties.

Also, it could be a chat show type thing. I think that would be cool.

Concerning inviting people in for webchat/bb discussion:

They don't have to be incredibly famous people, there's a lot of people with peculiar interests on these boards and they'd probably enjoy something like this. For example, you could get the Md of eircom in and see how the irelandoffline people get on with them. Something along those lines.

RuggieBear

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

For example, you could get the Md of eircom in and see how the irelandoffline people get on with them. Something along those lines.

i reckon it will be a cold day in hell before he comes on here to be abused

Kevin_rc_ie

maybe an international rugby player would come on and answer a few question for the good people in the rugby forum. I'd imagine tracking down the likes of Shane Byrne,Reggie Corigan or Victor Costello would be doable. Although, whether they'd be bother I don't know. Not as vain as the soccer bunch.

damien

you could get the Md of eircom in and see how the irelandoffline people get on with them.

RuggieBear wrote:

i reckon it will be a cold day in hell before he comes on here to be abused

Ahem. You never know. Please stay tuned. We're working on something like this. Not saying anything more for now cos I dislike vapourware as much as anyone else.