There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
--- Peter Broekhuijsen ---

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How to Improve WildFact into a Bigger Entity

United States Polar Offline
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#1
( This post was last modified: 10-22-2016, 11:18 AM by Polar )

This is quite the long post (and plenty of time to post this thread) to ask the question of: is WildFact able to be made into a bigger entity such as an online business where all members can profit and donate at the same time, or a world-class company in which nature reserve corporations respect WildFact? Quite an interesting leap to make.

Right now, I am trying to create a PayPal account in order to donate a good sum of my personal finances to this forum. I am doing this because I really love WildFact, and I enjoy reading about everyday events both in the natural world and within the human interaction (mostly negative interaction) with the natural world. I hope my donations (and all of the other donations) will be put to good use in order to make WildFact not simply a forum to share the natural world, but a corporate or world-class entity that idealizes the natural world. In my personal opinion, I feel that if we all contributed in some way, then we can definitely gain some returns (monetary or informational) from our hard work.

For me, the time has come to propose a few solutions in order to achieve this goal:

-Create a blog that idealizes WildFact and any personal trips to the natural world, possibly turn the blog into a short-run profit gainer, and transfer those profits back towards WildFact forums. This will result in an increase of WildFact as a larger, more influential entity.

-Create a business that idealizes WildFact by selling shirts, pants, outdoor-wear with the WildFact logo on it (possibly even other items), which (again) heightens the influence of WildFact as an entity. This will take quite a longer time, though, and more monetary contribution is needed for this.

-Flood the social media avenues with WildFact and its presence. Again, more people will know about WildFact, and in this day and age, connections make a huge difference.

-And if possible, contact some YouTubers that will support WildFact's assertion and possibly create a GoFundMe page dedicated towards supporters of the natural world. However, the first part of this idea is a bit "icky" as most YouTubers don't necessarily have regards to the natural world, with the possible exception of Kruger Sightings and Rob the Ranger Wildlife Videos.

All of these ideas can be put forth into motion, if we acknowledge two things: time is money, and the other is a good contribution by most (possibly all?) members towards the aforementioned ideas. If any of you would like to agree, disagree, or add some ideas into my list, feel free to give your opinion on this thread!

As a final note, the natural world is quickly disappearing, and with this comes a short amount of time before WildFact simply turns into Fact. So for now, we must make the best representation of the natural world that we can, if we want to make this BIG.
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India parvez Offline
Tiger enthusiast
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#2

I have seen facebook and instagram pages of wild fact. But they are not updated at regular intervals. They seem to be very dull. Also i am unable to see the followers list on these pages. If they are updated and if a link is provided always to the forum from there, wild fact will surely grow into a bigger entity.
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India sanjay Offline
Co-owner of Wildfact
*****
#3
( This post was last modified: 10-22-2016, 02:29 PM by sanjay )

Thank you very much for this wonderful suggestion @Polar 
Actually I wanted to discuss this, Me and peter always talk about this. And moderators here also aware of this, But as a member of this forum you have given brilliant suggestion

I will discuss this more with other mods here
I will also reply in depth about this, as it need little time to write
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Canada Kingtheropod Offline
Bigcat Expert
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#4

I believe expanding our information to social networks like Facebook or twitter and putting out regular updates there would attract more users.
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Argentina Tshokwane Offline
Big Cats Enthusiast
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Moderators
#5

I agree with social media being helpful, maybe we could put a little description and a link to the forum with it.

The only "risk" if we can call it that, is that we are constantly using info from other sources. However, I have seen many pages that do the same, putting a link and the article in their homepage, so it shouldn't be a problem.
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United States Pckts Offline
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#6

Social media is a good source for traffic increase but like any business, you need to allocate someone who will treat it like a job. Updates, viewer participation, images, call to action etc. All need to be updatd often or else the page becomes stagnet. But I think you guys are going in the right direction
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India sanjay Offline
Co-owner of Wildfact
*****
#7

WildFact has reached at a stage where we can push it to make a big entity. Some of @Polar suggestion is already in our mind but polar have presented it very well.
I would also like our members and even the one who is reading this please put your suggestion here or write us directly by using contact form http://wildfact.com/forum/contact.php
Polar writes-
1. Create a blog that idealizes WildFact and any personal trips to the natural world, possibly turn the blog into a short-run profit gainer, and transfer those profits back towards WildFact forums. This will result in an increase of WildFact as a larger, more influential entity.
A- I had made a blog section, but unfortunately I have to remove it because we are not able to put regular content in it. Blog writing is completely different than forum posting. Blog should be informational, optimized and to the point with at least 500 words. Creating a good blog post is at least 2-3 days’ work, it includes research, images, link and facts.
We would need someone who can write nice blog one at least a week
2. Create a business that idealizes WildFact by selling shirts, pants, outdoor-wear with the WildFact logo on it (possibly even other items), which (again) heightens the influence of WildFact as an entity. This will take quite a longer time, though, and more monetary contribution is needed for this.
A- Again, for this we need creative person in our team and a connection with clothes manufactures. But still this can be done
3. Flood the social media avenues with WildFact and its presence. Again, more people will know about WildFact, and in this day and age, connections make a huge difference.
A- I tried to do this, but it is not easy for a single man to do this continuously I need help of others. But regardless of my problem it is one of the best approach.
4. And if possible, contact some YouTubers that will support WildFact's assertion and possibly create a GoFundMe page dedicated towards supporters of the natural world. However, the first part of this idea is a bit "icky" as most YouTubers don't necessarily have regards to the natural world, with the possible exception of Kruger Sightings and Rob the Ranger Wildlife Videos.
A- Youtube is best media to get lot of attraction, not only this it also help to build a bigger brand. Though I have least knowledge promoting on youtube.

