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Eastern Mind
07 February 2012, 02:04 PM
Vannakkam: How can we advertise HDF? I would indeed like to see a livelier participation.

We can tell people on other forums or newsgroups, and tell friends. I think we should brainstorm ideas. So? ....

We got mentioned in Hinduism Today, which by the way is looking into an Indian edition in black and white. Some publishers in Gujarat are seriously interested in putting it into India in a much bigger way.

I do think we need to make a commitment to being polite, though. Its okay to disagree, but I have heard how some are turned off by the rudeness that appears here sometimes.

Aum Namasivaya

Believer
07 February 2012, 03:10 PM
Namaste,

I do think we need to make a commitment to being polite, though. Its okay to disagree, but I have heard how some are turned off by the rudeness that appears hear sometimes.
I have a rudeness control device that I can loan you, but only if you want to become the 'HDF Rudeness Control Officer'. ;)

http://media.photobucket.com/image/sledgehammer/lalakersfan34/sledgehammer.jpg?o=9

Pranam.

Arjuni
07 February 2012, 03:21 PM
Namasté,

Believer, if you PhotoShop some lightning onto that "device" photograph, I'll gladly wield it. :D

EM, one simple way to advertise HDF a bit more is that any of us who have blogs, personal websites, FB account or any other webspace, can add a link and/or post about HDF.

I'll keep thinking...

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

Eastern Mind
07 February 2012, 03:51 PM
Namaste,

I have a rudeness control device that I can loan you, but only if you want to become the 'HDF Rudeness Control Officer'. ;)

http://media.photobucket.com/image/sledgehammer/lalakersfan34/sledgehammer.jpg?o=9

Pranam.

Vannakkam Believer: Always good to here of such 'helpful' devices that will hammer the point home. Actually, some people, because of cultural differences, don't even realise when they're being rude (or gross, or inappropriate, or funny) within another culture. Even families within the same culture can go on without noticing stuff. We all suffer from it to some degree. And this thing called an internet makes it even worse. Words on a screen aren't exactly telling.

Aum Namasivaya

Eastern Mind
07 February 2012, 03:53 PM
'HDF Rudeness Control Officer'. ;)



Vannakkam: I think Satay does a wonderful job already.

Aum Namasivaya

Friend from the West
07 February 2012, 06:05 PM
Hari Om

Namaste,

Do not know if considered advertising, but are we permitted to recommend HDF to direct acquaintances?

For brainstorming, newspaper ads in certain cities be something and would we want the content ran by Satay and moderators first?

Om Shanti

FFTW

c.smith
08 February 2012, 02:37 PM
Hari Om!

Personally I believe that ads such as the one EM mentioned in Hinduism Today is fantastic and would like to see it extended to other publications as FFTW mentions above. My only caution is that the ad must be approved by satayji before it is placed and that it is done as seva (cost incurred,etc) by the person who would like to place it. Some desi papers may even run the ads for free in the community/religion sections so this may want to be explored. Thoughts?

Om Namah Sivaya
Jai Hanuman!

yajvan
08 February 2012, 03:41 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

I for one am not ~big~ on advertisng HDF. I tell others and suggest if they care to take a look , come and see. Yet it is my firm belief HDF is not about quantity but that of quality.

If new people arrive I am happy - if some leave, I understand . Over the past 6 years I have seen people come and go. Some I hoped would return but have not.

Now that said, I have tried other sites. They are not of the same quality ( as I see), but they are big(er) then HDF. I found no additional value.

If you build it they will come...

praṇām

satay
08 February 2012, 05:35 PM
namaskar,
With all due respect to everyone, I concur with Yajvan.

I am thankful to everyone's kind suggestions about advertising HDF but I am not sure that I want to take on the task and encourage a large number of members to join, especiallly if all they want to do is join and do not post or worse post nonsensical posts.

Frankly, more members means more work for me as in moderation etc. I rather focus on quality posts from members than large number of posts from all sorts of members.

Yajvan is correct, I have seen so many members come and go that I simply cannot keep track of it any more.

This site was created for Hindus, for members like you and me but there should be no obligation or attachment to it. If it helps a member all is well, if it doesn't help or if it doesn't align with their personal agendas that is fine too.

