Having spent a lazy Sunday browsing the forums and profiles....I know I don't get out enough lol.... But I noticed we are lacking a younger audience...... Why not as members try to actively recruit some new younger members, start em early and maybe they will stay.... If we don't attract the new generations we are in risk of fading away...... Naaaaaa you old gits ha ha ha... So see what you can do guys and gals, it would be a good way to maybe not only introduce existing bikers to us but to get a whole new generation interested in biking....take away that stereotype of nasty tattooed hell raisers, good for BM and good for biking..... Maybe Matt could do a short free gratis membership of a couple of weeks... Any (sensible) comments welcome (that's the sensible gone then lol)

I spoke to a mate of my son's who has bike, he'd be about 29,   and he laughed when i said i was in Bikermatch, saying it was just a dating site. Personally I think we need to change the name of the site to a more meaningful sort of name, as the site caters for a hell of a lot more than just dating.   What d'ya reckon ?                                                                                                                                                                                   

 Gets my vote -what about Bikes Matter -or something else that still keeps the BM logo

Biker Mates                                                                                                                                                                              

Yeps Emzed   I tapped biker rallies into google search and found this site, although I aint looking for the whole love thing (does'nt exsist in my opinion) I have found some genuine great friends on here, still love the site/forums and love the banter that I watch going back and forth. Site has been informative especially for me as I have been out of the bike scene for 10 years. my suggestion BIKER BANTER!!!!!! lmao lame I know but thats why i come on                                                                                                                                                                              

    Well Crissy, I just thought the word "Mates" covers both meanings   And as Zed remarked, it still retains the BM logo                                                                                                                                                                              

All we are not going down the old renaming thing again, just thought it might be a good idea to tap into some new blood                                                                                                                                                                             

  I wasn't the one suggesting changing the name Johny     I was just adding my idea to the "pot"   I am not in a position to make any kind of serious contribution to the debate as my "Full Membership" at the moment is the result of the generosity of the site owner   So I will refrain from making any further comments, save that I have personally tried to recruit several of the "younger" bikers I know and only been successful in one instance and he (Rider In Black) being a student, is unable to afford the fees to go beyond Standard membership   Which severely limits his ability to participate in the general activities of the site, which are "non dating" related, such as posting in the forums and joining in the chatroom banter                                                                                                                                                                                  

  (I doubt Matt would bother changing the name of the site, it's too well established now and would cost him too much, he already thinks of the site as a 'hobby' cos 'it doesn't make any money' for him)   It's good to encourage the younger generation to join in                                                                                                                                                                                    

I like Emzed's 'idea' of Biker Mates. As he says, it covers both meanings, and the logo need not change. 'Established' is debatable. Cost to change would have to be looked at. Indeed, the subscription fees really need sorting, as this is putting off new members, and even full members are reverting to standard. IMO, 2 quid a month by D/D should be cheap enough to attract and hold a reasonable membership.                                                                                                                                                                             

I too like Emzed's idea "Bikers Mates
I stumbled across the site whilst looking for events and found it be quite interesting, then making new "mates" decided to stick around. Hey but what do I know I'm just an old codger.......                                                                                                                                                                             

I thought that there would be a lot more people commenting on this particular topic ... MY OPINION.. is that the site would benefit from the slight name change as it is a lot more than just a dating site . My girlfriend is still skeptical of me being on here because of what she thinks it stands for ..I'm sure there are others on here with similar tales .. I have made a lot of friends on here and long may it continue but next time it comes to renew my subscription i will be giving it some serious thought because of the cost ..
  Sandi you have said that its not making money and that its a hobby for the site owner .. simple maths on the below statistics will prove that could be turned around by lowering the cost so most or maybe all 55-500 users would subscribe .....
 

Users: 55,535 (75% Male, 25% female)  New users: 19 today, 200 this week, 795 this month
Profiles: 39,023 total Online now: 711 visitors, 226 members, 4 staff
BikerMatch staff: 31 Staff (12 Moderators, 23 Event Planners, 2 Others)
Forum: 436,975 posts in 10,758 topics. Chatroom: 2,744,467 total messages, 25,386 this week
Private Messages: 2,200,472 total sent, 50,747 this week  Nods: 440,365 sent, 1,866 this week

if it was £10 a year and 30-000 people would pay its £300-000 ... !!

