Today we hit 12,000 members, and growth continues to accelerate. Despite a pretty rigorous admissions process (applicants need to answer questions about themselves, do a quick quiz to prove that they're human, and then they need to be approved by a moderator), we're now adding 1,000 members every seven weeks (a month ago that was every eight weeks).
As you can see from the traffic stats above (click for a larger picture), we're doing nearly 30,000 page views every day. Over the past year, we got 2.5 million visits and 8 million page views and more than doubled our traffic.
At this point we may be the largest robotics community in the world. The other community that is normally described (well, describes itself) as the World's Largest Community of Robot Builders is Let's Make Robots, and it looks like we're now bigger than them:
Comments
(And topping SOR - all of you :D)
(today, when writing this, that is ;)
Chris A, perhaps it was a bit silly starting a mines bigger than yours war.
Still with the number of competition rounds and the number of entrants we have had from around the world at least for aerial robotic competitions we might have run more than anyone else. Whoops I did it again.
Frits, don't have a fit. You need to spend some time around here to really see it, but the store is a bonus to this community. We get great service at reasonable prices from it. What more can you ask for. And yes this is a community, not a buisness. We grow from one anothers expierence.
Congratz to the whole community for becoming one of the most active and mature robotics communities on the web. And I can truly say that after being a part of MANY robotics communities that this is often the most mature community I have found. I am just glad to finally have a found a place to help me get me ideas in the air!
Congrats, well done. Personally I see this forum as a replacement for rcgroups unmanned section, where the community failed to support themselves with start-up hardware.
If there is a shop - that's better, you dont have to put boeing adverts all around.
I only regret the the line of marketing saying 'you can make a complex object for xxUSD'. This is like claiming as the price of the solution is a sum of prices of the components plus some fixed margin.
It is completely agains the spirit of Hi-Tech where you produce unique solutions for urgent needs and you get paid for it, while the complexity, number of interactions, effort and price grows exponentially with the number of components. This line of marketing destroys already eroded engineer's position, when the product is where they are: for a 100s USD you still only get components, be it software, ideas, guidelines, whatever. It is fantastic that you can start your journey easily.
I am surprised this forum was not created by a proficient professor of avionics somewehre in the US, this should have been a major step in improving tech level in your country. Compare for example the project to paparazzi.
OK, back to the light-hearted flame throwing! :)
First, I'd like to say DIY Drones continually gets good reviews from members on my forum, so keep up the good work. We are all on the same team and should be working together =)
Comparing your siteanalytics stats to my actual site data, 'mine is bigger than yours' by a factor of 5x:
http://statcounter.com/project/standard/stats.php?granularity=month...
sorry, couldn't resist the fun! =)
This site wrote about us, I answer, it is fun, comon! Oh - you quoted me from LMR! Can you say "Fuck" in here as well?
Anyway, the money that is made on selling the Start here-kits is very transparent: When you buy one, it has a number on it. That number is the same as amount sold in total. So, you can see what we have made!
And we get 10% of retail price, as is written. This goes to cover hosting. We had to do something, after we reached 14.000 members (:D)
When you become a member, you can join the "backstage" mailing list that has a saying on what any possible profit should go to.
So no, we are not a business. But that being said, there is nothing wrong with businesses, who knows, we might turn into one. For sure, I personally like businesses, money makes the world go round and all.
My point was, that you can have different motivations for having many members and visitors. And if you want to say that "you are bigger than us", you should compare yourselves with other businesses, not with other communities.
When you have a shop, and people have to become members to get support for what you sell, then I do not think it is really the kind of community that you should compare to letsmakerobots.com - the biggest robot building community in the world (perhaps beaten by SoR, though ;)
Compare yourselves with other shops, that is all I am saying. or do not compare, you started the darn thing :D
PEACE, love and all. hey, let's grow together. Your UAV-shop can make ads for free on LMR:
http://letsmakerobots.com/advertising
What can you offer us? the more people getting into making robots (flying or not) the better for all of us, and for any business!
And thanks for the "wake up call", it is fun, I have initiated a campaign to motivate the very talented people of LMR to invite friends and start linking to letsmakerobots.com (oops), I take the challenge.. as serious as I take the rest of this; It's just fun, let's have a race :D
OK? Friends, no flamin! Fun!
:D
Hi there, Frits from letsmakerobots.com
My man rik just send me your public provocation, and challenge taken ;)
Mind you, this is just fun, but you played the ball, so here it is back:
You are a SHOP. Apparently several shops. In order to get support on the products that you sell, one has to sign up in this community of yours.
If you sign up on LMR, it is purely to join the community, not to get support for something you purchased at us. Because we are not a shop, you see.
Comparing us like apples and bananas. And I tell you, Sparkfun is beating you in your league. (And us, btw, if you should compare us with them)
You are extremely aggressive in your fight for more visitors, you pay to get more visitors, and have pages like http://diydrones.com/main/invitation/new?xg_source=msg_wel_network and http://twitter.com/home?status=Just+joined+http://diydrones.com
That on top of a shop = smart marketing, respect for that. But not really for being a cool community.
Though - Hey, these are actually good ideas when fighting for visitors, we might want to dosomething like that and boost visitors, yer! Never did anything like that before, people came to join the community, not due to viral marketing.
Anyway, to did you read the top search words that you have?
* blimp cam,
* basic stamp vs arduino,
* aerial photography,
* how to make money with arduino,
* www.justin.tv/uavchallenge
"how to make money with arduino" ?! Now, is this a business or a business covered with a community?
LMR has these:
* how to make a robot,
* electret microphone arduino,
* simplest radio receiver,
* lets make robots,
* long throw magnetic actuators
- on http://siteanalytics.compete.com/letsmakerobots.com+diydrones.com+s...
and good old SoR has these:
* how to build a robot,
* robotics grants and funding,
* tomy omnibot 2000 value,
* lm298 motor circuit,
* axon microcontroller and windows vista
Now that is relevant for robot communities. And I must say that SoR just beat us again, I did not know that, but I respect that.. though he also has an agenda of selling stuff.
Hmm.. Finally; if you want to compare us - if you are "The biggest robotics community in the world" - then where the heck are "the robots"? I thought this was (a shop-support community for) UAV - not that many "robots", apart from UAV's? So .. well..
:D
But when all this is said; I love you! Just because you make cool stuff, I am sure. Let's make friends ;)
Speaking for myself, anyway, but hopefully others here, I don't really think pointing out these statistics is meant in any hardcore sense of competition, i.e. we'll take traffic at the expense of your site. I think it's just a natural matter of pride, nothing more. In fact, I think it's great to learn about these other robotics sites here since, as you pointed out, this site is quite focused on the UAV aspects of robotics. If anything, these sites are cross-pollinating and growing off each other.
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