What makes an interesting thread?

[64dragnwagon]

I have a build thread going in the gallery and I was wondering what makes an interesting thread? I undersatnd the subject matter has to be interesting and unique probably helps. I notice some threads on here go "viral" and get hundreds even thousands of replies. I enjoy posting my progress and sharing my hard work and accomplishments with other members but it is discouraging when there doesn't seem to be much interest. I am not complaining mind you but just trying to get some tips on how to engage the reader more. I don't claim to have great creative writing skills and that is probably a big part of it. I know people like a lot of pictures so I try to include as many as possible. I want to make it interesting for the reader but am unsure on how to do it.
The comments from other members might also make more threads enjoyable for everybody. I love this forum and spend hours reviewing it every night. I just don't want to bore people to death.

 

[R6 Racer]

I think the biggest thing you can do to attract people to your build thread would be to post lots of pictures. That seems to be the biggest attraction(IMHO).

Steve

 

[rockwithjason]

pictures are big. i did one a while ago but the subject was too far out of the ordinary to be interesting to most people. having a subject that is in the main stream helps a lot.

 

[Kevin54]

Pictures for one. Lot's of them with a brief description. Sending money to members isn't a bad idea either. Not a lot. Maybe enough to cover a twelve pack while we look at your pictures. Other than that, maybe a link to the thread in question.

Who's up for 64dragnwgn sending them some cash? Show of hands.

 

[larry_g]

For me it is the sharing of technical details. Your thread is good but like mine not much innovation. We are like the Chevrolets and Fords in the parking lot, while the ratty old hot rod in the far row gathers all the attention. Good for gleaning a couple of ideas from as how you integrated the office and the vapor barrier. Putting out a build thread is like giving to charity and believing it does some good even though the thank you letters are few to none. We luv ya man but it's just kinda hard to express in a public forum.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Moto44]

You definitely mentioned the two most important ingredients: something unique/interesting and pictures. A couple other things to consider: although this site is about garages, it's also nice to get a bit more of the human story. Let's see pictures of the toys that go in the garage or even with the owners. If there is a story to tell, it is more compelling.

Also, the thread headline/topic should be something that entices one to click on it.

 

[Steevo]

Keeping the text to a minimum, with good pictures to explain whatever is being shared.
If it is a how-to, step by step pics with short descriptions of the steps rather than before/after is preferable.
Avoiding a lot of editorializing about "I did it this way because I hate the sloppy, weak, ugly, cheap, etc. etc. way I have seen everyone else do it". Just let your efforts stand on their own merit without using the opportunity to demean others efforts.
Posting on topics that are of broad interest to a lot of people here is always a good thing, too.
Everybody with a garage wants to see cool storage ideas, unique organization solutions, your compressor/workbench/power tool/toolbox/refrigerator full of beer, etc.

The gallery section is one I visit far less than the others. I like to see the questions and solutions to electrical, plumbing, heating, layout, storage, workspace design and the projects that happen the garage much more than the garage itself.
I also enjoy browsing through the tools section, to see what people pick up at yard or estate sales for cheap.

The other thing that attract looks if not comments if a catchy title.
My Shop Build < -- Boring
The Memphis Rocket Shop < ---- Made me look.

But if you REALLY want the most responses, just tell us about how you are planning to install your PVC air plumbing.


These are just my opinions. YMMV

 

[softailgarage]

( I love this smiley)

 

[softailgarage]

O.K., I checked out the thread. Looks like it started out as a slow build, that didnt help. Maybe post some drawings of what the completed job will look like. Get a little more technical descibing what materials and why.The more pictures, the better. I do have one question, why wait till the building is up before pouring the slab ?

 

[jamesemery728]

1. Half naked women.

2. Half naked women using Snapon tools.

 

[Talus]

Agree with the comments about having pictures. Also agree with keeping text to a minimum. I prefer imbedding photos vs. attaching them, simply because they show up full size in a post, don't require a second click, and can be viewed more easily. Also allows you to caption a picture with a sentence or two.

