As a long time freeskier, not many other sites have stuck in my favorites for as long as it has. I have officially been a member since February 27th, 2003 (listed on the site, not THAT big of a fan to remember it), but was lurking around a little before that. Newschoolers started out as an online message board for skiers to come to and talk the talk, but has evolved into a huge and very influential part of the sport. Around 3 or 4 years ago, it was bought out by GrindMedia, owner of many action sports media giants such as: Surfer Magazine | Surfing Magazine | Powder Magazine | Snowboarder Magazine | Skateboarder Magazine | Canoe & Kayak | Bike Magazine
Standup Paddler | Fantasy Surfer | GrindTV | Surf | Ski | Motocross | Mountain Bike | Skate | Snowboarder, but still is ran by a few of the original founders.
Founder of Newschoolers, Matt Harvey (since gone on to start a new magazine (the late Freeze, RIP) and is currently one of the head editors of Freeskier)
Now a days there are over 180,000 members, with probably 70% of them consisting of under 18 suburban white kids. Now I know I'm making it sound like one could really gain a plethora of valuable knowledge from this site, but bear with me here. Even with the countless threads from teenagers on their IPhones, there is a ton of good info that leaks through, and some very interesting views and opinions. Newschoolers has successfully launched careers, companies and imaginations of little grom jibbers across the globe. Some of the top pros, along with some of the most relevant and successful companies have had their careers skyrocketed by a popular thread, video, picture or trend on Newschoolers.
The power this community holds in the realm of freeskiing is astronomical. Anyone who has been into freestyle skiing for sometime (or even snowboarding) has heard of the site, and most likely has an account. Similar to another social media site I'm sure all of you can name, Newschoolers pulls in innocent victims into the mindlessness of its inner walls/ forums and will hold you until hours have gone by and you still have to write a 4 page paper by the next morning.
Online communities such as Newschoolers are a rapidly growing aspect of consumer behavior and marketing, and should be treated as so. Infiltrating these circles of consumers that are "in-the-know" in their respective sport or hobby will prove to be extremely valuable. If companies can successfully create buzz within a core group of consumers that are passionate about what they do, their efforts will be multiplied over and over again. As we all know, word of mouth is the most influential force we see as buyers, and has never been easier to push along than in today's online world. I'll have to admit that some markets are not as easy to influence and penetrate as the gullable, suburban, white, trend-worshiping, triple tall-tee wearing young freeskiing crowd, but you get the point. A lot already have, but more companies need to start promoting and creating an image on where all the kids are at, the internet.
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