joedisney
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2000
- Messages
- 70
I'm taking an e-marketing class and one of my assignments was to write about an online community I was involved in. Thought everyone might find my paper entertaining. Here it is...
Introduction:
Believe it or not, my online community experience revolves around Disney. A couple of years ago, before I became joedisney (more on that in a minute), I was just an average Disney fan. I had gone once as a child and a couple times after that and always had an enjoyable time in the World. Once I started having children, I had a plan that we would visit Disney when the kids were old enough to enjoy it. As my family continued to grow with son number 3, I figured we would make the trip while we could still all fit in one hotel room. Disney has a maximum limit of five in most of its rooms. Back in the summer of 2000 I was thinking that a trip in 2003 would be just about right. My oldest would be ten, the youngest three and we would all fit in to one room. Then in the tradition of many a well-laid plan, something unexpected happened that was about to change everything. It was a normal September morning at work when I got an e-mail from home. This was unusual; my wife hardly ever sends me e-mails. I took a sip of my coffee as I opened the e-mail. It read something like this:
Im sorry Ive been crabby. Yeah, my moods have been poor, but its only because Ive been working on baby Surro number four!! This is not a joke. Ahhhhh!!!!!
What a great example of life in the information age. Learning that my wife is expecting our fourth child via e-mail! Needless to say, I was very excited. I took the afternoon off, stopped for some roses and went home to celebrate. What does this all have to do with my online community experience? Simple, with a family of six we would need two rooms. This means I had less than eight months to get this family to Disney before the new baby arrives. This is what prompted me to begin searching around the Internet for information on Disney World vacations. This strange twist of fate it what prompted me to experience my first on line community and to ultimately become joedisney.
The search
Not long after learning the big news, I began to plan for the trip. We decided to go in January, which left only four months to book everything. It didnt take long to realize that the Internet is filled with more information on Disney than you could ever need. The biggest problem was sifting through all of the web sites to find useful information. During one of my lunch time sessions, I came across a very informative web site at http://www.wdwinfo.com/. The site, Pete Werners Unofficial Guide to Disney, not only had a huge amount of information on Disney, it also had its own discussion forum. I had never been a member of an online forum before and for the first few days I merely poked around without actually signing up. The discussion board was broken into several different categories including Theme park strategies, Disney resorts, Disney restaurants, Trip reports board, Budget board, Disney for families, Transportation and Disney tips to name a few. All it took was one look through the Budget board and I was hooked. This is when I officially became known as joedisney. The budget board was just what I was looking for. I had found an online community of people sharing their experiences in getting the most from their buck at Disney. Of course, back then I was an unknown newcomer to the boards. In less than a year, however, that would all change.
Getting the inside scoop
After making this great discovery, I spent almost every lunch at the Budget board. There I found information that would literally save me hundreds of dollars on my Disney vacation. There were great money saving tips on airfare, rental cars, park tickets, hotels and food. This was unbelievable. For no cost, I was able to tap into an up to the minute resource for finding great money saving tips on everything Disney. With the help of the boards, we stayed at a deluxe hotel for about 45% off the standard rate. Soon I had plane tickets, a rental car and the hotel reservations made all with significant discounts.
With my reservations made, I moved on to some of the other areas. This is when I went from a normal human being (ok, I was never that normal) to a bit of a Disney planning fanatic. I found all sorts of incredible tips on making our Disney vacation great. I found tips on park strategies, traveling with young kids and which hotel rooms to request. There were hundreds of posts with restaurant reviews, where to find the best seats for parades and shows, how to get priority seating, where to watch the fireworks, how to beat the crowds and where to meet the most characters. Every day I would pour through the boards. When I would post a question, I would get ten responses in less than an hour from Disney experts from around the World. With the help of this on line community I was able to plan the perfect trip to Disney. I was also able to save a considerable amount of money in the process. During my pre trip planning, I wasnt much of a contributor to this on line community. I was mostly there for information. When our trip was over, however, that would all change.
