jrodriguex
**Member** 
Inactive
Posts: 26 
What I collect: US Classics, Costa Rica Bernardo Soto Series 1889
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Post by jrodriguex on Aug 25, 2017 0:54:08 GMT
Please support YPLF graduate, Ian Hunter in his latest philatelic endeavor, The Stamp Collecting Spot! "Stamp Collecting Spot is a website where philatelists can connect with one another, expand their knowledge, and give and receive help. It's a complete social media platform for stamp collectors, much like Facebook but without all the nonsense." Clubs/Dealers/Shows: add your information to the "Directory" tab. This is a perfect (free) advertising opportunity! For more details please visit: www.stampcollectingspot.com |
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angore
Member 
Posts: 4,502 
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 25, 2017 15:19:27 GMT
Yet another discussion group!!
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zipper
Member
Posts: 2,525
What I collect: Classic GB, QV, France Ceres/Napoleon, Classic U.S., Cinderella & Poster Stamps
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Post by zipper on Aug 25, 2017 15:24:22 GMT
Ah, an affiliate site. Is he making any $ yet?
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angore
Member
Posts: 4,502
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 25, 2017 22:25:25 GMT
Affiliate of who?
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Post by smauggie on Aug 25, 2017 22:54:59 GMT
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angore
Member
Posts: 4,502
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 26, 2017 0:30:32 GMT
Thanks.
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Londonbus1
Moderator 
Cinderella Stamp Club Member 3059
Posts: 4,525
What I collect: Cinderellas and some Ephemera from Great Britain, France and Israel plus a few beautiful bits from elsewhere !! Topical interests include Flags & Judaica, the latter with an emphasis on the Jewish National Fund.
Member is Online
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Post by Londonbus1 on Aug 26, 2017 9:00:56 GMT
More Ads !! No Thanks.  |
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angore
Member
Posts: 4,502
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 26, 2017 10:39:13 GMT
One would think this would be the message of APS as APS makes conscious decisions to not allow members to be connected online.
Connecting The World of Philately
The more connected we are, the stronger the hobby. The stronger the hobby, the bigger it grows.
Become a charter member - join the social network for philatelists today.
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,164
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Aug 28, 2017 15:32:43 GMT
Please support YPLF graduate, Ian Hunter in his latest philatelic endeavor, The Stamp Collecting Spot! "Stamp Collecting Spot is a website where philatelists can connect with one another, expand their knowledge, and give and receive help. It's a complete social media platform for stamp collectors, much like Facebook but without all the nonsense." Clubs/Dealers/Shows: add your information to the "Directory" tab. This is a perfect (free) advertising opportunity! For more details please visit: www.stampcollectingspot.comThanks for your post, Jessica. It is good to see you back on TSF after a two-month hiatus. I am, of course, happy to hear that another young philatelist, like yourself, is trying to do something to benefit the hobby. So, out of respect for that effort, I have paid a short visit to the new site. After doing so, I am struggling a bit to understand the real purpose. Is "The Stamp Collecting Spot" (TSCS) a site to promote and coordinate all existing stamp collecting sites, or is it just an alternative to TSF? My real question: how is TSCS different from TSF (if it is)? Please forgive my ignorance, Jessica, as I am not a very social-media-savvy person. For example, I do not have a Facebook account. As a result, I cannot really appreciate the assertion that TSCS is "like Facebook but without all the nonsense." What does that mean? Anyway, thanks again for your post, Jessica. I look forward to your further comments. |
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sgard
Member
Inactive
Posts: 52
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Post by sgard on Aug 28, 2017 18:26:59 GMT
Thank You for information!