A long time ago I made a decision that I will not be offended when members tell me "I am outta here." The choice must be theirs and I cannot control that nor do I let this bother me.

There are hundereds of sites like these on the Internet where people can simply go and chat around. There is a lot of choice out there for people's needs.

With that all said, I do appreciate your kind comments and sentiments but I do not aggressively want to advertise HDF. I hope that you all understand.

Eastern Mind
08 February 2012, 05:46 PM
namaskar,
With all due respect to everyone, I concur with Yajvan.

I am thankful to everyone's kind suggestions about advertising HDF but I am not sure that I want to take on the task and encourage a large number of members to join, especiallly if all they want to do is join and do not post or worse post nonsensical posts.

Frankly, more members means more work for me as in moderation etc. I rather focus on quality posts from members than large number of posts from all sorts of members.

Yajvan is correct, I have seen so many members come and go that I simply cannot keep track of it any more.

This site was created for Hindus, for members like you and me but there should be no obligation or attachment to it. If it helps a member all is well, if it doesn't help or if it doesn't align with their personal agendas that is fine too.

A long time ago I made a decision that I will not be offended when members tell me "I am outta here." The choice must be theirs and I cannot control that nor do I let this bother me.

There are hundereds of sites like these on the Internet where people can simply go and chat around. There is a lot of choice out there for people's needs.

With that all said, I do appreciate your kind comments and sentiments but I do not aggressively want to advertise HDF. I hope that you all understand.

Vannakkam Satay: The idea only comes up with me when I see 'No new posts' for a few days in a row. But other than that, I totally concur. I need to practice patience. :)

With your ideas on quality, this site does remain the best one, in my opinion as well. I do post regularly on another forum, but that's for a different purpose entirely.

Aum Namasivaya

Eastern Mind
08 February 2012, 05:50 PM
Hari Om!

Personally I believe that ads such as the one EM mentioned in Hinduism Today is fantastic and would like to see it extended to other publications as FFTW mentions above. My only caution is that the ad must be approved by satayji before it is placed and that it is done as seva (cost incurred,etc) by the person who would like to place it. Some desi papers may even run the ads for free in the community/religion sections so this may want to be explored. Thoughts?

Om Namah Sivaya
Jai Hanuman!

Vannakkam c.smith: Just to clarify on this ... There was no ad taken out on HDF's behalf in Hinduism Today. They have a regular 'Digital Dharma' feature or page dedicated to Hinduism on-line, and we as well as several others got a brief mention, as part of a larger article. That was it.

Aum Namasivaya

c.smith
08 February 2012, 06:41 PM
Hari Om!

Thanks for the correction.

Would it be wise to solicit other Hindu publications to do the same? Just a thought.

c.smith
08 February 2012, 06:50 PM
Hari Om!

Posted the above in haste.

Yes, I do believe that Satay is correct. And as yajvan has stated, there are some forum members postings that I miss. But overall the problem remains - how do we "attract" contributers that will add substantial contributions to the forum? Is word of mouth enough? Perhaps that's all we have for now?

Eastern Mind
08 February 2012, 06:55 PM
Hari Om!

Thanks for the correction.

Would it be wise to solicit other Hindu publications to do the same? Just a thought.

Vannakkam: I wouldn't, personally. Ads may be through the roof. Hinduism Today isn't primarily a money maker. There are several 'Asian' or 'Desi' newspapers that run bits on religion, but their focus is different. It's news about India, and they usually include Bollywood news, lots of politics, etc. We have an excellent local one here called Asian Times. Its about 70% ads and is given away for free; the ads pay for it. I have approached them about a column I'm working on.

Other Hindu publications are usually concentrated on a particular organisation, like 'Back to Godhead' has been ISKCON's magazine now for a very long time. Their primary purpose is to promote ISKCON.

I think the best thing is word of mouth, or linking. Slow but sure, and it's not really necessary at all.

Aum Namasivaya

Jainarayan
09 February 2012, 01:48 PM
A Google search of "hindu dharma forums" and "hindu forums" brings up "guess-what?" as the first hit. It did and does for me. That's how I found HDF.