So, just read the 'Unhelpful Things on the forum'...

[Mark_C]

and thought to expand one of the conversations there.

Out of my lurking for a bit, decided to pop my head in and say hi.

Hi

Anyways, common thread replies were mostly based around repeating information and advice.
This forum, being the Chameleon Forum, is often the first stop for new keepers, or with keepers in emergency need.
And there is a lot of direction off site to other regions of the net to gather bits and pieces of information.

Why not do all that in house? Make a 'Chameleon Forums Keeper's Guide 101'.
Members/mods can star in small video sections that can be joined together to make episodes that are directed at specific challenges new keeps will encounter. Vids wouldn't have to be long, but they should be thorough and contain not just directions but some educational value on the 'why'.
A committee would have to be created, scripts would be written and circulated through the committee for approval, small vids created and produced (Adobe Premier, etc), and the series can be posted as a site highlight.

Here's some examples of what I'm on about (you can tell I have plenty of free time at work today)...

Episode 1: Welcome to the Chameleon Forums
This would be a ‘Hi, welcome, here’s who we are, here’s what were trying to do’ and would be hosted by 2-3 clips of some of the top contributors and mods.

Episode 2: Know what you’re getting into
This episode would cover the responsibilities and costs of the hobby, hammering home the fact that this isn’t cheap and requires responsibility

Episode 3: What you need
Covers enclosures, mister/fogger, internal decor, hygrometer, space needs, feeding system, lighting.

Episode 4: Choosing your chameleon
Covers pros and cons of pet stores v breeders, common home types of chameleons, general temperaments, and how to find good breeders

Episode 5: Pre chameleon home prep
Ensure cage is set up properly, cage location, heating requirements, choosing a vet and giving them a heads up, having foods on hand, bio substrate or floor, lighting schedule, misting/fogging schedule

Episode 6: Pre chameleon home prep (female additions)
The lay bin

Episode 6: So, he/she is here
Introducing Cham to its cage, adaption blues, what to watch for, handling (or not), first vet visit

Episode 7: Feeding your chameleon
Different types of foods (Dubai, super worms, etc) and when to feed, supplements, treats, etc, as well as how to tell if Cham is too heavy or skinny

Episode 8: Maintaining your new buddy’s home
Cage maintenance, light checks, UV bulb replacement, outside trips (to outdoor cage, indoor plants), etc

Episode 9: Maintaining your new buddy’s health
What to watch for health wise, typical growth, attitude changes with seasons, red flags for health concerns, annual vet checks, etc

 

[Tkrd69]

Sounds like a good idea. Some members already do videos. Like Neptune the chameleon by @Gingero . @DeremensisBlue is also great, both are very good for learning information. Too many others to name give advice from years of experience and help everyone they can.

 

[Beman]

All great ideas... But here is the issue in my opinion. I simply do not have time to do videos. Between my real life job and the time I spend in threads this just would not be an option for me. Also we are a small team of people. There is already a project underway for upgrades to our care section. Now the other part of this. I know my limits ( I am not the type to be on video) and I know there are others like Bill Strand putting the info out there in video and podcasts. He does it so well that I personally do not see a reason to duplicate. Also Neptune the Chameleon is putting out great beginner videos. If there were a lot of us on staff with the time to do so that might be a different story. But I just do not see it as a possibility at this point in time.

@JacksJill

 

[MissSkittles]

^^^ 100%!
I have no qualms about sending someone to chameleon academy. Bill Strand has put in so much hard work into his site and keeping the community up to date on husbandry standards and even having us work together, support each other and be a true community. However, his site has the info and we have the personal touch. People can interact with each other here, teach each other, support each other, share in our achievements, joys and even challenges and losses. Even if the forum had the resources and desire to follow your suggestions, it would lose that personal touch. Honestly, if one searches the forum archives they are bound to find the answers they need, but we all want to get that personal attention and answers catered to our unique situations. Those of us on the helping end also enjoy what we do and find satisfaction in being able to give back.

 

[Flick boy]

Yup totally agree @MissSkittles for me watching a video / podcast or reading files is just not the same they are all good but loses as you say that personal touch like I'm a member of a uk group and that's mostly what I see did you read our files , this forum imo gives the person looking advice more reassurance and they are connected to a real person ,rather than I file

 

[Gingero]

I've been working with @Brad behind-the-scenes to try and get a video section up and running the forums that would have videos like you mentioned above easily accessible on the forums. Hopefully that project can be launched soon! All the videos you listed besides Episode 1 are already available on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/NeptunetheChameleon/

 

[DeremensisBlue]

Consider that anything the Chameleon Forums creates needs to be maintained and kept up to date. And that takes constant supervision and work.