The trip report
When we returned from our ten magical days at Disney, I immediately had this hallow feeling. I had spent the previous four months preparing for the trip. When I got back, there was no good reason for me to return to the boards. I soon did return, however, this time as a contributor. My decision to chronicle our Disney trip was spurred on by two factors. First, I have a friend that is a much bigger Disney freak than I am that wanted a day-by-day recap of our trip. Second, as you may have guessed, I enjoy writing. It all started with a simple e-mail to my friend with a description of the dubious beginning to our trip. As an after thought, I took the e-mail and transformed it into Episode 1: Wheres the magic? and posted it on the trip reports board. What happened next was a bit surprising. Soon after posting Episode 1, I began getting several comments back. People really liked what I was writing! With each new Episode, the interest in my reports continued to grow. In between posts, I would find threads discussing when the next joedisney Episode was due to come out. I started to feel a bit like the J.K. Rowling of the Disney boards. Attachment 1 contains most of the comments (Episode 1 comments were lost when the boards were shifted to a new server) I received after each Episode posting.
My Thoughts
Motivation There are many different reasons why people participate in an online community. In the case of the DIS Boards, it is a place where Disney fanatics from around the world can share their ideas, tips and experiences. On the discount boards, many members contribute in different areas. One member is the expert on rental cars. There are many travel agents that provide inside information on airfare or room discounts. While waiting for a particular discount to become available, one member called Disney every morning for over a month and posted the status on the discussion boards. The value of this board increases with every unique post. This encourages new posts and the entire community feeds off of this value.
How have I been affected? My on line community experience has affected me in several ways. While planning for my trips to Disney, I was able to gather current information in ways that were not possible before the Internet. This ability pushed me into becoming the psychotic Disney planner that I am today. After the trip, I became a regular contributor to the Trip Report board. After my first post, I experienced great satisfaction in the amount of attention it received. This motivated me to put more time into writing the remaining nine trip episodes. With all of the positive comments I received, my head had expanded to a point where it was difficult to walk through doors. This fame, however, was fleeting. A month after my last post, I faded back into obscurity. It didnt take me long to remember that I was dealing with a group of Disney zealots. Their interest in my reports was ninety percent subject matter and ten percent writing skills. While I think my writing is good, I am not in the same league as J.K. Rawlings.
By the way, I have not included the ten episodes in this paper. You will, however, find them on my web site in the very near future.
Question of the day?
What kind of a wife tells her husband she is expecting a new baby via e-mail?
Introduction:
Believe it or not, my online community experience revolves around Disney. A couple of years ago, before I became joedisney (more on that in a minute), I was just an average Disney fan. I had gone once as a child and a couple times after that and always had an enjoyable time in the World. Once I started having children, I had a plan that we would visit Disney when the kids were old enough to enjoy it. As my family continued to grow with son number 3, I figured we would make the trip while we could still all fit in one hotel room. Disney has a maximum limit of five in most of its rooms. Back in the summer of 2000 I was thinking that a trip in 2003 would be just about right. My oldest would be ten, the youngest three and we would all fit in to one room. Then in the tradition of many a well-laid plan, something unexpected happened that was about to change everything. It was a normal September morning at work when I got an e-mail from home. This was unusual; my wife hardly ever sends me e-mails. I took a sip of my coffee as I opened the e-mail. It read something like this:
Im sorry Ive been crabby. Yeah, my moods have been poor, but its only because Ive been working on baby Surro number four!! This is not a joke. Ahhhhh!!!!!
What a great example of life in the information age. Learning that my wife is expecting our fourth child via e-mail! Needless to say, I was very excited. I took the afternoon off, stopped for some roses and went home to celebrate. What does this all have to do with my online community experience? Simple, with a family of six we would need two rooms. This means I had less than eight months to get this family to Disney before the new baby arrives. This is what prompted me to begin searching around the Internet for information on Disney World vacations. This strange twist of fate it what prompted me to experience my first on line community and to ultimately become joedisney.
The search
Not long after learning the big news, I began to plan for the trip. We decided to go in January, which left only four months to book everything. It didnt take long to realize that the Internet is filled with more information on Disney than you could ever need. The biggest problem was sifting through all of the web sites to find useful information. During one of my lunch time sessions, I came across a very informative web site at http://www.wdwinfo.com/. The site, Pete Werners Unofficial Guide to Disney, not only had a huge amount of information on Disney, it also had its own discussion forum. I had never been a member of an online forum before and for the first few days I merely poked around without actually signing up. The discussion board was broken into several different categories including Theme park strategies, Disney resorts, Disney restaurants, Trip reports board, Budget board, Disney for families, Transportation and Disney tips to name a few. All it took was one look through the Budget board and I was hooked. This is when I officially became known as joedisney. The budget board was just what I was looking for. I had found an online community of people sharing their experiences in getting the most from their buck at Disney. Of course, back then I was an unknown newcomer to the boards. In less than a year, however, that would all change.