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 441
What I collect: (Mark) I'm a general worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Aug 30, 2017 3:46:13 GMT
I played around with the site a little bit today, although I didn't sign up. At first glance, the technology reminds me a little bit of a site called 'Ning', which was fairly big 8-9 years ago. It was a way to set up your own social network, which is what TSCS purports to be. @beryllium Guy, I think the main difference between a 'social network' and a bulletin board like TSF is in how information is displayed and shared. On TSF and other bulletin boards, things are organized by Topic and then there are Threads and Posts within the Topics. So when you go to the front page of TSF, you see a Topic hierarchy. There are members on TSF, of course, and member profiles, but it's more Thread centric than member centric. A social network like Facebook or Linkedin or, I assume, TSCS, is more member centric than topic centric. You spend more time creating an member profile, and post information under your member profile. People choose to 'follow' each other and/or become 'friends' with each other's profiles. Then your personal information feed is an aggregation of what your friends post. So, in simple terms, you see what your friends are up to / writing about, more than if there are new posts on a particular thread that you like. [Grossly simplified and likely inaccurate, but that's the differences as I see it.] Some observations specifically about TSCS: - Seems that if it's not an APS initiative, the site owner is well connected with the APS. I see Scott English, Ken Martin and Nancy Clark have recently joined and Scott English has already posted. - Regarding ads. Well, Proboards (that is, this site) has ads all around, as does the Tapatalk iPad app I use to view this site most of the time. So I'm not too worried about that. The disclaimer about the Amazon affiliate program is for legal reasons, to be up front that if you click and ad and buy, TSCS gets a commission. Not the end of the world. Regarding @beryllium Guy 's question "How is TSCS different than TSF?" Well, they seem to have dealer profiles up front and center, which is different than TSF. So if they want to bring all aspects of the hobby together (collectors, dealers, exhibitions, etc.) that might be considered a slightly different focus (I think of TSF as a place for collectors to hang out first and foremost.) On their About page, they state: "We believe it's vastly important for the growth of the hobby that stamp collectors have a presence online." I think that points to the 'social network aspect.' TSF isn't about giving little old madbaker, or @beryllium Guy, or Ryan, or @poodle_mum "a presence online." It's about giving us a place to hang out and share stuff with each other. And that's a-OK with me. [The stamp bloggers like Jim Jackson, Keijo and The Punk Philatelist have 'a presence online.' ] Time will tell, but I'm curious to see what problem they are trying to solve. TSF got started because admin wasn't happy with existing forums so he started his own. Stamporama evolved from a small trading club and evolved into an amazing low price auction site. Stampboards because Glen was having trouble getting his garage cleaned out and his opinions heard (haha! Just kidding! Just kidding!!) My 11 cents, Mark PS: I'm posting this via the 'Quick Reply' option and I realize it's anything but. haha. |
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scb
Member
Inactive
Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Aug 30, 2017 9:05:02 GMT
You're not alone pondering this... Right now it seems/feels like US-version of MyPhilately (a very popular social media platform for stamp collectors; it died 5+ years ago as they run out of funds).
-k-
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angore
Member
Posts: 4,502
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 30, 2017 12:03:17 GMT
I did end up signing up for the SCS. So another place has my email address.
It is new so did not expect to see much in terms of content. I agree with madbaker in that it has a more Facebook look which I do not like for any detailed discussions. It is good for snippets but not ongoing discussions. I have been associated with other forums and until you get a solid group constantly adding content to draw others in you will not grow. You can build it but does not mean they will come and do not see much of an investment yet from the owner which is not a good sign.
I find Facebook fine for the short attention span topics. There are stamp groups on Facebook and you can see the trend. Facebook relies a lot of images (eye candy) rather than serious discussion.
TSF along with SCF, SOR, etc. are every much a "social" platform so there is nothing new.
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ianh
**Member**
Inactive
Posts: 14
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Post by ianh on Sept 5, 2017 0:34:35 GMT
Hello everyone, I just joined TSF. I’m Ian, the face behind Stamp Collecting Spot. Thanks for all the interest! I saw you all talking about my site and decided to jump in and provide some clarity on certain points. Hopefully I can answer any questions you have as well.  ....I cannot really appreciate the assertion that TSCS is "like Facebook but without all the nonsense." What does that mean? ..... Oftentimes, Facebook users will refer to some of the posts they see on Facebook as "nonsense" - generally referring to posts that they don't like, spam, scams, etc. Everyone will have a different definition for what "nonsense" is though. With Stamp Collecting Spot, the environment is meant to be clean and interesting, not full of "nonsense". Hope this helps answer your question. ...@beryllium Guy, I think the main difference between a 'social network' and a bulletin board like TSF is in how information is displayed and shared. On TSF and other bulletin boards, things are organized by Topic and then there are Threads and Posts within the Topics. So when you go to the front page of TSF, you see a Topic hierarchy. There are members on TSF, of course, and member profiles, but it's more Thread centric than member centric. A social network like Facebook or Linkedin or, I assume, TSCS, is more member centric than topic centric. You spend more time creating an member profile, and post information under your member profile. People choose to 'follow' each other and/or become 'friends' with each other's profiles. Then your personal information feed is an aggregation of what your friends post. So, in simple terms, you see what your friends are up to / writing about, more than if there are new posts on a particular thread that you like. [Grossly simplified and likely inaccurate, but that's the differences as I see it.] ..... Perfect explanation. ...