Posted by pbguide Posted   576 daysago

Mea culpa. I confess. I had an ulterior motive in posting last week's (tuesday) Monday Poll. Oh sure, I was (and am) legitimately curious about what y'all think about best means to begin building up paintball's grassroots again, but ...But I was also interested in how quickly and/or easily an idea turns into the conventional wisdom and how much staying power it has.In response to the question: What is the best way to sell paintball to the public? The answers were rather predictable and, of course, Reiner was correct in the comments when he suggested the alternative 'All of the Above' as it isn't really an either or situation. I also confess I'm undecided about what the number one answer really means. A full 50% voted 'Take a friend to play.' Is that because it's been a popular (and oft-repeated) rallying cry or is it because it's something any individual baller can do? It's probably popular because it's something anyone can do--unlike, say, get paintball on TV or produce a webcast. But I am very curious as to what the real numbers would look like. Call me cynical but I'd be amazed if 50% of those giving that answer had actually made the effort to follow thru. I also found it fascinating that magazines, internet & videos didn't score as high, collectively, as did social media. As no fan of social media I find that something akin to a sign of the apocalypse and I wonder if there is any real way to collect usable data that would either confirm or deny social media's utility. It's certainly all the rage. Webcasts garnered 9% which is probably unrealistically high although I do think webcast has the potential to get the competition crowd fired up. 15% still believe in the power of TV--and rightly so, I think, although what is really needed is a "Making the Team" kind of reality show not unlike "The Ultimate Fighter" show(s) on Spike which have done a remarkable job expanding the base of interest in MMA. Finally, in an ironic twist only 1% voted video game(s) whereas once upon a time the whole industry and media were overwhelmed with excitement over the potential for the first Greg Hastings offering to be the paintball equivalent of a free crack sample, just a taste, to get new players hooked. Just as the newest version of the game is being released nobody believes it has that power anymore.Nows the time to offer future poll suggestions as we are headed for the off season and I is tired. Regardless The Monday Poll (s) will return when there's an interesting topic for the majority of you lazy slackers to ignore.