It's also about marketing. There are so many garage build threads here, like posted above a, catchy title will go further than "My garage build." Threads that tell a story, usually with decent photographs, will keep my attention longer than most.

Lastly, a lot has to do with luck of the draw in terms of how many views/responses will come out. Sometimes a lot of people will chime in, sometimes not so much. Just depends on site traffic.

 

[AndyL]

Don't forget unsafe acts to get the safety police involved

 

[Jack Olsen]

I'm told that this is how makeover-type shows work:

1) You start with the problem, something ugly and typical, and you come up with a plan to transform it;

2) You hit a surprise snag that stops your progress, but it's a disappointment or a setback -- not a project killer;

3) Commercial break;

4) Some interpersonal friction, then you come up with a solution and move forward;

5) Right when you're closing in on completion, you hit a much bigger obstacle -- one that threatens to undo everything you've done;

6) Commercial break;

7) You come up with a surprising solution that allows the project to be completed -- usually in the nick of time; and...

8) The recipient of the makeover is thrilled with the result (and the audience has been exposed to a surprising number of strategically placed products that are sold by the show's sponsors).



That might be a little contrived for a thread here, but hitting obstacles and getting input on how you can overcome them draws readers in. Clever solutions you can come up with to common problems will give readers that 'a ha!' feeling. Loads and loads of pictures will allow us all to skim over the text and still believe we understand what's going on.

But I think most fundamentally, it's this: if you're enjoying the process of the build/re-do/transformation, and the posts you write up communicate that thrill you're feeling, then the rest of us will feel it vicariously, and we'll want to join in the discussion.

 

[Shadowdog500]

An interesting subject makes for an interesting thread!

Keep it short and t the point! I automatically close multiple paragraph posts without even reading them. I imagine others do that too!

pictures always help for us visually oriented people.

Chris

 

[fergus]

I've wondered the same thing before, but never long enough to come to a conclusion. Like the others say, I think pics are big. And bigger pics are better.

 

[64dragnwagon]

O.K., I checked out the thread. Looks like it started out as a slow build, that didnt help. Maybe post some drawings of what the completed job will look like. Get a little more technical descibing what materials and why.The more pictures, the better. I do have one question, why wait till the building is up before pouring the slab ?

The pole building has treated 2x6 girts around the bottom that act as a concrete form. The best way to do it is to get the skeketon up and pour before the sides go on. Saves a lot of work with a wheelbarrow.

 

[64dragnwagon]

Thanks for the constructive feedback. I think the biggest thing I learned and am guilty of is too much text. I will try to imbed the pics, I have never done it.

 

[djkeev]

***, drugs and Rock and Roll always work!

No wait! ....... That was the 60's !!..... I'm so sorry! Please ignore that comment.

Dave

 

[64dragnwagon]

Agree with the comments about having pictures. Also agree with keeping text to a minimum. I prefer imbedding photos vs. attaching them, simply because they show up full size in a post, don't require a second click, and can be viewed more easily. Also allows you to caption a picture with a sentence or two.

Can somebody tell me how to imbed pics? I just tried on my door restoration thread and couldn't get it.

 

[Frank The Plumber]

I'm told that this is how makeover-type shows work:

1) You start with the problem, something ugly and typical, and you come up with a plan to transform it;

2) You hit a surprise snag that stops your progress, but it's a disappointment or a setback -- not a project killer;

3) Commercial break;

4) Some interpersonal friction, then you come up with a solution and move forward;

5) Right when you're closing in on completion, you hit a much bigger obstacle -- one that threatens to undo everything you've done;

6) Commercial break;

7) You come up with a surprising solution that allows the project to be completed -- usually in the nick of time; and...

8) The recipient of the makeover is thrilled with the result (and the audience has been exposed to a surprising number of strategically placed products that are sold by the show's sponsors).