- Seems that if it's not an APS initiative, the site owner is well connected with the APS. I see Scott English, Ken Martin and Nancy Clark have recently joined and Scott English has already posted.... Stamp Collecting Spot itself is not connected with the APS, but as a YPLF alumnus, I’m well connected with Scott, Ken, and most of the APS higher-ups. ...- Regarding ads. Well, Proboards (that is, this site) has ads all around, as does the Tapatalk iPad app I use to view this site most of the time. So I'm not too worried about that. The disclaimer about the Amazon affiliate program is for legal reasons, to be up front that if you click and ad and buy, TSCS gets a commission. Not the end of the world. .... 100% correct. Despite the ads and affiliate links (which are only on a few posts), I’m actually operating at a deficit. The ads certainly aren’t covering all the expenses, but this is a labor of love which I’m happy to fund out of my pocket. The ads do help ease the cost a bit though. ...Regarding @beryllium Guy 's question "How is TSCS different than TSF?" Well, they seem to have dealer profiles up front and center, which is different than TSF. So if they want to bring all aspects of the hobby together (collectors, dealers, exhibitions, etc.) that might be considered a slightly different focus (I think of TSF as a place for collectors to hang out first and foremost.) ..... SCS’s focus includes the social networking features, the dealer directory, and a dedicated place to get your questions answered (the Q&A page) which I see growing as more beginning collectors join. I have plans and the infrastructure available to add more features such as a philatelic events calendar, detailed courses on various facets of the hobby, online exhibits, and a news page where original, current hobby news is published by several different contributors. So while TSF may be a place for collectors to hang out first and foremost, I see SCS as a “central hub” for philatelists to stay current on hobby happenings, expand their knowledge, get free advertising for their business or event, and of course get to know other philatelists and stay in touch with friends. ...Time will tell, but I'm curious to see what problem they are trying to solve. .... My goal with SCS is essentially to grow the hobby. That’s what it comes down to. To provide a place where beginning and seasoned collectors alike can turn to for guidance and help, for news, and to meet new philatelists and keep in touch with friends. And I know a lot of sites already offer these abilities, but not all under one easily-navigable roof (to my knowledge). Philatelists have said for many years that we need a presence online. We have a “presence”, but it’s spread thinly and it’s not very strong. If I remember the estimate correctly, there are around 20,000,000 philatelists worldwide, and 5,000,000 in the U.S. alone. Despite these numbers, the largest stamp site (stampworld.com) has just a few thousand visitors per day. Then there are several philatelic sites in the 100-500 visitors/day range, and many with less than 100. With Stamp Collecting Spot, I aim to change that. It will take time and a huge amount of effort, but I know it can be done. With about twenty-million philatelists worldwide, there’s no reason there can’t be a philatelic website with tens of thousands of visitors per day. But why is there a need for a website of this size? One way in which a philatelic website strong in numbers could grow the hobby is simply its strength in numbers. If a challenge like “introduce stamp collecting to 5 kids this week” was started on a forum with just 300 visitors per day, that’s awesome! But what if a challenge like that was posted on a massive website where 30,000 members would see it in a single day? The possibilities are huge. As I see it, the more connected we are, the stronger the hobby. .... do not see much of an investment yet from the owner .... You're right. I would love to invest every moment of my time building & improving the site. But I have limited time with which to spend working on the site each day and since SCS is just beginning, there are still a lot of details to work through. With the time I do have, I mostly spend it working on the back-end and emailing different plugin developers, doing all I can to uncover bugs and keep SCS running smoothly. When I get the chance, usually daily, I do pop in and add some content or a new activity update. That’s the fun part! Hope I covered everything. If you have an questions about SCS, or thoughts you'd like to share, please feel free. I will do my best to respond.  Ian |
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scb
Member
Inactive
Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Sept 5, 2017 5:32:58 GMT
ianh ... Not sure what's your source, but it is way off by order of magnitude. Based on Google Adwords (which is de facto platform used by online advertisers), Stampworld is in totally different ballpark: 100-150,000 unique visitors A WEEK. Add to this users who run adblockers, pay etc, and the reality will more than likely settle in between 200-300K unique visitors (and 3-4 million page impressions) a week.  Possibly the most essential question here is separating 'random noise' from 'active users'. With most websites 50-80% of traffic is 'drive by' traffic (brought by Google and other search engines and social media), whereas rest can be considered as engaging and active users. Agree. And it is possible to reach... I just hope you are truly aware of the cost that comes with all of it. The bigger a site grows, the more resources it will hog (and I'm not talking about hosting and technical challenges alone). Many thriving/upcoming philatelic websites have vanished over the years simply because they failed to understand and control the cost implications of 'being popular' (and yes, it nearly killed my Stamp Collecting Blog as well). -k-
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Post by classicalstamps on Sept 5, 2017 7:17:58 GMT
Ian, good luck with the project :-)
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angore
Member
Posts: 4,502
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Sept 5, 2017 16:20:09 GMT
I am curious about the criticisms of SCF and SOR. From member interaction, they seem to be equivalent. Is there some moderation complaints? They do not have a chat box.
