We recently came across a poll of how much involvement hunters have with social media.  Are hunters using sites like Twitter and Facebook?  According to the new poll completed by HunterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com, the answer in “No”.  As a hunter and strong social media advocate, I would agree with the poll. 

Here are some numbers:

• 64 percent of hunters and anglers report they are not using social networking sites to obtain outdoor information
• 24 percent report using Facebook
• 10.7 percent said they visit YouTube
• MySpace is popular with 9.6 percent
• 3.2 percent of hunters use CamoSpace,
• 2.5 percent visit LinkedIn and
• 2.4 percent favor Twitter

So what are some of the reasons are not using social media.  Our opinion is that hunters are an older demographic.  They are not tech savvy to begin with.  Hunters still prefer to communicate with other hunter through forums on sites they have been a member of for years.  Outfitters is the audience that can benefit from using social media.  Most, if not all, social media sites are free and offer free marketing.  Our opinion is that hunters will catch-on to social media.  The first social networking site to take off with hunters will be YouTube.  Twitter will follow next with communication amongst hunters and eventually Facebook.

CamoSpace.com is a social network dedicated to hunting.  CamoSpace.com is arguably the most popular social network on the web today.  The site has tons of tools to network with other hunters.  The network allows hunters to share pictures, stories, blogs, has a forum on the RealTree website, and many other features.  The camospace.com official blog is not often updated with new entries.  Once logged in, the site becomes “busy” and is tough to navigate.  One major item the site is missing is a “Search” feature.  The site prides themselves on being the “MySpace” for hunters.  That is easily understandable as MySpace profiles are often sloppy and don’t look organized.  Take a look at one of the employee’s profiles and notice the widgets are all over the place.  Still out there looking for the “Facebook” of hunting social networks.

About Camospace.com, “One July evening, I received a phone call about an idea of a website just for the outdoors sportsman ( and woman ) that would be similar to MySpace. This phone call was from a good friend of the family, Denny.

As the phone call progressed, he began to tell me everything that he would like to see in a website that would be devoted to allowing this ‘niche’ to meet, talk, learn and most of all, show off their trophy catches to everyone who can see it. While on the phone, I started going through name ideas while at the same time, buying each domain name that was available that sounded ‘good enough’ to use. The key was to make the name short enough so that everyone could remember it as well as, make it a name that was easy enough to remember.

Alas….CamoSpace.com

While it has been almost 15 years since I personally did any hunting, I agreed with Denny in that a website geared in this direction would be a good idea and agreed to build what he had envisioned. Through trial and error, the final product was launched to the web on August 6, 2007 and has been growing ever since with new memberships and site traffic. With the help of JimmyCenlisted soon after to help in areas, getting the word out became a lot easier with another outdoorsman on the team of CamoSpace.com

As we grow, we will begin to add more and more features to the site that everyone would like to use, read, see and interact with. We look forward to being able to have product reviews of existing products as well as emerging companies that have the next ‘must have’ item for the group. I feel that over time, all those who love the outdoors and the activities set around them will congregate onto CamoSpace.com as their first stop to tell all, and show all, everything they saw, did and found.

Enjoy the site and, let us know where we can improve”.

There are some ideas I can think of to improve CamoSpace.com.  But all in all, good site and good membership rates.