That might be a little contrived for a thread here, but hitting obstacles and getting input on how you can overcome them draws readers in. Clever solutions you can come up with to common problems will give readers that 'a ha!' feeling. Loads and loads of pictures will allow us all to skim over the text and still believe we understand what's going on.

But I think most fundamentally, it's this: if you're enjoying the process of the build/re-do/transformation, and the posts you write up communicate that thrill you're feeling, then the rest of us will feel it vicariously, and we'll want to join in the discussion.

Now what if...we swapped out the commercial breaks at 3 and 6 for let's say ....beer breaks?
This I feel is a concept worth moving forwards on.

Oh yeah, and just after we finish it...we blow the hell out of it...while drinking beer of course.

Hey...it can be a sponsors beer.

Now that will get some attention...

 

[ElectroLight]

1. Half naked women.

2. Half naked women using Snapon tools.

Just remember no fat Walmart wives doling freaky stuff, we all got in trouble for that thread

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Agree with the comments about having pictures. Also agree with keeping text to a minimum. I prefer imbedding photos vs. attaching them, simply because they show up full size in a post, don't require a second click, and can be viewed more easily. Also allows you to caption a picture with a sentence or two.

Can somebody tell me how to imbed pics? I just tried on my door restoration thread and couldn't get it.

Upload your pics as usual, they become thumbnails. After you do that, and the post is up and running, then click to Edit the post. Leave it sit.......... Then open another Tab or Window in your browser, and again go to GJ. You will have two GJ pages open at this point. At the top of the screen is a menu, select CP (your Control Panel) and scroll to the bottom and select Attachments. Select the pic you want to make full size and right click on the file name and select Copy and then switch Tabs or Windows. This will put you back in the Edit screen for the post.

Put your cursor on the spot where you want the pic, left click to make the cursor stay there. Go to the top of the edit box, and click on the yellow square with the mountains in it (it represents a picture). A pop up window appears and you click the cursor in it, right click and select paste and hit enter.

Keep doing this, when done, select the Submit Reply or Submit Edit button and the pics will appear in the text full size and also as the original thumbnails.

You can reuse the pics in another thread or post by doing this also. I frequently go back and find an old pic and insert it in a new post in a different thread, where it is relevant.

Here is a pic selected from my Control Panel, Attachments........

These are my three outdoor girl cats guarding the car and yard. Posted in a thread on Garage Security on 9-28-2008.

Charles

 

[nmanitou]

Interesting topic. I have often wondered the same thing and I must admit it is more enjoyable if a lot of people comment and respond to a thread I start to help move the conversation along. I'm not a really chatty person to begin with so I might be a little reserved with posting stuff. Maybe I should throw more threads out there about my build and projects - you never know who might benefit or find it interesting.

Thread killers in my book are:

Poor Title descriptions - "I have a question" isn't a good title.

Lack of pictures and/or confusing description of a problem - if the poster can't take enough time to clearly describe the situation I move on.

People who start a thread asking for advice (rebar vs wire mesh) and then argue with those posting their advice!

 

[Krash Kadillak]

You've got good spelling and punctuation - you've got that going for you........

 

[RECox286]

By no means am I an expert on the subject, OTOH:

When I was involved with producing technical manuals, I was told that

most if not all newspaper prose is written for the 6th grade mentality, and

to be successful in getting the point across I should adhere to that style.

Pictures are good, but too many make it look like a comic book. Style,

grammar and correct spelling are also good ways to keep interest alive on the

readers' part. IE: I have a problem with my eyesight, in that if there is a

very long single spaced jumble of text, I will sometimes just pass it by, b/c

I can't read it easily, I lose my place, read the same line over and over,

and get confused, and finally go away, in spite of how interesting the article

has become. That is why I d/s my posts, so when I go to "preview"

it is easier for me to read, edit, and spell check the copy. Only then

do I blast it off to the "unwashed" masses. Another part of successful

writing is to pick a subject that sparks interest; ***, tools, ***, engine

oil, ***, religion, ***, politics, *** and of course ***. It doesn't hurt to

include some bit of humor, especially if it includes blood, or ***.