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ianh
**Member**
Inactive
Posts: 14
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Post by ianh on Sept 5, 2017 19:29:05 GMT
ianh ... Not sure what's your source, but it is way off by order of magnitude. Based on Google Adwords (which is de facto platform used by online advertisers), Stampworld is in totally different ballpark: 100-150,000 unique visitors A WEEK. Add to this users who run adblockers, pay etc, and the reality will more than likely settle in between 200-300K unique visitors (and 3-4 million page impressions) a week. Possibly the most essential question here is separating 'random noise' from 'active users'. With most websites 50-80% of traffic is 'drive by' traffic (brought by Google and other search engines and social media), whereas rest can be considered as engaging and active users. I was using Webuka to determine visitors per day. As you'll see, I was even being generous when I said "several thousand". It has been accurate for most sites I check, but I see I should have been more thorough and checked other sources as well. My mistake! Agree. And it is possible to reach... I just hope you are truly aware of the cost that comes with all of it. The bigger a site grows, the more resources it will hog (and I'm not talking about hosting and technical challenges alone). Many thriving/upcoming philatelic websites have vanished over the years simply because they failed to understand and control the cost implications of 'being popular' (and yes, it nearly killed my Stamp Collecting Blog as well). -k- I have given this a LOT of thought over the past few months, trust me. I have decided to do the best I can and use the most effective resources and methods available so that I waste as little time/money as possible. And actually, time is a bigger concern to me than money at this point...but I understand that may get switched down the road. It will be (and it has been) difficult, yes, but this is a labor of love and I truly enjoy completing the tasks and overcoming the challenges involved. I guess time will tell how well I can do the job. Ian, good luck with the project :-) Thanks! |
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 441
What I collect: (Mark) I'm a general worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Sept 6, 2017 0:19:02 GMT
Hi Ian, Thanks for the detail about what you're trying to build. I appreciate your passion and desire. (And I'm really glad that some of my educated guesses were accurate and I didn't accidentally/unintentionally offend you!) It's always a challenge to find the balance between encouraging new projects and sharing past battle scars and crossing over into being discouraging. I hope you're taking these comments as the 'sharing battle scars' kind rather than the 'discouraging' kind. Keijo (scb) has been at this for a very long time and has a lot of experience to share, for sure. I'm a big fan of his even though I don't always agree with him. He knows more about what the catalogue publishers are (or aren't) doing in the online world than anyone I know. I'm not active with running forums anymore (especially stamp collecting forums.) Purely a user now. But I was very active in Stamporama back in the late '90s / early 2000's as they moved from a paper newsletter to a website/auction/discussion forum. All this is a long, rambling way of saying there's a lot of good folks here that might be able to help you build out your project. So I really appreciate you telling us more about what you've got planned. Best wishes (and good luck!) Mark |
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Post by PostmasterGS on Sept 6, 2017 1:11:31 GMT
ianh, One minor suggestion -- I signed up, then deleted my account when I couldn't find a way to use the site without it displaying my full name. I think you'll find there are many users on the various stamp forums who prefer to remain semi-pseudonymous for a variety of reasons, and requiring them (us) to post under real names will discourage participation.
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ianh
**Member**
Inactive
Posts: 14
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Post by ianh on Sept 6, 2017 15:31:10 GMT
Thank you, Mark ( madbaker )! Definitely taking them as the 'sharing battle scars' kind. And I really appreciate these types of comments since I can learn from others' experiences and plan my site accordingly. PostmasterGS - I totally understand. As a social network, it's nice when people use their real names of course, but I get there are many reasons people won't want to. As such, the first and last name fields actually aren't required. If you want to be known simply as "PostmasterGS", you can simply put that in either the first or last name field and leave the other blank. You can also go to your account settings and update your name there. Hope this helps! |
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Post by PostmasterGS on Sept 6, 2017 15:50:03 GMT
I tried to sign up again, but it won't let me because my e-mail address is already associated with an account (the one I deleted). Yet, I can't sign in with my old sign-in info because the account was deleted.
