Indian Tennis Fanclub (or TennisIndia.org) on Social Media

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Indian Tennis Fanclub (or TennisIndia.org) on Social Media

Post by VReddy »

Starting this thread based off of discussion from another thread. Curious to see what others think. My thoughts below

SI Tennis as a discussion forum is just irreplaceble - no point of contention there. I feel the wealth of knowledge / expertise that exists here would be so much useful with a social media presence

Pros
(a) to get more potential Indian Tennis fans engaged / in touch with our player journeys
(b) to connect with the new generation of players / their parents and have them gain from the knowledge that exists here
(c) Forum will be the base for hard-core fans while social media page (whatever platform) can be the mechanism for casual fan (or) core indian fan who grew up on mobile and not used to forums as much (i.e., <25 age people) to consume Indian player updates
(d) More fans / more people aware of indian player stories will only supplement, not replace anything that we do now
(e) More regular stream of incoming members who are likely to become active on our forum via either every post links to our forum for more discussion & the social media page has a direct tab/link added to sports-india. It should ideally not dilute the quality of the posts here as the bar to post here is very high for a new age fan (i.e., register for a new account (with no google/fb signin unlike other sites) and then having to post.. which one normally can't using mobile)

The downside of it

(a) More repition of the work. The same results/articles get posted in two places. However, this can be taken by the interested folks only.
(b) SI has a huge reputation, we don't want to put it at stake: It can be offset by slowly expanding the intial core team after a structure has been setup
(c) Given that its volunteer driven, it will likely die down - don't want to associate SI with a page that will die down in no time: That risk is always there. However if one chooses a team that has a track record in SI, then they more likely than not, there for the long haul. Even if it dies down in 1 yr, if it had 3-5x the impact on (a) more people being aware of our players (b) more NRIs coming in to support our players during matches (c) more members joining the forum (d) players feeling that they are getting recognised and so on, then I feel it is worth the risk.

How can SI Forum and Social media page co-exist
The social media page/account will only be a medium to have the mobile-first generation of fans, with a mechanism to be connected with indian players

What is the monetary gain / what is ulterior motive driving this discussion
To be honest, its nothing and infact a waste of time. I can vouch for this from before August phase (consumer of content) to after August phase (consumer / producer / sharer of content) contributing to a social media page. One could use those 4-8 hrs / week to a more productive use. However, if one is still passionate enough to continue, then I personally much rather prefer the path of magnifying the impact of my time by 3x/5x on Indian tennis.

Anyway just though I should jot down thoughts here and curious to hear what others think! Hopefully this topic doesn't die with only 1 post :))))
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Re: Indian Tennis Fanclub (or TennisIndia.org) on Social Media

Post by jayakris »

I hope more people will comment with opinions. I am usually a "notice the positives first" kind of a guy, so I don't oppose such things by nature. Probably need to think through this a bit more, to say what it would all mean, and what is best to do.... In other words, I am solidly parking my behind on the fence with the excuse that I am putting my mind to work :)
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Re: Indian Tennis Fanclub (or TennisIndia.org) on Social Media

Post by Prashant »

I am a live & let live kind of guy, and as wiser heads have pointed out, the more people that care deeply about Indian sports, the better. So, I can't see the harm in a Facebook or other social media presence.

But - signal to noise ratio on most social media platforms is very poor. I come here because I get both eyewitness accounts & thoughtful opinions of a smallish group of people who all care very deeply. And with rare exceptions, I don't have to wade through a pile of crap to get there. That is irreplaceable. I blocked SaniaPower years ago & don't read his posts. But in all these years, I have never had the slightest need to turn off anyone else. People have different fortes and priorities, but all of you are thoroughly worth reading. If we can replicate that on Facebook without getting a bunch of annoying nonsense as well, I'm fine with that. But I'm skeptical.

So, my first instinct is to say, let's keep this going as it is, but if some kind souls want to maintain a Facebook page or whatever in parallel, more power to them.
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Re: Indian Tennis Fanclub (or TennisIndia.org) on Social Media

Post by sameerph »

I agree with that. The Facebook page run by Vatsal/ Vishnu is a good initiative to create more awareness about Indian tennis. It is no alternative to this forum as it mainly only result updates and a few interviews and not a detailed discussion on any subject such as this forum. Also the forum also has discussion on sports other than Tennis at length.

In short, both can co-exist. You all can give a link of sports-india forum on the fb page to attract new users here if everyone else here agrees with this.
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Re: Indian Tennis Fanclub (or TennisIndia.org) on Social Media

Post by suresh »

Like Sameer, I feel that they can coexist. I personally follow both the forum and the FB page.
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by Rajiv »

vatsal323 wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2018 2:04 pm https://indiantennisdaily.com/2018/02/2 ... u-vardhan/


Interview with Vishnu. He pretty much talks about everything here. Interesting anecdote with Somdev is the highlight!
You never post like before or have almost left,
and instead only use this forum's reputation and outreach to promote your website.
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

:Offtopic:

Rajiv, It is a link that is pertinent to this thread and so he cannot be considered spamming the site. So Vatsal should be allowed to post some links like this one.

(Moderators: Please act and let us know your opinion(s))
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by bujilover »

I agree with Suresh. If anything, Vatsal/Vishnu combo is only promoting Indian Tennis by taking these news to more fans than before. I don’t think either one of them is making money by promoting their website here and our players are equally happy about it(saw Vishnu Vardhan’s Facebook post giving credits to Vatsal).

