[TD][/TD] [TD][TABLE][TR][TD]Interview with Theforumzone.com[/TD][/TR][/TABLE][/TD]
When you search for the term «forums» in Google you will find millions of entries. A forum is a place to meet people, exchange information on a specific topic, seek advice and establish business relationships. Below you can read our interview with Jeremy, the founder of Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links.

Torsten:
How much time do you spend online each day?

Jeremy
On average I'm online 6 - 7 hours each day.

Torsten:
What triggered your idea to start an internet forum?

Jeremy:
I've run a couple of forums in the past, but they were all strictly for fun or other hobbies. I recently set up my sports forum — that was just another «for fun» project. I like sports, and being able to talk smack to other sports fans around the world is pretty cool. I set up The Forum Zone after I realized I had an addiction to forums, and needed other forum owners around me to make myself fell better

Torsten:
Can you define three benefits for people taking part in your forums?

Jeremy
We'll talk about The Forum Zone here…let's see.

1. While not everyone participates, «The Post Exchange Group» is a valuable resource available to our members. The hardest part of starting a forum is getting people to post...that's what «The Post Exchange Group» is here for.
2. Starting and running a forum is tough, The Forum Zone, if nothing else, provides ongoing encouragement to forum owners. Don't give up — you can build your community.
3. At the forum Zone you'll get real world advice from people who have «been there done that». The Forum Zone has been fortunate to attract some very knowledgeable and experienced people right from the start — you get opinions and info from people who have the answers you are looking for.

Torsten:
What would you say are the differences between an online forum and a «real world» forum?

Jeremy
You need to be careful when you're «writing conversation». Without being face to face with people you lose the benefit of facial expressions and body language. Also, people tend to write things in a forum (or e-mail) that they wouldn't say face to face...which I think is great. I think forum conversations and communication can be much more candid than "real world" conversations can be sometimes.

Torsten:
Have you got a life outside of your forum activities and if so what do you do?

Jeremy
No. I exist only in my forum, without it I am nothing Seriously though, yes, I have quite a few activities that keep me busy when I'm not working on or with a forum. I work fulltime in marketing services & own a small part of a technology solutions company. The small company I'm part owner of has been seeing some pretty substantial growth so I've been busy.
When I'm not working I'm spending time with my girlfriend, my dog or doing all the stuff around the house that I neglect because of all the time I spend online.

Torsten:
How do you connect to your e-community when you travel out of town?

Jeremy
Laptop or PDA… assuming an internet connection is available. Most of the time it is, but I do go some places where cell phones won't even work… not a chance of getting an internet connection in those places. I have friends that watch over things for me while I'm gone. I don't travel much though, so it's never really been an issue.

Torsten:
How many active members do you think your forum will have by the end of 2004?

Jeremy
I would hope to have around 100. I'll probably have 500+ members, but I'm sure a lot of them won't be «active«.

Torsten:
Have you ever thought of organizing a real meeting for forum people?

Jeremy
TheForumZone is still too new, I haven't considered any personal meetings. I wouldn't be opposed to it, but don't know that it would ever be possible on a large scale due to the diversity in the location of our member base. Forums have world wide appeal, and we have people sign up from all corners of the globe.

Torsten:
Many thanks for sharing your experiences with us. We'll continue our conversation online…