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ianh
**Member**
Inactive
Posts: 14
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Post by ianh on Sept 6, 2017 16:03:13 GMT
PostmasterGS Try creating a new account now. You should be able to use your email address now, since I deleted it from the back-end. Let me know if you have any trouble.
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scb
Member
Inactive
Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Sept 6, 2017 17:57:08 GMT
@ian.... I agree with madbaker - consider all the feedback, even negative one, as encouragement and possibility to create something more awesome. Having built websites for ~30 years (both for profession and fun), I can say the only thing you should fear is not having feedback at all. I have followed your progress over the past year, and the reason I have not linked/promoted StampCollectingSpot.com are affiliate connections of it all; not just Amazon links, but the whole WealthyAffiliate-connection with site/server and yourself... In general website owners (like me) are extremely cautions when recommending or participating any such site, as most affiliate websites are not truly 'saving the world' (though many promoting such noble goals), but seeking out the quick-and-easy way to make some money from their less-Internet aware users. Right now it is very hard to say which are your true motives behind it all- true passion to push stamp collecting onwards to this century, or some grand idea to conquer a niche market where 'competition' is low but there are still enough audience to make major revenue. I'm not trying to shoot you down with this; I'm just saying what I see/feel. Things that could swing my mind include things such as ... Adding more 'personal information about yourself and collection' on the About page. And making more interesting (and unique) articles/content ... -k- |
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zipper
Member
Posts: 2,525
What I collect: Classic GB, QV, France Ceres/Napoleon, Classic U.S., Cinderella & Poster Stamps
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Post by zipper on Sept 6, 2017 18:48:54 GMT
I've never seen an affiliate site that recommended anything they weren't getting a commission from. They built the site to make money. They might love dogs, and love taking about them, but all their links are moneymakers.
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ianh
**Member**
Inactive
Posts: 14
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Post by ianh on Sept 6, 2017 20:07:28 GMT
Keijo ( scb ), Thanks for the helpful feedback. You are correct; I do have an affiliate connection with Amazon. As for Wealthy Affiliate, I got started learning to build websites with the training there and the reason I’m still with them is because of their hosting. I absolutely understand your caution though, and I agree that the whole ‘make money online’ world can be a sketchy place. I know it’s hard to convey sincerity through the internet, but for SCS my motives truly are to help the hobby grow. You are definitely right about the About page. When I switched SCS over from a blog to a social network, I updated the About page accordingly and removed the personal information. My intention with this was to ‘step out of the way’ so that other people would feel more comfortable being involved, but I realize since I’m just starting out and most people don’t know me or where I’m coming from, that was a big mistake and the About page should instead be very personal. So thanks for pointing this out – I will update the About page in the coming days. As for more interesting and unique articles, those are on my action plan. When I first started as a blog, I got a bunch of articles up. As time permits, I need to go back and update pretty much all of them. I also need to publish new ones, again, when I can find the time. Another goal of mine is to open the site to contributors, so anyone (with my approval) can publish articles. Thanks again for the helpful feedback! Ian |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2017 21:57:23 GMT
As for more interesting and unique articles, those are on my action plan. Good! Maybe you can start with one for our next newsletter which so far is needy. Deadline is Sept.20th Hope you can contribute |
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,050
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Sept 6, 2017 22:39:56 GMT
In that regard, I think an article on your YPLF experiences would be most informative and, perhaps, the easiest for you to produce in short order. |
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Londonbus1
Moderator
Cinderella Stamp Club Member 3059
Posts: 4,525
What I collect: Cinderellas and some Ephemera from Great Britain, France and Israel plus a few beautiful bits from elsewhere !! Topical interests include Flags & Judaica, the latter with an emphasis on the Jewish National Fund.
Member is Online
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Post by Londonbus1 on Sept 7, 2017 8:52:38 GMT
As for more interesting and unique articles, those are on my action plan. Good! Maybe you can start with one for our next newsletter which so far is needy. Deadline is Sept.20th Hope you can contribute Now that's a good idea !  |
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ianh
**Member**
Inactive
Posts: 14
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Post by ianh on Sept 15, 2017 4:06:51 GMT
Just wanted to update everyone on where I'm at.
Over the last week I have been extremely busy, so I have not been able to move as quickly as I would like. Currently, I am working on a new About page for Stamp Collecting Spot, and have spent several hours on that over the last few nights. I'll let you know as soon as I finish.
As for writing an article on my YPLF experiences for the forum newsletter, I think that would be awesome and will definitely work on that. Although I will try, I cannot guarantee that I'll finish it before the deadline, in which case hopefully it can be included in a future issue.
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