We had been suffering a loss of membership as a result of online competition for many years. From what I've been lead to believe, though, prospective ACE members are starting to see the limitations of online-only enthusiasts clubs and some of the individuals who serve as proprietors of same. We must strike while the iron is hot.
We need to establish a widespread online presence. We've done a good job starting to make inroads on Facebook, but from what I'm led to believe, Facebook is destined to slowly decay over the next five to ten years in the same way Myspace has. I currently don't use platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or SnapChat, but I am told by those in the know that these kinds of social media are destined to grow in the wake of Facebook's speculated decline. I am told that ACE is starting to make its presence known in these arenas, and that's a good thing. We need to be all over them with hashtags that lead back to ACE and our events.
We also need to develop web-based message boards for both members and non-members. For members-only forums, we must relax our code of conduct--no one wants to post anything the slightest bit negative in a forum where their post can be deleted by moderators and get brought before the Disciplinary Committee. And without the ability to post criticism of ACE policy, parks, coasters, manufacturers, or other industry trends without fear, we lose our credibility and infringe upon the First Amendment rights of our members. It's time to start worrying less about how some members attitudes and opinions reflect upon ACE and more about how ACE behaving like Big Brother lowers the bar for all of us and puts the so-called "good of the club" ahead of the well-being and basic freedoms of its individual members.