Your assignment for tonight is to read the next 4 chapters of "War and Pieces

on the Western Front" and the introduction to "Women are from the Kitchen,

Men are from the Garage". There will be a test...

Uncle Bob

 

[Cryptic1911]

lots of pictures.. I have a build thread with I think probably a couple hundred thousand views by now, but it's died off quite a bit since I havent been updating it every day with pics (work has slowed down on the project). When it was busy, there were lots of replies and questions. Now that I don't have much to update, the thread doesn't keep getting bumped, so it's not always in view.

 

[Highbeam]

I looked at your thread and the pictures are too small. When I open them up they are still very small so I can't see detail. Also, the photos aren't showing detail of what you're doing. How did the poles get set? Into concrete, on top of a concrete cookie? In the dirt? How far apart are your poles? Why did you pick a 13' ceiling? Give us info that will help us make decisions.

 

[Talus]

Can somebody tell me how to imbed pics? I just tried on my door restoration thread and couldn't get it.

Just made a How To thread. Check it out:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2293282#post2293282

 

[Kevin54]

Just made a How To thread. Check it out:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2293282#post2293282

I just posted a response in that. I don't understand why everyone uploads to Photobucket, then the bandwidth gets exceeded. After that, pics won't show up in a thread. I understand it if you want people to see a complete album, but if only showing a few pics, why not save the hassle, skip Photobucket, and upload them from your computer?

 

[Frank The Plumber]

Maybe I should include one of my stories in your detailed tread, that should net you another one view.

 

[Talus]

I just posted a response in that. I don't understand why everyone uploads to Photobucket, then the bandwidth gets exceeded. After that, pics won't show up in a thread. I understand it if you want people to see a complete album, but if only showing a few pics, why not save the hassle, skip Photobucket, and upload them from your computer?

Depends on how often you upload pics. If you're posting a dozen pictures everyday then yes, bandwith can become an issue. For me, I might put a picture or two up every few days or once a week and in the past 5+ years of using Photobucket, I've never had any issues with exceeding bandwith.

The reason for embedding vs. attaching is because when they're embedded you can simply scroll down the thread and see full sized pictures, instead of having to click attachments. You can also add sentences between pictures and narrate the photos so people can read captions as they scroll. Might seem like a small niggle, but it comes down to personal preference.

 

[abstamaria]

Posting thumbnails

Let me try that -

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=72720&d=1281008517


Andy

 

[abstamaria]

Hmm. Not working, Charles. I must be doing something wrong or perhaps it's not possible on an iPad.

No, now I know. I have to delete "http ..." when the picture icon opens.
Andy

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=72617&d=1280910027

I copied the link for the photo from my attachments page in the CP page, then pasted the link when the picture icon opened and, just to experiment, also on this post directly. Going through the picture icon yields the question-mark symbol. What am I doing wrong?

 

[abstamaria]

There you go. This is the first photo I tried to attach above. Thanks, Charles. Great tip! How did you figure that out? Andy

 

[NJHandyGuy]

Pictures for one. Lot's of them with a brief description. Sending money to members isn't a bad idea either. Not a lot. Maybe enough to cover a twelve pack while we look at your pictures. Other than that, maybe a link to the thread in question.

Who's up for 64dragnwgn sending them some cash? Show of hands.

