“Forums.”

To a few of you that probably brings back a load of memories. Good times good times. But to a number of you, it may also bring up feelings of “old” or “outdated” or “not cool” or “not as useful”…

Let me be the first to tell you that they are still very much in. And, I’m not sure they are going anywhere.

In fact, the proof is really in the pudding: Google anything and you’ll oftentimes get a number of results that are from forums explicitly. Why? Because they are real dialogues happening about real issues and problems with real people with real answers.

Relevancy and high value, all the “good” stuff that search engines dig.

But, I’ll take it one step further: It can sometimes help produce community better than a blog. I’ve had a blast hanging out in the small (but growing) ChurchCrunch Forums, answering questions, discussing issues, and solving problems in a close community.

In addition, we can add functionality fast based on need and desires of the community. We can innovate, create opportunities, and solve problems. It’s a neat mix of fun and functionality.

But wait, there’s more! Forum software is getting faster, better, and more “real-time” than ever before. Products like Vanilla2, which is Open Source and very much like the “Wordpress for Forums” is amazing and Mark O’Sullivan, the project lead, is just freaking cool.

Forums aren’t old school or “broken” or “not as valuable;” typically, they’re just “used wrong” or just not thought through enough. I think that’s probably the biggest issue (and “graveyard” forums, of course). Generally speaking, the reason for this is because there’s no specific, identified, dead-obvious purpose to it.

So don’t discount a forum when you go searching for your community/connection-building products for your church, ministry, or organization; it could be exactly what you need.