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BGonline.org Forums
"backgammon" on Google search declining
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: "backgammon" on Google search declining (leobueno)
Date: Thursday, 13 December 2012, at 3:25 a.m.
1. There are many new search engines--a decline in google might be because of increase on the other engines
2. Many people are doing searches on their smartphones and not using google or the traditional search engines at all. People are getting a lot of information from Facebook instead of looking for web sites as well.
3. It may not be true that there is a direct correlation between the number of searches and the number of players, or new players (though it probably is true to some extent).
4. I have seen numbers relating to the number of people who have backgammon playing apps on their smart phones and tablets, and it will blow your mind...there is real growth in that area.
5. I believe that if you try to teach gammon-adjusted take points to anyone but a very experienced player, you will lose them. I don't even teach that to my students until they reach middle to high intermediate status...better that they just use the average live cube take point (21.5 for money, etc.) and first hone other skills, such as having reasonable skills in estimating wins and gammons. When I teach kids to play, we start without the cube. When we introduce the cube, we do it for unlimited games, and if we do get to matches, we start out at 2 point matches, then 3, and understand the cube and gammons fully for a 3 point match before going to 5. OF COURSE YOU WILL TURN OFF BEGINNERS by going to advance theory too soon! If you want to see someone's eyes glaze over, talk to them about match equity and take points and gammon values before they have been playing for a couple of years.
6. I completely agree with those who say that a sport or game gets popular mainly because of cultural reasons, not necessarily because of how much fun the game is or how good a game it is. Look what happened to chess when Bobby Fisher was big news and chess was sexy and exciting. Look what happened to backgammon when it was played at the Playboy club with beautiful women and famous celebrities.
Backgammon needs more exposure and glamor to grow--it's that simple. Getting more exposure requires financial backing (sponsors), and getting sponsors is not easy. We need to give the sponsors a reason to provide the funds and means to promote the game. We need to show them there is a return on their investment. How do we do that? By organizing, by uniting and show that we have the members and numbers and that we have a plan to see they get the bang for their buck they want for their investment. Our best hope is the Federations, which is nothing more than an organization of the players, and our best hope that the Federations will join together to show even bigger numbers and bigger international events, live and on line, to attract individual and corporate sponsorship. Do you want to grow the game? Support your Federation, and if your country doesn't have one, join the USBGF and work toward forming one in your country. My hat goes off to Chiva, for doing a lot of the groundwork to get a lot of the federations started, and to the leaders of the federations, particularly in the US, Denmark and Japan, which are doing so much work to unit and promote the game world wide.
Are the Federations perfect? Of course not. They are new and they are manned by volunteers and a few very low paid helpers. They make mistakes, and no matter what, like any organization, they will NEVER please everyone. Those who boycott or speak against the organization instead of supporting them and working to improve them from within are undermining the growth and health of the game. It's not perfect, but it's the best avenue we have to grow the game.
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