Tourism Internet Marketing U

The Changing Face Of Newsgroups

Back in the early days, Usenet newsgroups started out as a place where academics conducted discussions on research. They quickly expanded to include newsgroups on every topic imaginable, with participants having wonderful conversations relevant to the topic. Usenet newsgroups had to be accessed using your newsgroup reader. Today newsgroups can be accessed through the Web.

Then commercialization saturated the Web, and today there are many newsgroups overrun with advertisements with very little topical discussion taking place. However, there are still many newsgroups that have vibrant discussions with loyal participants that provide a great opportunity for communicating with your target market.

Every visitor to a newsgroup made an effort to get there. He or she chose the specific newsgroup for a reason, usually an interest in the topic being discussed. If your business’s products or services are related to that topic, you have found a group of your target market (they have prequalified themselves) in one place interested in discussing what you have to offer.

Newsgroups aren’t the only thing changing on the internet. To get a head up, consider my webinar on Future Trends, available now on CD!

-Written by Susan Sweeney