Well, I reckon some folks would be disappointed if I didn't share my thoughts on this announcement. So, not one to disappoint......
First and foremost, congratulations to the Payne family. I (we) cannot imagine the emotional / financial roller coaster ride the past 10 years have been. Great to see the payoff. I am always thrilled to see some one with guts...win. So kudos again.
Spin, being what it is, makes it hard for me to imagine that there won't be significant changes...over time. IBI would not make a purchase like this without serious thought / planning as to how they are going to integrate advertising of their many holdings into this site. The money ain't in the $20.00 / year some pay for the supporter banner. At some point in time we will see many opportunities for car loans, home loans, vacation planning, time shares, etc. Gotta work that way. This was not a recreational acquisition.
Being a former moderator, I would find it very entertaining to know what the discussions where / are like in the mod forum. The site has evolved from family, to community, to an enterprise, to a full blown business, and now....to corporate America. Supporting family, community, and even a "family" member's business ...as a volunteer... is one thing. However, I wonder how many will give of their time to help a full fledged corporation grow and prosper.
Site changes? Again, gotta happen. The membership machine has got to continue to grow and ownership has got to continue to feed it. I see more advertising. Especially targeting a younger market. Thanks to Jeff's (Beachbumcook) poll of last year, we were surprised to see how many young adults where purchasing $ 40K - $60K diesel trucks. It will be incumbent upon management to make Site / forum changes that will likely attract a younger audience.
Now that the vehicle (pun intended) is in place why would they stop with Ford Enthusiasts? I envision future links to sister sites for Chevy / Dodge / 4x4 enthusiasts etc...I would selfishly embrace a quality Chevy site that didn't treat 4x4 Suburbans as red headed step children...
Forum / posting content. WOW. Now that there is a BIG DOG involved, I see the site as being less tolerant of discussions / comments that could create legal issues. I also would guess that negative reviews of vendors products will be watched very, very closely...
Much of FTE's competition are clients of VBulletin (also owned by IBI) I wonder how IBI is spinning this acquisition to those customers?
I hope that, thru this exciting time, Ken has taken a moment to reflect upon the people...past and present...that have traveled with him on this journey. Members, moderators, Administrators etc. Even the banned ones. As they teach important lessons...both good and bad. An awful lot of free giving people made this site what it is today. Kudos to all of them for being part of something successful like FTE.
Anyway, these are just some of my rambling thoughts...hopefully none gets edited / deleted....
I hope I didn't disappoint.
Again, congratulations Ken....
....Let the spin begin.