It is a common desire to create an end-all, be-all website that has everything. Back at the turn of the century we had a community effort called adcham.com which brought a great deal of information together, but then fell apart due to the difficulties in coordinating such a diversity of people. Chameleon Forums has a much more stable team, but consider the value that Chameleon Forums brings to the community. It is the personal touch and guidance. People come here because they want to interact with a community. Yes, reference links are good so you don't have to type the answer over and over again, but every resource you create requires maintenance. I am constantly pushing myself forward and find that I need to update webpages I wrote only three years ago. So between creating new material and trying to keep all the previous material up to date I do not have time for much else. Why would Chameleon Forums want to try and replicate that effort? If you do, then be prepared to staff the effort or else you create yet another source of information that slowly becomes out of date and creates confusion.

The value in Chameleon Forums platform is the interaction. If you are going to put resources into an effort I suggest putting it into what defines you and is your strength. Put that effort into community building and things that generate increased interaction. Instead of creating a specific Chameleon Forums husbandry, this group is in a position to be inclusive of all the efforts that are going on around it by the community. What I mean by that is that you have the choice to be the community umbrella that uses all the content being made by the present and future content creators. If you excel at highlighting the community content creators then you are able to use their efforts to stay up to date and you become the place to debate the new ideas. You become the chameleon community Lyceum. This would make you unique amongst all social media groups that are closed off and have their own husbandry parameters.

If you create a Chameleon Forums approved husbandry then, yes, you will be a one stop resource...like every Facebook and Reddit group wants to be. We already have 24,537 groups like that. Chameleon Forums is in a unique position to leverage the efforts of the community. Why try and replace them with your own version? Basic educational .pdf aids are one thing, but if you get too detailed into defining husbandry you become just another resource that will branch off from the many other resources out there. Once any group determines what their brand of husbandry is going to be that group then tends to quickly start resisting any change and begins the stagnation process.

I would figure out what your unique value proposition is and concentrate your efforts in supporting that differentiation. The competition to the Chameleon Forums is not content creators. It is other forms of social media - especially forum styles such as Facebook and Reddit. So the question is - how are the limited resources being used to leverage the community that exists and create differentiation from the true competition?

The bottom line is that a simple search will turn up most answers already (whether good or bad or old, etcc is another topic). People come to the forums because they want to "talk". So I would suggest putting effort into better interaction. You already have reference material and links for just about any question that is asked.

 

[dinomom]

Consider that anything the Chameleon Forums creates needs to be maintained and kept up to date. And that takes constant supervision and work.

It is a common desire to create an end-all, be-all website that has everything. Back at the turn of the century we had a community effort called adcham.com which brought a great deal of information together, but then fell apart due to the difficulties in coordinating such a diversity of people. Chameleon Forums has a much more stable team, but consider the value that Chameleon Forums brings to the community. It is the personal touch and guidance. People come here because they want to interact with a community. Yes, reference links are good so you don't have to type the answer over and over again, but every resource you create requires maintenance. I am constantly pushing myself forward and find that I need to update webpages I wrote only three years ago. So between creating new material and trying to keep all the previous material up to date I do not have time for much else. Why would Chameleon Forums want to try and replicate that effort? If you do, then be prepared to staff the effort or else you create yet another source of information that slowly becomes out of date and creates confusion.

The value in Chameleon Forums platform is the interaction. If you are going to put resources into an effort I suggest putting it into what defines you and is your strength. Put that effort into community building and things that generate increased interaction. Instead of creating a specific Chameleon Forums husbandry, this group is in a position to be inclusive of all the efforts that are going on around it by the community. What I mean by that is that you have the choice to be the community umbrella that uses all the content being made by the present and future content creators. If you excel at highlighting the community content creators then you are able to use their efforts to stay up to date and you become the place to debate the new ideas. You become the chameleon community Lyceum. This would make you unique amongst all social media groups that are closed off and have their own husbandry parameters.