 

[abstamaria]

Thanks very much again for the tip, Charles. I have thumbnails on my thread principally, except for photos I uploaded to Photobucket. Following your instructions, I blew up some photos on the first few pages of the thread on my garage, which I think makes it more interesting. Here is the link-

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71002

And, using my newly learned skill, here is a photo from the thread -

Regards,

Andy

 

[HOTFR8]

I'm told that this is how makeover-type shows work:

1) You start with the problem, something ugly and typical, and you come up with a plan to transform it;

2) You hit a surprise snag that stops your progress, but it's a disappointment or a setback -- not a project killer;

3) Commercial break;

4) Some interpersonal friction, then you come up with a solution and move forward;

5) Right when you're closing in on completion, you hit a much bigger obstacle -- one that threatens to undo everything you've done;

6) Commercial break;

7) You come up with a surprising solution that allows the project to be completed -- usually in the nick of time; and...

8) The recipient of the makeover is thrilled with the result (and the audience has been exposed to a surprising number of strategically placed products that are sold by the show's sponsors).



That might be a little contrived for a thread here, but hitting obstacles and getting input on how you can overcome them draws readers in. Clever solutions you can come up with to common problems will give readers that 'a ha!' feeling. Loads and loads of pictures will allow us all to skim over the text and still believe we understand what's going on.

But I think most fundamentally, it's this: if you're enjoying the process of the build/re-do/transformation, and the posts you write up communicate that thrill you're feeling, then the rest of us will feel it vicariously, and we'll want to join in the discussion.

Jack has summed up most of it as to what I would have said but to add to that - Novel ideas or something that gives the place character or makes it unique and different to what every one else has done. Show how you have solved issues you have had and found your own solutions to problems.

 

[1948]

I'm told that this is how makeover-type shows work:

1) You start with the problem, something ugly and typical, and you come up with a plan to transform it;

2) You hit a surprise snag that stops your progress, but it's a disappointment or a setback -- not a project killer;

3) Commercial break;

4) Some interpersonal friction, then you come up with a solution and move forward;

5) Right when you're closing in on completion, you hit a much bigger obstacle -- one that threatens to undo everything you've done;

6) Commercial break;

7) You come up with a surprising solution that allows the project to be completed -- usually in the nick of time; and...

8) The recipient of the makeover is thrilled with the result (and the audience has been exposed to a surprising number of strategically placed products that are sold by the show's sponsors).



That might be a little contrived for a thread here, but hitting obstacles and getting input on how you can overcome them draws readers in. Clever solutions you can come up with to common problems will give readers that 'a ha!' feeling. Loads and loads of pictures will allow us all to skim over the text and still believe we understand what's going on.

But I think most fundamentally, it's this: if you're enjoying the process of the build/re-do/transformation, and the posts you write up communicate that thrill you're feeling, then the rest of us will feel it vicariously, and we'll want to join in the discussion.

funny, that sounds JUST like my thread on the 33 station lol!

 

[larry_g]

I'm told that this is how makeover-type shows work:

1) You start with the problem, something ugly and typical, and you come up with a plan to transform it;

2) You hit a surprise snag that stops your progress, but it's a disappointment or a setback -- not a project killer;

Spend a minute showing what your going to show after the commerical.

3) Commercial break;


Spend a minute showing what you did before the commerical.

4) Some interpersonal friction, then you come up with a solution and move forward;

5) Right when you're closing in on completion, you hit a much bigger obstacle -- one that threatens to undo everything you've done;

Spend a minute showing what your going to show after the commerical.

6) Commercial break;


Spend a minute showing what you did before the commerical.


7) You come up with a surprising solution that allows the project to be completed -- usually in the nick of time; and...

8) The recipient of the makeover is thrilled with the result (and the audience has been exposed to a surprising number of strategically placed products that are sold by the show's sponsors).

.

Ya missed a few points that really irritate me. 20% of possible show time lost.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[abstamaria]

As Garage Journal matures and more garage builds are added, it becomes more difficult for a thread to stand out. I think, though, that the basics remain the same: good, clear photos plus some uniqueness to the build, perhaps in terms of architectural style or history; perhaps an interesting, new location.

There are so many interesting threads here, I have a difficult time keeping up!

Andy