One for all and all for one....

[roger]

Steve H has mentioned on the Yahoo group that there is more than one Hayley forum. I admit I have stolen his idea without consent (sorry Steve!) and it has kind of evolved into a somewhat larger question:

Would it be better to have ONE website for Hayley or many as there currently are? I believe there are about 16 sites at the moment and, if you consider the forums as a separate source of information, and the Yahoo and MSN groups, etc.... Well, who knows how many there might be.

I have mixed feelings on this. I remember Gerrit saying recently (although it may not have been publicly), that too many sites risks fragmenting the fanbase and that people may get lost. Okay, there is something in that. But, if there are many, the casual browser is more likely to come across one or other of them. We are all striving to promote Hayley and are therefore all on the same side - albeit with a little friendly rivalry! Now, provided we all work together and have reciprocal links from one site to another, we start to form a network. Don't we?

So, just for fun (because I doubt we will get anything changed as a result of this discussion!), what do you think would be most advantageous from Hayley's point of view?

I would point out that the wording in my signature is purely coincidental!

Roger

[alien]

Hi Roger,

I'm a believer in diversity so I think having more (not excessive of course) fan sites is better than having just one. You made a good point about easier for causal browsers to come across one of the many fan sites. To add to that, I think by having more fan sites, it gives a much better impression to the potential new fan. Can you imagine doing a search on "Hayley Westenra" with google and getting hits from one site only? That certainly wouldn't be promising Afterall, a multi-national corporation with offices around the world sure looks bigger than one with one centralized office.

Not to mention each group/site tends to have a slightly different "culture" so that can be a good thing and small group means we get to know each other a bit better. If we have 1000's of members, doubt I'll be able to remember more than 10% of their names... guess sleep deprivation is killing my memory i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Allen

[Richard]

Hello Roger and everybody!

I like the idea of a bit of healthy competition between the various Hayley web sites, because it keeps us all on our toes. If there was a monopoly, complacency might set in, then important information could be missed more easily. It's certainly good that many of us belong to several forums, including the one on Hayley's official site, as I do, because this helps to create a network of Hayley fans. Obviously some duplication between sites is inevitable, but there are also lots of differences. It only means that more casual surfers have the opportunity to find interesting information about Hayley, which must be good for her developing career. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes,

Richard

[gareth]

Hmmm,

If I ever made the comment about the fan base becoming fragmented, I think I may have changed my mind a little. Twice in the second half of 2005 it has happened that a video of Hayley was located because of that very diversity (Hayley on Loose Women, early October, and Hayley in an unexpected BBC Breakfast appearance).

Whatever I may have thought about it in the past - if people have the time to set up a website, let them go for it. Some sites don't survive, because the founder lacks the drive or time to continue - others will be a success because the founder has the necessary enthusiasm to make it a success. But all add to a hogh profile of Hayley on the web.

Cheers,

Gerrit

[spiderman]

personally, ive always thought a minimum of sites is best. not so much cos you loose people, but there si only a limited amount of material and most of the time you just end up with many sites and the same stuff. and endless arguements over ownership of various things.
the other things is though diversity and competition and all that encourage new discoveries.... there are many actresses i could name that have websites that are little more than a front page. which is not wildly impressive in its implications [i.e, that someone held your interest just long enough for you to open the page but never to add to it [one site i know has been "under construction" for four years. [its not one of hayleys, so dont worry]. a single, or few pages would not have this problem cos the information ends up in one place.
of course the flip side is if a site closes down, theres always the possibilty that its on another site [for example, where have HWI's galleries gone???] but finding it can take hours.

sigh,
enough for now,
robert

[roger]

Of course, there is one fundamental difference between an official site run by a record label and a fan site such as ours. Official sites tend to hold current news and the latest photographs and very little else, because that is basically all they need to do. HWI (created in January 2002), has extensive archive facilities, so once something is added, it tends to stay there permanently. Did you know that we currently hold over 2.25Gb of material and have (as of today) 1552 pages?

Roger

[gareth]

There's another difference between official sites and fan sites/ Often, official sites have their hands tied. News may leak out via other sources and get on Internet, while it hasn't been officially sanctioned. The official site can't publish such information yet - but fan sites don't have such restrictions .....

Gerrit

[roger]

Hi Gerrit and everyone,

Certainly what Gerrit says is true but I would just like to say that HWI would not knowingly publish anything that hadn't been sanctioned out of respect for Hayley and her management and because we would not wish to jeopardise the trust they have in us.

The main reason we occasionally keep things under wraps until we get clearance is because a concert, for example, is not yet fully confirmed. To announce it could be extremely misleading and could ultimately cause bitter disappointment. You may be sure that anything which appears on HWI (including this forum) is reliable to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication.

Roger

[Dave Gibson]

Great subject,
I like the idea of as many sites as ,so to speak the market will sustain.
The word network sounds like a fantastic idea to me,it is something that will most likely evolve over time.
Competition is a good and healthy thing,especially among friends gathered around one such as Hayley and her beautiful music.
Thanks for listening,
Dave Gibson

[roger]

Hi Dave G and everyone,

I suppose having numerous sites for one singer is like having several books available on a particular subject. It gives the reader a choice.

A simple analogy perhaps, but one internet browser may require a quick and easy souce of reference to find what Hayley is doing this month, while another would like to spend many hours exploring the archives to see what she has been doing since her busking days. Both types of site (large and small) are available. The important thing is, we are all doing our little bit to help spread the word.

Roger

[specialjenny]

Hi everyone,

This is very interesting. But personally, I think there is no harm in having a couple of Haylay's Yahoo groups around. 1. It gives people a wide selection of choices, and 2. It is probably better this way for promotion purposes.

But I think all of these Yahoo groups should have a 'link' page linking to the other 15 (?) Yahoo groups available. Therefore it doesn't matter which group people joins or visits, they have access to all the other ones as well.

Love,
Jenny

[Steve H]

Hi Roger and everybody,

Well I have started something here haven't I, this believe it or not is the first time I have visited this thread, mainly Roger because the title is a little cryptic!

I think what I was talking about on the Yahoo group was that due to business commitments I could only do justice to one site forum, being of the opinion it is better to participate and contribute regularly to one forum, than be a casual browser on many.

I also said that by choosing HWI I would not be able to be a regular poster on the Decca site, and that meant that I would have to rely on others who do visit other sites to post any important information on this site if I was not going to miss out.

Well like all things if its worth doing properly ... etc, I have made the time that I thought I did not have! but it's a bit addictive though, and I find myself popping on to the forum at work, and as I spend a fair bit of time away in hotels, in my hotel room! (sad isn't it)

So less of the meandering, I am beginning to sound like Peter [Postscript] and there is only room for one Peter on this forum! (keep up the good work Peter)

To answer your question Roger, I think the balance between not enough or too many sites, forums or Yahoo groups will be determined by the need and the available market of support, I am totally biased but the HWI forum will always be the best out there and the one for me!

Steve H

[Richard]

Hello Steve and everybody!

I totally agree that the HWI Forum is the greatest, and I'm determined it should stay that way. I do belong to a few other forums, notably Hayley's official forum. I'm fairly active on that one, because it's the best place for networking with other fans. We've gained several new members here as a result. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes,

Richard