My prospective
All the ideas given here are good, but there are problems too
Almost everything require money and many people involvements, currently we lack it. Most of us doing it because we love nature and animals. But for most of us this is side work not the main because there is no return of the time invested.
Money is priority when you have responsibility and for that your time will be investment in your profession.
WildFact has potential of becoming a big brand but currently we are not associated with any big name and funding resource. We will try to partner with similar and other brands that may help us to give more exposure.
I assure that we will try our best to make it one of the better platform for the natural world. But for that we need support of you guys.
Keep sharing and telling people around you, when you get chance try to mention WildFact forum at different places related to natural world, example NatGeo, discovery, BBC, blog of naturalist and other similar resources.
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peter Offline
Co-owner of Wildfact
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Moderators
#8
( This post was last modified: 11-02-2016, 10:19 PM by peter )

POLAR 


Thanks for a good lead post with interesting ideas. Coincidence has it I've been thinking about a few things as well. It seems our ideas are not that different. The question is how to get there in a few years from now.

Building an organisation or, as you wrote, a world-class company from scratch isn't easy. The main problem is a lack of experience. I have, however, experience in another field. As there seem to be a lot of similarities between music and a forum about the natural world (...), it should be possible to use this experience. 

In this post, I'll describe a few ideas you'll probably recognise.   


a - Goal

In my opinion, a business doesn't start with money. It starts with passion. Other words I could use are true interest, dedication, commitment and ambition. The ambition to transform an idea into something real.  

Although some money is needed to get started, it is about the goal. What is the goal of those who started WildFact? Initially, we wanted to create a forum about the natural world. Not much later, the idea to transform it into an organisation became leading. The reason is we worry about the developments we see around us. Most of them result in the destruction of the natural world. Apart from the consequences often described by many, like climate change, we worry about the loss of a thing of beauty. The natural world is unique and can't be reproduced. If it will be lost, it will never return. 

Those who worry about the natural world not seldom develop a cynical attitude towards our civilisation. This is not the intention of those who started WildFact. It is, however, clear that we have to address a few issues. One of the things we need to do first is to redefine 'civilisation'. At present, it's a mono-culture that can only result in a slash and burn policy. Instead, we need a culture based on overview, respect, knowledge and responsability. We also need to protect wild country and wild animals.

In order to become a leading organisation, we need a niche. When we started, we decided for apex-predators. The reason is they are the best indicators of health. A healthy ecosystem often has large predators.  
    

b - Policy and tools 

The best way to get to our goal is to focus on good information about the natural world. As we need some money to get started, we recently added a donation page. What we raise will be used to get to more knowledge (a) and to buy the tools needed to communicate in the best possible way (b). Starting a forum isn't expensive, but maintenance is and so is service. Sanjay invested a lot of time into the forum and should be enabled to buy what is needed. At the moment, this is not the case.

As to the forum itself. The aim is a team of specialists able to cooperate. Specialists are needed to keep the ship on course and to keep it safe. They're also doing the repairs. At sea, they transfer the information they collected. In order to prevent distortions of reality, the information is presented as it was collected.     

The ship they work on sails to wild regions all over the world. After collecting information, they sail back to unload. In port, they pick up new passengers, new equipment and new researchers. Than they sail for another wild region. It is about these wild regions and their inhabitants. Those interested in them need the ship to collect and transport the information they want. 

The wild regions represent the natural world, the large ports represent the human world and the ship represents the forum. 

When things are going well, the company paying the bills wants to start publishing documents and organise regular meetings and safaris. In order to be able to do so, those who know about data, publications, marketing and safaris are needed. The company is founded and controlled by WildFact, but those donating have a voice. 

      
c - Time

When we started, we thought we would need 3-5 years to get established. So far, we're not disappointed. In about 30 months, we had well over 2 million views. This means the forum has become interesting for advertisers. It also means we are close to a position to deal with some of them.  

So far, WildFact concentrated on good mods and quality information. Now the time has arrived to attract those enabling us to expand. In about 2 years from now, the aim is to offer the team some kind of reward. Could be expenses and could be a small salary. Same for donators. 


d - Dreams

Although it's likely that some of you will have a few doubts about the ambitions described above, I disagree. Here's why.