Getting the inside scoop
After making this great discovery, I spent almost every lunch at the Budget board. There I found information that would literally save me hundreds of dollars on my Disney vacation. There were great money saving tips on airfare, rental cars, park tickets, hotels and food. This was unbelievable. For no cost, I was able to tap into an up to the minute resource for finding great money saving tips on everything Disney. With the help of the boards, we stayed at a deluxe hotel for about 45% off the standard rate. Soon I had plane tickets, a rental car and the hotel reservations made all with significant discounts.
With my reservations made, I moved on to some of the other areas. This is when I went from a normal human being (ok, I was never that normal) to a bit of a Disney planning fanatic. I found all sorts of incredible tips on making our Disney vacation great. I found tips on park strategies, traveling with young kids and which hotel rooms to request. There were hundreds of posts with restaurant reviews, where to find the best seats for parades and shows, how to get priority seating, where to watch the fireworks, how to beat the crowds and where to meet the most characters. Every day I would pour through the boards. When I would post a question, I would get ten responses in less than an hour from Disney experts from around the World. With the help of this on line community I was able to plan the perfect trip to Disney. I was also able to save a considerable amount of money in the process. During my pre trip planning, I wasnt much of a contributor to this on line community. I was mostly there for information. When our trip was over, however, that would all change.
The trip report
When we returned from our ten magical days at Disney, I immediately had this hallow feeling. I had spent the previous four months preparing for the trip. When I got back, there was no good reason for me to return to the boards. I soon did return, however, this time as a contributor. My decision to chronicle our Disney trip was spurred on by two factors. First, I have a friend that is a much bigger Disney freak than I am that wanted a day-by-day recap of our trip. Second, as you may have guessed, I enjoy writing. It all started with a simple e-mail to my friend with a description of the dubious beginning to our trip. As an after thought, I took the e-mail and transformed it into Episode 1: Wheres the magic? and posted it on the trip reports board. What happened next was a bit surprising. Soon after posting Episode 1, I began getting several comments back. People really liked what I was writing! With each new Episode, the interest in my reports continued to grow. In between posts, I would find threads discussing when the next joedisney Episode was due to come out. I started to feel a bit like the J.K. Rowling of the Disney boards. Attachment 1 contains most of the comments (Episode 1 comments were lost when the boards were shifted to a new server) I received after each Episode posting.
My Thoughts
Motivation There are many different reasons why people participate in an online community. In the case of the DIS Boards, it is a place where Disney fanatics from around the world can share their ideas, tips and experiences. On the discount boards, many members contribute in different areas. One member is the expert on rental cars. There are many travel agents that provide inside information on airfare or room discounts. While waiting for a particular discount to become available, one member called Disney every morning for over a month and posted the status on the discussion boards. The value of this board increases with every unique post. This encourages new posts and the entire community feeds off of this value.
How have I been affected? My on line community experience has affected me in several ways. While planning for my trips to Disney, I was able to gather current information in ways that were not possible before the Internet. This ability pushed me into becoming the psychotic Disney planner that I am today. After the trip, I became a regular contributor to the Trip Report board. After my first post, I experienced great satisfaction in the amount of attention it received. This motivated me to put more time into writing the remaining nine trip episodes. With all of the positive comments I received, my head had expanded to a point where it was difficult to walk through doors. This fame, however, was fleeting. A month after my last post, I faded back into obscurity. It didnt take me long to remember that I was dealing with a group of Disney zealots. Their interest in my reports was ninety percent subject matter and ten percent writing skills. While I think my writing is good, I am not in the same league as J.K. Rawlings.
By the way, I have not included the ten episodes in this paper. You will, however, find them on my web site in the very near future.
Question of the day?
What kind of a wife tells her husband she is expecting a new baby via e-mail?
I'd like to know what your website is, so I could read it again!
