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Thursday, June 10, 2004
Otaku's evolution.
Someone was talking to me about my posts relating to theOtaku/OB earlier...and since I really had nothing to say in this update, I thought I'd talk about that.
Actually, I probably spend a lot of time talking about the network here on myOtaku. But really, there's always so much going on and a lot of it doesn't get covered in any "official" announcements. Adam, Justin and I tend to be pretty quiet about the things we are working on, though it usually ends up that I provide a few vague hints and comments here.
It's interesting to think that I'm still here after all this time though. I had originally imagined that I'd have no time at all for the network once my tertiary classes began.
Of course, that was probably naive of me...both because I devote whatever time I can to the network, but also because it's not so easy to just drop everything and leave.
Moreover, it's difficult to leave something that you've contributed so much time to over the years. theOtaku.com/OB/etc would have to be the single longest commitment I've ever made to an online venture. And there are a lot of opportunities that I would not have had, were it not been for this place. For that I'm very grateful.
It's interesting to see how things have developed though. When I think about where we were only a few short years ago...I don't think we could ever have imagined our current position.
That's not to suggest that we don't have a long way to go, though. With myOtaku in particular, I think that Adam, Justin and I have really begun to realize the potential of this network. There are so many places we can take it and so many things we can do with it.
Considering where we've been, I think the next steps are pretty obvious. And we've definitely had several discussions about where we'd like to take things in the future. Some of those are probably okay to talk about (like better myO/OB integration and the potential for "premium" services in the future). And some are probably not okay to talk about, if only because they're a bit far out and undecided.
One thing I will say though, is that some people seem to have the impression that OtakuBoards v7 is where it stops. In other words, there is an impression that there's nowhere else to go.
That's partly my fault; I had said that V7 would be the last version change until the next edition of vB is available (or until some major new redesign is done -- something I have no plans to do at the moment).
But having said that, the cool thing about OtakuBoards is that it can and will always change and improve. Upcoming forum modifications are examples of that, as are additions of new skins and interactive features.
But beyond all of that, OtakuBoards will always be about the people and the discussion.
To some extent I think people have the view that V7 died a little bit, because it's a bit more sober than previous versions. Those people are right, in the sense that it's definitely a lot more sober.
But right now V7 is in the best position, from my point of view. It's a lot more sane and a lot more intelligent than it used to be. And that's a pretty difficult thing to achieve, considering that we've historically had a pretty young userbase.
Anyway, I don't know everything about our future, but I think that there are plenty of good things to look forward to. If you feel you were left out because you missed the pre-v3 stuff...don't worry. The best is yet to come.
Again, I seem to have managed to produce a pretty rambly post. But hey, when you have nothing to talk about, it's not that bad...right? ~_^;;
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