If you create a Chameleon Forums approved husbandry then, yes, you will be a one stop resource...like every Facebook and Reddit group wants to be. We already have 24,537 groups like that. Chameleon Forums is in a unique position to leverage the efforts of the community. Why try and replace them with your own version? Basic educational .pdf aids are one thing, but if you get too detailed into defining husbandry you become just another resource that will branch off from the many other resources out there. Once any group determines what their brand of husbandry is going to be that group then tends to quickly start resisting any change and begins the stagnation process.

I would figure out what your unique value proposition is and concentrate your efforts in supporting that differentiation. The competition to the Chameleon Forums is not content creators. It is other forms of social media - especially forum styles such as Facebook and Reddit. So the question is - how are the limited resources being used to leverage the community that exists and create differentiation from the true competition?

The bottom line is that a simple search will turn up most answers already (whether good or bad or old, etcc is another topic). People come to the forums because they want to "talk". So I would suggest putting effort into better interaction. You already have reference material and links for just about any question that is asked.

Very well said!

 

[JacksJill]

and thought to expand one of the conversations there.

Out of my lurking for a bit, decided to pop my head in and say hi.

Hi

Anyways, common thread replies were mostly based around repeating information and advice.
This forum, being the Chameleon Forum, is often the first stop for new keepers, or with keepers in emergency need.
And there is a lot of direction off site to other regions of the net to gather bits and pieces of information.

Why not do all that in house? Make a 'Chameleon Forums Keeper's Guide 101'.
Members/mods can star in small video sections that can be joined together to make episodes that are directed at specific challenges new keeps will encounter. Vids wouldn't have to be long, but they should be thorough and contain not just directions but some educational value on the 'why'.
A committee would have to be created, scripts would be written and circulated through the committee for approval, small vids created and produced (Adobe Premier, etc), and the series can be posted as a site highlight.

Here's some examples of what I'm on about (you can tell I have plenty of free time at work today)...

Episode 1: Welcome to the Chameleon Forums
This would be a ‘Hi, welcome, here’s who we are, here’s what were trying to do’ and would be hosted by 2-3 clips of some of the top contributors and mods.

Episode 2: Know what you’re getting into
This episode would cover the responsibilities and costs of the hobby, hammering home the fact that this isn’t cheap and requires responsibility

Episode 3: What you need
Covers enclosures, mister/fogger, internal decor, hygrometer, space needs, feeding system, lighting.

Episode 4: Choosing your chameleon
Covers pros and cons of pet stores v breeders, common home types of chameleons, general temperaments, and how to find good breeders

Episode 5: Pre chameleon home prep
Ensure cage is set up properly, cage location, heating requirements, choosing a vet and giving them a heads up, having foods on hand, bio substrate or floor, lighting schedule, misting/fogging schedule

Episode 6: Pre chameleon home prep (female additions)
The lay bin

Episode 6: So, he/she is here
Introducing Cham to its cage, adaption blues, what to watch for, handling (or not), first vet visit

Episode 7: Feeding your chameleon
Different types of foods (Dubai, super worms, etc) and when to feed, supplements, treats, etc, as well as how to tell if Cham is too heavy or skinny

Episode 8: Maintaining your new buddy’s home
Cage maintenance, light checks, UV bulb replacement, outside trips (to outdoor cage, indoor plants), etc

Episode 9: Maintaining your new buddy’s health
What to watch for health wise, typical growth, attitude changes with seasons, red flags for health concerns, annual vet checks, etc

Great minds think alike. We are working on several projects along this line. I'm working on it with some very dedicated members. A loss in my family has slowed my contribution. We are revamping the existing Resources section to be inline with the current thoughts on care. It will be more of a new keepers quick guide and will leave Chameleon Academy to go into the deep details. We will continue to help keepers with personal attention to general and specific questions.

A video section with links to many of the subjects you listed is coming as well. It will be made of contributions from Gingero, C.A. and others. Here is the start of the project. https://www.chameleonforums.com/media/categories/chameleon-care-videos.1/ This maybe a premature preview but you can have a look behind the curtain.

 

[Flick boy]

So it's a link within the the forum without a member providing a link that takes members outside the forum but keeps them in the forum And give new members some information but not all , so when they require additional info then they ask specific questions, or a break down on the information they have got in the links back too members in the forum??

 

[JacksJill]

So it's a link within the the forum without a member providing a link that takes members outside the forum but keeps them in the forum And give new members some information but not all , so when they require additional info then they ask specific questions, or a break down on the information they have got in the links back too members in the forum??

Yes and it’s an effort to curate the most useful videos into categories that are more readily accessible vs what a random search of YouTube might reveal.