Analysis: U2.com, fan engagement, and new album specualtion

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Registered Dude

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Ok - I've wasted an hour of my lunch for this speculative nonsense. Thankfully, I love Excel. I'm creating a new post for this, because it's really about U2.com and not the new album. But I'm posting it in this forum because it might say something about how the sell themselves (and any new albums)

I went to U2.com and listed the date associated with every news story posted for a two year period, August 2012-2014, which I plotted in this chart.

wkzn7.jpg


The X-axis represents each month, while Y displays the number of stories posted within that month.

Why U2.com? Well I figured that anything posted here represents official wording from the band. And I thought we looked closely we might be able to see some interesting patterns/observations.

Interesting observations:
August 2012-2013 - they averaged 5 posts a month

August 2013-2014 - they averaged 4 posts a month, BUT, if look at March 2014 onward, it's closer to 2/month.

The last 3 months have seen the fewest posts of any three month window in the entire period.


Speculations/Conclusions:
- The were in super secret mode in March 2014, perhaps in anticipation of an imminent release. OR...
- Shit went down the toilet in March 2014. They had anticipated releasing a record, and had nothing to post about in lieu of that not happening.
- They amped up the news in Spring 2013 - perhaps in anticipation of a new album in...May/June?
- this chart suggests they're in super-secret mode now. OR...
- this chart tells us nothing
- overall fan engagement sucks
- U2 sucks
 
You didn't need a graph to tell you that U2's fan engagement sucks, just ask any of the non-sycophants around here. And actually to say it merely 'sucks' is being polite.

They've never been digitally inclined or savvy. There have been no blogs, or reliable twitter accounts and the website hasn't given us much of anything since day one.

So I don't expect much fan engagement at all from U2...because I'm not insane. They've shown their hand on this matter time and time again. But especially since they seem to be trying to tamper down the hype and do something relatively quietly this time around.

In other words, what else is new? I'm not trying to be snarky or rude or anything else. I'm just wondering why people keep expecting the duck to stop quacking like a duck.
 
It's very easy for this chart to tell us absolutely nothing, but at the same time, I love charts <3, so it's at least interesting to look at/speculate on. So thank you!
 
In other words, what else is new? I'm not trying to be snarky or rude or anything else. I'm just wondering why people keep expecting the duck to stop quacking like a duck.

I didn't really intend for anyone to take this post too seriously.. [EDIT] though I think there's SOME worth in my analysis

I love charts <3, so it's at least interesting to look at/speculate on. So thank you!

Charts are sexy :sexywink:
 
serious question: anyone a u2.com member? do they post stories that dont show up as news on the non-member site? I know some articles bring me to the member sign-up page, so I'm assuming no...
 
serious question: anyone a u2.com member? do they post stories that dont show up as news on the non-member site? I know some articles bring me to the member sign-up page, so I'm assuming no...


There's articles sometimes but not really any news.

I don't really expect any news from U2.com though I mean they ain't going to report on every rumour are they, their only going to report official news and let's face it there hasn't been anything official from the band

It would be like my footy teams website commenting on every player that were linked with, it's not going to happen.

An official website isn't a gossip/speculation/ rumour site, it deals with proper news not crap.


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference
 
There's articles sometimes but not really any news.

I don't really expect any news from U2.com though I mean they ain't going to report on every rumour are they, their only going to report official news and let's face it there hasn't been anything official from the band

...

An official website isn't a gossip/speculation/ rumour site, it deals with proper news not crap.

agreed!

but I also think the site is a reflection of their PR strategy. I think they'll start posting (also tweeting, facebooking, etc) with more frequency, leading into a new album release, even if they're not saying anything about the album.

Last fall/winter, they were posting 2+ times a week and not everything was about Ordinary Love/Invisible.

I think if we're due for a Fall release, we'll see an increase in fan engagement (and thus, U2.com articles) very shortly.

Matt McGee agrees with me.. :D
https://twitter.com/mattmcgee/status/506568959412281344

Now that we're through Labor Day, I'd expect the U2 news/activity to start picking up very soon.
 
agreed!

but I also think the site is a reflection of their PR strategy. I think they'll start posting (also tweeting, facebooking, etc) with more frequency, leading into a new album release, even if they're not saying anything about the album.

Last fall/winter, they were posting 2+ times a week and not everything was about Ordinary Love/Invisible.

I think if we're due for a Fall release, we'll see an increase in fan engagement (and thus, U2.com articles) very shortly.

Matt McGee agrees with me.. :D
https://twitter.com/mattmcgee/status/506568959412281344

I've been thinking the same thing. We'll see.
 
Have been a U2.com member since the beginning, and have never used it for "fan engagement" purposes. The band really doesn't even seem involved at all in the site.
 
Very Cool Analysis Reg :up:

Being a numbers guy I always like to see things presented in this fashion. But this speaks volumes as to the possibility the window that was opened in earlier this year has slammed shut.
 
I thought some of the videos, though rare, of Brian Eno and of Adam driving in his car and the band playing/rehearsing were cool.
 
U2.com arent going to report on speculation or rumours are they? They would be posting news every 5 minutes.

Lets face it speculation is all its been for years now
 
I thought some of the videos, though rare, of Brian Eno and of Adam driving in his car and the band playing/rehearsing were cool.

I agree! those were a nice touch...

U2.com arent going to report on speculation or rumours are they? They would be posting news every 5 minutes.

they've never reported on speculation, no. But (and I dont think I made this clear in the original post) they clearly post more stories at times when they band is promoting something. The stories dont always have to do with new songs/ new album, they are simply cranking out more of 'em. content for content's sake. I think it's safe to say they know there's attention on the band, so they post more to engage people who come to the site. it's kind of a no brainer, I suppose. it'd just be nice if they kept this up more reguarily, to engage fans.

because in down times, or just before official announcements, they 're painfully silent; they post next to nothing. Only one story last month! wtf? REM's official site actually had more posts this summer than U2's. we can only guess why, but it's been a long time assumption in the fan community that the band go into stealth mode immediately prior to a new release. my fabulous chart :)wink:) might even support this claim, as March 2014, and August 2014 were dead periods on the official site.
 
serious question: anyone a u2.com member? do they post stories that dont show up as news on the non-member site? I know some articles bring me to the member sign-up page, so I'm assuming no...

Yup.

Keep it only for tickets and the occasional special offer.

It's really not that expensive so it doesn't bother me that much that more isn't offered.

Pearl Jam certainly gives a whole lot more bang for the buck with their 10 Club, that's for sure.
 
for less $$ too...

Well, yea...

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- **Access to Fan Club only Ticket pre-sales

**You must be an active paid Ten Club member as of the pronounced deadline to be eligible for any current pre-sale opportunity.
 
But the bitching on the Ten Club site is even more ferocious than here.
 
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