I, for one, would like to explore means of making the actual website itself more legitimate.

There is a very real demand for accurate and insightful box office analysis on the web that, in my estimation, is not being met. KJ houses the most talent of any site there is, and that is simply the truth. It should be easy.

"The Most Accurate Box Office Analysis on the web!"

I would do predictions for 4 weeks out and closer, and measure the accuracy. I am certain it would be fairly good and much more accurate than the bums at other sites. Then just promote promote promote. Active Twitter and Facebook accounts. Legitimate outreach initiatives. Blockbuster movie profiles, seasonal forecasts, big time trailer reviews, star profiles, "What Could Have Beens" for never made sequels (Mean Girls 2) or film adaptions (Superman Lives),
etc.

There are some other things I would look into doing as well which might really bump up the traffic here. The key is getting a catch on early numbers...not just accurate predictions, but official, legitimate insight...

VOTE FOR MAGNUS

Sounds good.

Ambitious plans have been there many many times before and they just didn't work out because most of the folks here are busy with their lives.

Yes, that actually sounds like an idea. A question is also - move servers or take over the dedicated server?

I'd just spend the time already spent surfing this website a little differently. It will only take a handful of good calls to get people to take notice. Every website out there just predicts the obvious.

Imagine if KJ could have printed on paper months in advance that Skyfall was going to be a $300 million hit? Or any of ther obvious flop which wasn't so obvious to others?

There is, without question, a monetary value to the knowledge the posters here collectively have. I see no reason to not capitalize on it.

One attempt after another after another after another after another have shown that the posters don't have that huge of an interest to capitalize on it. The primary focus right now is to save the boards.

Out of curiosity, what "attempts"?

I'd contribute financially as well. We have a small, but very loyal, base of users that coming up with the $800 a year ($60/70 a month) shouldn't be a problem whatsoever.

I would have been interested in ownership, but like others here, I don't have the time required anymore and will have much less so in the coming months/years (moving/marriage).

Excel I like your vision but Lecter is right - first focus should be saving the forum. After that - by all means a joint effort perhaps led by you can attempt to resurrect the main site - step by step.

In essence, what we need to do is;

1. Understand the costs associated with maintaining the site (including hiring an IT guy - only as required)
2. Understand the IT aspects - what physical requirements are there? Server location, hosting etc
3. ID who's willing to support financially and size of contribution (each)
4. ID who's willing to oversee the running (2-3 people in different time zones ideally)
5. Keep KJ alive
6. Look to resurrecting the main site

Eagle, would you say you were very tech savy all along, or did you learn as you went along? Just wondering if the main problem is difficulty or tediousness.

Madgez's plan is great too. After reading this whole thread, I'm no longer worried about the future of the site. Worst case we get on a slightly worse server. We can still flip out when Force Awakens opens!

Just going to throw some ideas out for discussion. Technology has moved so far ahead that just trying to keep things as is might not be sustainable. We've seen this with forums in the past.

There's an opportunity to re-think things a bit. Is a more effective platform available that is more manageable? Is a forum sustainable? Step 1 over everything else is think about what you want this forum to be?

a) Do you want to purely keep the status quo?
b) Do you want to bring in new users/audiences?
c) Are you indifferent?

I think the current strategies may be more along the lines of status quo. I am not sure how sustainable that strategy is. I look at when I first started following box office. People today rely on social media. We might be missing out on the next generation of box office experts if we don't have a platform that takes considerations like this in play.

Essentially this is a question of whether we want to keep thse forums our playground or try to expand by recruiting more members. Now the is obviously the optimum, but I still think that it is first things first. All of that can be done later and I would prefer not to get ahead of ourselves, get the situation of the forum (and the website by extension) settled. Nothing speaks against having our Facebook group or our Twitter account, but I am pretty sure that these would only be an extension of the forum, not a replacement.

Attempts to get people writing box-office analyses, reviews, sometimes news. It used to be paid work too at some point (though I personally declined the payment), then it was just for fun. And trust me, I was one of the most active contributors at several points of time and during several attempts. But this takes time and frankly, I prefer spending the time surfing this website not writing for it, but chatting with the folks here on the boards.

Congratulations EAGLE,

I can provide some financial support, wish I had expanded more on learning to build/host websites (had the opportunity).

#savekj

Do we know any movie sites that would be willing to merge with our forum? Where we could become part owners?

Why merge? It would be so easy to make KJ into the web's premiere source for box office analysis. They'll be coming to us. Within a few months, I think revenue could triple if we do some active promoting at which point I would put an IT professional on the payroll (along with RTH).

Focus on the things which will grow the site and funding the sit itself & an IT professional won't be an issue.

I like your vision Excel. I'm sure the demand will be there, judging by the sustained popularity of box office forums. I think you could draw people in even with short analysis of tracking and early numbers, since there's really nobody who does that. The problem is we don't have any "sources", which people care about more than history, insight and facts. Could always just make up sources but that would backfire if we ever did become relevant.

Forum wise, I think most people would prefer things to remain exactly the same.

There is a individual who posts early #s on the forums and I'd recommend paying some cash to have exclusive rights to his insight. As for "making up" numbers, I don't think I agree there.

Predictions are the big thing, in my view. Everybody wants to know what is going to happen and most of these other sites are very unreliable. Box Office Theory's thing with facebook updates and twitter updates is cool, but that's kind of it. Everybody else just plays it safe - always. As if grosses always go according to plan.

Mojo doesn't even do predictions any more. Does box office prophets still exist? We really need to be the source for unafraid analysis. The folks who were surprised by PP breaking out or Avengers hefty drops are stupid. There should be no surprise.

I mean, I'd be all for running the Derby if this all comes to pass.

That used to do well for BOM, right? Throw in some real prizes and attendance will go kaboom.

Run some "Anatomy of a Flop", "Anatomy of a Break Out", "Anatomy of a Disappointment" articles. Trailer reviews. Long range forecasts. "Classic KJ Calls" series emphasizing the brilliant calls some of our posters have made. Get ourselves up there on google search for box office, call ourselves the oldest and best box office source on the net.

I don't know if we really want to merge with some other website. I mean, wouldn't we want to keep WOKJ "in our hands"? Of course, if there is no other solution...but until then, we should explore other possibilites.

As for excel's suggestions - they sound good on paper, but who will do it week after week after week? Trust me, I know what I am talking about. No one here as written as many box-office analyses for the website as I did over the years (not just the forums, but the main page. It is work, real work. I mean, yes, we do have the expertise and the knowledge, but it is not a magical gift, it is also weighing different aspects against each other, making calculations, looking at precedences. It is work. Otherwise you can predict Skyfall to gross $300 million and hit it big or you can also wind up writing that Australia will outgross Titanic...

Yeah, the bolded part would be an outright lie.

heheAustraliahehe

by source i meant forum