When I was deeply involved into music, I played in a band that had real good musicians. The problem is most musicians don't know how to sell their product. Same for us back then. More often than not, we played gigs I wouldn't recommend. Over time, it has an effect. When the band was close to the end, I decided to give it a try with someone prepared to do everything I could not. About seven years later, in our department, the band was elected best band of Europe by their peers. Organisers already knew, as we were booked everywhere. Same band, same musicians, same music. What happened?

One is you need to believe in what you do and want to sell. Two is you got to accept that others are not that interested in what we consider to be quality. Most people care about passion, dedication and the intention to get to the core of things. They recognise it, call it 'feeling' and when it's there, they want to be close to you. Not to listen per se, but to sense something that is largely missing in their life. When they feel it, they feel good and when they feel good, they smile and interact in a positive way. Not saying I saw the start of countless new relations, but we definitely produced something they liked. Did we produce something they had asked for? No. Our kind of music was quite unknown. This means a business isn't about selling a product people want. It's about something you want to sell. You succeed when you think it's good and when you're able to communicate. 

How does it work? How did we convince organisers? I kept telling them what we offered was both unique and good. After some time, they believed it and sold it as something out of the ordinary. And it was, because we thought it was. Meaning quality is something important to those who think they are able to produce it. Not to others. Why is that? 

What we described as 'quality', in our ears, was quality. That meant we liked playing all the time everywhere. That's what people saw and felt and that's why they responded. And my memory about those days? What I remember most is the music. I still play, but everything has a time. When the moment has arrived, you got to be there. When you're too early or too late, you can play all you want, but it will be in vain. Coincidence is always there and it's always important. Much more so than many think. You just got to accept it and act accordingly, meaning you have to learn how to feel it and how to use it.      

As for Wildfact. All of us really like the forum and we also think we produce something the world needs. We call it 'quality' and I do not doubt that ever more readers agree. The feeling we have is reaching our readers, that is. And people respond. I get mails from all over the planet. This means the time has arrived.

The 'product' we sell is a very real, but hidden world. The world in which all of us were born and raised. When it's lost, we'll never be able to return to it. Well before destruction has materialised, the soul of man will be destroyed. The reason is he 'knows' what is happening around him. He knows, but feels unable to act. This is where a forum or organisation like WildFact comes in. We know how to respond to changes that result in destruction and we offer the public a tool to reconnect to the world they know. A world deeply embedded in all of us. When we unite, it will have an effect.                               
 

e - Money

We feel honoured to read you're prepared to help us start in a way, Polar. Apart from that, we saw something else. Referring to ideas about how to connect to social media, ideas about how to develop the forum and ideas about how use present and use the forum in today's world in order to achieve our goal. I saw real interest, commitment, creativity and passion.    

What I'm saying, Polar, is we can use someone who could develop into a marketing specialist. Why don't you make us an offer we can't refuse? 


f - Future

WildFact is doing well. In order to continue in this way, anyone interested in the things discussed in this post is invited to respond. Thanks in advance on behalf of all of us, 

Peter.
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India brotherbear Offline
Grizzly Enthusiast
#9

I can't quite picture in my mind the end result of this endeavor. But, as everyone seems excited about it, count me in. 
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peter Offline
Co-owner of Wildfact
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Moderators
#10

I agree the time to act has arrived. Anyone (member or mod) with an interest in a specific topic (not referring to posting, but to managing, maintaining, presenting and selling the forum) is requested to inform us.
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Roflcopters Offline
Modern Tiger Expert
*****
#11

(10-22-2016, 09:03 PM)Pckts Wrote: Social media is a good source for traffic increase but like any business, you need to allocate someone who will treat it like a job. Updates, viewer participation, images, call to action etc. All need to be updatd often or else the page becomes stagnet. But I think you guys are going in the right direction

pretty much this and wildfact is already the best forum when it comes to tiger related content.
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Pakistan fursan syed Offline
Big Cats Enthusiast
#12

change some moderators who are infamous in hating any animal or biased. and collect some info of a person whom u making moderator.. moderators should be calm and productive for forum they should avoid debating other members and try to cool down any situation which hurts other members.  my opinion for this forum. no disrespect and also not want to start any argument now.
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India sanjay Offline
Co-owner of Wildfact
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#13

Thank you @fursan syed for your feedback.
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peter Offline
Co-owner of Wildfact
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Moderators
#14

WILDFACT SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF OTHERS


When we discuss the forum or specific parts of it, views of others (non-members), positive or negative, need to be incorporated: feedback is feedback. Here's one I found some time ago (January 2016):

https://www.quora.com/Which-websites-are-the-best-for-wildlife-enthusiasts-or-just-people-who-like-wild-animals

The conclusion is that quality sells itself. Last month (June 2017), the forum had just over 300 000 views.
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Roflcopters Offline
Modern Tiger Expert
*****
#15

very impressive growth in terms of numbers, this is more than enough reason for me to continue my work with wild tigers in that b2 picture thread. I slacked hard.
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