Frankly enough, this is the same thing I wanted to do when I was younger, only that I couldn’t.
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by Rajiv »

Suresh , Dinesh , It is fine If Vishnu/Vatstal are doing a good job and more power to them and am not a bit against their endeavours .
If their material is pertinent to this thread , than their entire website is pertinent to the over 1500 topics in our Tennis section.

My only concern is using our platform to further and promote their material , and without our site they would not get the desired traction which they would hope for.
Our Forum has come a long way from the past 15 years , starting from Jay's notes , organising chat rooms , to calling up tournament directors about our guys and the well informed opinions about well begin of Indian Tennis and our players , all which was unheard of in Indian Tennis and in the process has become a one of its kind and to piggyback on its success and enjoy a free ride and furthering their cause by them or their proxies is my concern
So without infiltrating , just let them do their stuff and we do our stuff.
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

Rajiv, You and I come from a different generation. I suspect that Vatsal's generation (and my son's) is connected to the world in a different fashion. An FB post might carry more weight (for that generation) than a post in a sports forum like ours. This forum has been enriched by several youngsters over the years who either have remained with us or moved on as their responsibilities increased (Sandeep and Dinesh come to my mind). I can see ITD and Sports-India coexist without any issues. Vatsal is as much a part of Sports India as you and I are. There are no strings attached to membership here as far as I know. If it does, I would be the first person to leave the forum.
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by vatsal323 »

Thanks for the support Suresh Sir and Dinesh. Really appreciate it.

You guys pretty much covered all the points. I am now tired of countering Rajiv's comments, time and again. It only spoils my mood.

As one of you mentioned, we are not making any money out of "promoting website". And post the links here because we know that there are passionate fans here who would want to read those interviews. If moderators think we are spamming/using SI, I'd be happy not to post links from now on.

Best,
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by Varma »

Rajiv, I too have a different view than that of yours. In my opinion, Vatsal and Vishnu are doing a great job in promoting Indian Tennis. This forum has lot of loyal fans (although "nut cases" might be a more appropriate term :p) who someday dream to see a slew of Indian players succeeding on the pro tour. These two guys are putting in enormous amount of effort to help Indian Tennis players in every possible way. I know Vishnu has a full-time Tech job and he does all this in his personal time, but I do not know Vatsal's situation. The interviews they are publishing make it a great read and I can't get enough of those. If, someday, their website starts making money and these two become millionaires, I will be very happy for them. We need passionate guys like this duo to become rich so that they make it better for Indian Tennis. For decades, Jay and several others have done a wonderful job sacrificing so much of their personal time. I see this new development as the next generation truly taking the baton over (at least taking part of that over) and continue to do the same, albeit in a different way. Just because Vatsal stopped posting in this forum as much as he did before doesn't mean they can't promote their website here. For, most of us love to read what they write.

- Varma
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by vatsal323 »

Thanks for the kind words, Varma Sir.

My situation is pretty similar to Vishnu's. I am in Bangalore, working at InMobi. So I do this in my personal time as well.

That is the reason why I do not get time to post(as much as I used to) on SI. I still post once in a while. And I do follow all the wonderful comments and insights you guys have, everyday.
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by Varma »

Good luck with your job, Vatsal! I thought you were into sports journalism :D. Well, in way you are a sports journalist whether it gets you a paycheck or not :D. Thanks for all those interesting articles. I enjoy them immensely.

- Varma
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Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by VReddy »

Rajiv wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2018 4:59 am Suresh , Dinesh , It is fine If Vishnu/Vatstal are doing a good job and more power to them and am not a bit against their endeavours .
If their material is pertinent to this thread , than their entire website is pertinent to the over 1500 topics in our Tennis section.

My only concern is using our platform to further and promote their material , and without our site they would not get the desired traction which they would hope for.
Our Forum has come a long way from the past 15 years , starting from Jay's notes , organising chat rooms , to calling up tournament directors about our guys and the well informed opinions about well begin of Indian Tennis and our players , all which was unheard of in Indian Tennis and in the process has become a one of its kind and to piggyback on its success and enjoy a free ride and furthering their cause by them or their proxies is my concern
So without infiltrating , just let them do their stuff and we do our stuff.
Frankly Indian Tennis is too small to call it - 'their stuff' and 'our stuff', 'their cause' and 'our cause' - this is what irks me about about Indian Tennis which I am hopeful will push me away from it over the next year or two unless someone like Somdev steps up to take baby steps towards it.

We are talking about 50k indian tennis followers (who occasionaly read indian tennis speicifc articles) and about 5k core tennis fans (regularly follow indian tennis) and about 500 tennis nuts (as Varma gaaru put it).

If we 'knowledgable' fans can't get to work with each other towards organizing such miniscule audience, then we are just a mirror of Indian Tennis Administration/Players. Frankly my view of AITA moved from hatred towards being more understanding of why they exist like that.

Will post more during my evening or probably over the weekend but read this analytics view of the website: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gO35uegPSkWgTkGJ3

Hopefully that clears that view on the promoting aspect. Infact I am pretty sure, if I invest time in cross-linking site to Wikipedia pages of our players, the returns would be way more - just for comparison sake. I only did it for Rishika (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishika_Sunkara)

Also if its for accolades, please call out ornabreute (sufyan) too - He is as good as sameer / dinesh in terms of tennis knowledge (I don't use it lightly btw) and is an excellent writer too. Another of those younger breed who are more active on twitter but I think he joined her and started posting occasionally in the last month or two. I have been not as active on that page, in the last 2-4 weeks.

There have been some unexpected gains from this part-time project which I didn't anticipate. Will share more on this thread - viewtopic.php?f=4&t=219135. I wish we can discuss this topic in just one thread instead of chatting in 4-5 threads over a period of time.
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