I'm a little slow

I have been pretty busy trying to get content and traffic built for MXConnection.net. So busy that I haven’t really had time to think about anything else. Trying to launch an online community is a lot harder than I imagined.

Officially the board has been opened since February 12 and we didn’t see any new users until a couple weeks later. Eeek! I think my initial thought was I will open a new forum for MX and I will get a ton of people to join. But now I know, and should have known before, that just starting a new forum is not going to get users to you. So I have been doing a ton of reading on what other admins have done to build traffic. To sum up what I found, building traffic equals building content for the site and getting the word out.

We are doing a few things right now to help get the word out about the site. The biggest thing, I think, is we (Alev and I) created a myspace page for MXConnection. We did a few local searches and added as many local riders as we could and from there we starting branching out worldwide. Currently our friend list is 323 strong and still growing. The other stuff we are doing is smaller but people swear by it. The “small stuff” includes adding the link to the site to our email & forum signatures. As well as doing some link exchange stuff with other web admins.

Now, I have notice a small tiny problem with the order I’ve done things. I’m building traffic for a site that, content-wise, is lacking. Currently we have Motocross Track Locator, MX Glossary, Arcade, and a Virtual Garage in the works. I originally thought the Locator would be a huge draw but even that takes some working developing traffic, that is a whole another story. So even though we have seen an increase in traffic we are not seeing an increase in user registrations. Users don’t want to register for a site with no users/postings. So I’m trying to bust my ass getting a ton of posts on the board and making sure all postings go answered. I hope this will help get some more users on the site.

As soon as I take the time I will start developing more non-forum content. I am hoping to get some Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews underway. I have a slight problem with this. My writing skills sucks some balls, as you can tell by my blog. I don’t have the confidence to write the quality stuff I would want for the site. So I may have to find myself an editor (hello Sis!) or find someone who would like to write for the site. If someone happens to come across this and would like to write for MXC please contact me.

That is pretty much the happenings with me and the MXC project. Riding is pretty stale right now but I will update on that in another posting.

Peace Out!

Motocross Track Locator

Some have heard me talk about the Motocross Track Locator I have been working on. I have even mentioned it here on SRR.com. But what I haven’t done is explain to the wonderful readers of SRR what the locator does for people.

Mainly, the locator is going to allow dirt riders (MX, Trails, SX, & ATV) to find tracks within a given distance to a given zip code. For instance, I live in 78664. I can use this zip code to perform a search for tracks within 10, 25,50,100,250 miles. The closest track to me is Austin-Del Valle MX Park at 25 miles.

Another use would be for riders planning a vacation. If anyone out there is like myself, I want to take a vacation that includes hitting up as many different riding spots as possible. My destination of choice would be California. So assuming I know where in California I am going to be, I could plugin the zip code or city and find the closest tracks. Man! I can’t wait to hit up Cali for some riding.

I hope that is a clear explanation of it.

Moving on, I think it’s fair to say that the Motocross Track Locator is finished. We currently have over a 120 track listed from around the U.S. These are all ones that we have hunted down and manually entered. I’m sure there are a ton of tracks that are not listed. Unfortunately, many tracks websites don’t list the physical address of the track, just a dinky map that is very useless for people that don’t know the area.

Alev and I will continue to add tracks that we find. We are hoping that track owners will find the tool and realize how useful it will be for them and riders.

If any track owners happen upon this site and would like their track added to the locator please send an email with the details (name, physical address, website, phone #, and anything else you can think of) of the track to locator@mxconnection.net.

Peace Out.

Top 10 in Music

Today is proving to be quite a boring day. It could be because I don't see Anna Nicole on TV every 5 minutes or the fact I have been staring into space all day long. I can't point out the reason for my boredom. I will just chalk it up to the mysteries of life.

While I stared at the wall I was thinking about starving children in Africa, the war in Iraq, and possibly adopting my own foriegn baby. But all this was quickly forgotten as I started to think about something more important. My TOP 10 ALBUMS!!! Plus some other lists. I like sharing useless information.

Of course the lists below will change in the future as I experience more music.

TOP 10 Albums:

1. Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire

2. Johnny Cash - at Folsom Prison

3. Korn - Korn

4. Deftones - Around the Fur

5. Michael Jackson - Thriller

6. Tool - Aenima

7. Tupac - All Eyez on Me

8. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

9. System of a Down - System of a Down

10. Sam Cooke - Best of Sam Cooke

Other albums that were close to top 10: Use your Illusion - GNR, De Stijl- White Stripes, Otis Redding Collection, Ray Charles, self titled RATM, Everything from RHCP is great.

10 Over-Rated Bands/Performers:

1. Nirvana

2. Elvis Presley

3. Frank Sinatra

4. Pink Floyd

5. Jay-Z

6. Black Sabbath/Ozzie Osbourne

7. KISS

8. Public Enemy

9. Soundgarden

10. The Rolling Stones

Best Albums of 2006:

1. Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist

2. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium *Yes I agree with the Grammys*

3. Massive Attack - Collected

4. Johnny Cash - American Recording V

5. Justin Timberlake - Future Sexshahshs don't know the rest. As much as I hate to admit it he is just that good.

6. Gnarles Barkley - St. Elsewhere

7. Shiny Toy Guns - We are Pilots

8. Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies

9. Korn - See You on the Other Side * this might have been 2005.

10. The Roots - Game Theory

I think that is pretty much it for now. I feel like Ryan Seacrest with all this TOP 10 music stuff. Maybe I can host America's Top 40.

Enjoy the rest of your day. Don't let the bad stuff get you down. Keep it positive!

Peace Out!

Sir Robbie Rob Out