I was thinking about this new market which I am particularly interested in, and I decided to throw together a list of why it’s cool. It’s forum hosting, and the only big company doing it is Google with Google Groups. But Google Groups is more of a mailing list. A real forum like phpBB, IPB, vBulletin or even bbPress works a lot better. That means there’s a big opportunity here. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google bought a forum host in the next few months…
Why use a forum?
- Collaborative, like a Wiki
- Moderated
- Build your reputation (posts are attributed to you)
- Nobody edits your own posts (maintain control over your words, unlike a Wiki)
- Community
- Discussion
- Dissemination of information