for those who wonder if Disney visits forums...

Post by **js3901** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 8:04 pm

I was listening to some podcasts I subscribe to (which include WDW Today, the former MouseTunes (now WDW Radio), and Inside The Magic, among others) an came across episode 101 of Inside the Magic. The creator of ITM, Ricky Brigante, sometimes does a video podast of things to compliment the audio podcast he puts on for that week. for the episode I heard, which is dated 3/11/06, he was interviewed by Local 6 News in Orlando about his website. in the news piece, they mention that Disney execs actually visit websites, forums, and chat rooms to get past, current, and future guest reactions to things going on in the parks. It's their new way of market testing, outside of the traditional soft openings of attractions.

you can view the news video here: http://media-c01m01.libsyn.com/podcasts ... al6ITM.mp4

I wonder how many, if any, visit here to get info. In the news pice, you'll see that they show the ITM website, as well as LaughingPlace.com and WDWmagic.com.

CDAbleson · Post by **CDAbleson** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 9:16 am

I know that in the business I am in, it is ESSENTIAL to get the grassroots market feedback, which can only come from existing forums, chat rooms, etc......I hope they are all spending some time with SR.....

Post by **spaulo** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 10:39 am

To be fair, we are a pretty small community... they probably spend their times at the DISboards, MousePad, MiceChat, etc...

packwingfn · Post by **packwingfn** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 11:35 am

Very true and we don't talk as much about news and rumors like they do on those sites you listed. We're more obsessed over the music

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 12:47 pm

packwingfn wrote:Very true and we don't talk as much about news and rumors like they do on those sites you listed. We're more obsessed over the music

That's interesting, and sometimes I do wonder why our boards aren't filled with rumor mills. But then again, the focus of the site is enjoyment and appreciation of the audio.

Cheshire Cat · Post by **Cheshire Cat** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 6:05 pm

Maybe they visit us when they need inspiration for a new ride soundtrack

Post by **js3901** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 6:30 pm

we swap rumors and such in the forums. we all have posted on our likes and dislikes of either parts of or whole attractions, and made suggestions on how they can be improved. Granted, we are a smaller site, and we don;t specialize in park news, but we still post about it. I can't tell you how many google bots I see in the forums on a daily basis (we admins can pull up IP addresses of those who are on the site at any point in time) which means that someone is searching google for something that someone has posted about in our forums. It wouldn;t take a genius to figure SOMEONE at Disney might use google on occasion...

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 6:56 pm

That's interesting. My experience has been that what Disney says and what Disney does are two completely different things. I'm more interested to know that they say that they are looking at these web sites, but I'm not at all convinced that they are giving the information they allegedly collect any consideration.

I suspect that (to the extent they look at the information at all) that they will be cherry-picking information to support whatever claims and plans they are already married to.

Still, very interesting news, thanks!

By the way, I don't think that's how Google works. I believe they search everything, regardless of who is searching for what. If you notice the "Cache" link on search results, this means they literally have multiple copies of the web stored in their data banks.

Amazing.

Anyway, a more accurate way to see how people are using Google to find the site is to check out the referring links. They will show you what people searched for if they click on a link to the site as a result of a Google search.

The Google spiders are voracious feeders and crawl over everything all the time, but they don't seem to be triggered by users (although it's certainly possible that they scan more frequently if your site gets a lot of hits).

Post by **spaulo** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 7:32 pm

Schnemo's right, the presence of a Googlebot doesn't mean someone is searching for something on the site... it means Google thinks someone might want to sometime.

And Schnemo... have you seen the datacenter Google has in Washington state? Phenomenally gargantuan, with storage capacity rumored in the hundreds of millions of terabytes.

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 7:53 pm

OK, then what about Al Lutzs' article on the Mark Twain that talked about the visible dry rot and other huge problems. Then the very next day the Mark twain was brought into dry dock for repairs. And before you say it could have been scheduled, I highly doubt it was, it was done on such short notice that Disney didn't even use the Imagineers for the project, they got an outside contractor so they could get it done before it sank.

Post by **js3901** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 9:52 pm

the vast majority of visitors is from google, I believe. Subsonic had a page (I'll be darn if I can find it) that had stats of where people were coming from (links from other sites, google, no referral (direct), etc). Sub, if you have the page still, could you post the link...?

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Mar Thu 29, 2007 10:41 pm

Dr. Ravenscroft wrote:OK, then what about Al Lutzs' article on the Mark Twain that talked about the visible dry rot and other huge problems.

When there's some concrete problem like that, where you can explain to anyone (even a Disney executive) that money needs to be spent, they have certainly been responsive. Photos of chipping paint or safety hazards are a slam dunk.

But when it comes to things that Disney nerds discuss all the time, there's been almost no evidence that Disney will react in any way to that stuff. I don't believe that conversations about what stuff is themed consistently with Tomorrowland or whether anyone hates the wand or the hat is going to have any impact on them. It absolutely has not in the past, although it is certainly possible that they are changing their ways starting now.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Post by **spaulo** » Mar Fri 30, 2007 11:11 am

Captain Schnemo wrote:the wand or the hat

The proof is in the pudding. Those two things are probably screamed about more on Disney boards and blogs than anything else, and nothing has been done.

ambiguity123 · Post by **ambiguity123** » Mar Fri 30, 2007 11:53 am

I agree that Disney probably does look at sites, but I also would assume that they go to the gigantic sites where there are a lot of people. I'd imagine that it is mostly for fine tuning a product they already have out there, not ideas on what to do next. The video on Inside the Magic was intriguing, but I sincerely doubt they are really curious what new ideas we have about the park. I've heard numerous times that they don't accept solicitations from people sending in new ideas, so why would they actively search for them? The video mentioned Disney used the web to find out what people thought about the dining plan, not what the next ride at Disney should be or what they think of the wand or the hat.

CDAbleson wrote:I know that in the business I am in, it is ESSENTIAL to get the grassroots market feedback, which can only come from existing forums, chat rooms, etc......I hope they are all spending some time with SR.....

Out of curiosity, what line of work are you in?

Post by **js3901** » Mar Fri 30, 2007 7:38 pm

oh, I agree, they're not looking to forums for fresh ideas, but more for fine-tuning what's already in place...