I do not know what the costs are for keeping the site going ...I would be very interested to know ... I haven't posted here to stir shit ...but i think there is definite room for taking a look shall we say

Maybe separating the dating part of the site IF AT ALL possible and charging a premium subscription for that service would be the way to go ....this is only an idea ...

I have told Matt in the past and i will say it again its a fantastic site with lots of great people ... it would be a shame to see it dwindle away and for Matt and the guys he has helping to keep (his Hobby ) going to loose interest  ...Like I said this in MY OPINION .....

                                                                                                                                                                             

  Well I was reluctant to visit this "can o worms"   As I posted earlier I don't really feel I'm in any position to comment   But as someone else has virtually taken the words out of my mouth     I have to agree with Malc to a certain extent   After talking to a lot of members (both full and standard) I think it's the cost and the name that puts a lot of younger folk off from joining   My original "idea" which I have sounded out among those I've spoken to was to have a 3 tier site   Standard membership as it is now FREE   Full membership at £10 a year to be able to use the forums, send PM's and enter the chatroom   And Premium membership for those who want access to the "dating" side of the site   Folks wanting to contact someone who is registered for dating would have to pay the Premium rate to do so   That would protect those who are on here for dating from being bombarded with messages from "Full" members   If only 10,000 registered users joined at the "full" £10 rate that's £100,000   I happen to think that would make the site more attractive to the "social" users   Just my thoughts on the matter   This post might get deleted   It'll probably get me thrown out     But what the heck   As the saying goes "Free Speech" "One each"                                                                                                                                                                               

i dont understand why someone wanting to access the as you say"dating" bit of the site would be deemed to do anything different than....   pm, chat in chat room and post on forums..... what else is there to do emz...   am i missing something    me membership jus ran ooooot :(                                                                                                                                                                             

Just wondering do people think it costs nothing to,run a site with this many members.... The work the advertising..... The servers... The power to run it all, the back up servers...... Where I do agree that the dating site thing does put off younger members with the stigma attached to it, I think that attitude is changing as more and more younger people use the Internet for dating.... But

We should still encourage a younger generation to participate... Or it will be just us old fossils on here lol

The name change will not change it for the younger member trouble is there is little or nothing to interest them, they have there group of mates that thay ride with and there happy. So untill sometime is there for them it will stay the same they have a look around and move on. A member did try and start an event for the younger members 30 and under but got a slagged off for her trouble by some older members. So untill we get soon young blood on events teams getting the events on that thay want if will not change.

I found BM by googling biker chatrooms, just like anyone else looking for a particular type of social media, I was a little perterbed about the " match " part of the title, but that didn't stop my curiosity from having a look. I, like many others, joined for the social aspect and not necessarily to find a life partner, as Jp says, younger bikers will have their own social circles negating the need to join and participate in the site. As those ' youngsters' get older, they may feel the draw of social sites like BM and only then take advantage of the opportunity to meet like minded people at rallies and bike meets dotted around the country. A name change may bring in newer members, but not necessarily younger ones,.

    It would be interesting if a younger person who is currently a member can come on this thread and give their viewpoint or suggestions perhaps.   I have a feeling they are all too busy 'out there' living life rather than being on tinternet for any length o time discussing meeting up etc, thats what  them wee young 'uns are like  (as someone else said earlier)   As for the dating side of it, I kinda agree with what Suzi said earlier re membership....   This site never comes across (to me at least) as a full on dating site anyway, its more like a biker social site.... meeting up and yarning in chatroom etc A new observer's few minutes perusal of it and they soon see its more social and friendly than specific dating......   Anyway come on young 'uns and give us your view too!!!                                                                                                                                                                               

My point exactly lulu, although you put it more succinctly than I could.lol                                                                                                                                                                             

  OK, just to "clarify" the point I was trying to make   For the benefit of those who didn't understand   Some people join with the specific purpose of finding a partner   If a person registers as a "Dating" member, at the "Premium" rate, it would give them ALL the facilities of the site, plus the ability to contact members for potential dating   So if a "Standard" or "Full" member wants to "contact" them they would have to pay for "Premium" membership   This would protect Premium members from receiving lots of PM's from those who haven't paid for the "privilege" of the "Dating" element   I hope that makes it clear   Regarding Lulu's comments about younger members, it would be interesting to hear from them regarding their views   But as she and JP point out, they are probably too busy "having a life" out with their mates   But I would be interested to know how many younger members are actually "fully paid up", as opposed to standard FREE members