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Maybe we're approaching this from the wrong angle. Everyone still talks about BM as a game. However, to me it has always been more of a framework for my role-playing. By having set rules in a set universe in which to base my characters, I can focus more on characterization. I don't create events for my characters; the game does that, as do other  players (when I don't get my way).

Sure, we can attract new people with new features and an updated layout. But those gamers have maybe 3-15 minutes of queuing actions before they're tapped out. BM has always been about the interaction. We should be appealing to audiences that want to create. Fans of historical fiction. Students of literature and film and politics. Appeal to their narcissism. Appeal to the part in each and every one of us that wants to be noticed. That's why I'm pushing for more interaction on Twitter: that mobile, selfie-taking, Vine-recording, meme-producing, hash-tagging population that says, "I want to create, but I don't know how."

Damn it, we know how. We have the canvas. Get your asses in here and paint. Paint with your words!

Fanfiction.net. Gaiaonline. Blogs of writers. These should be our targets. I only fell in love with BM by spending time with it. You're trying to appeal to people who want everything to be flashy, who want a short tutorial and for the things they highlight to tell them what the hell they are before they click them without digging through a Wiki to find answers. Stop reaching for that shelf and reach for the one with the people who are going to pour their hearts and souls into a character that they come to love.

Other Suggestions:

- A fantasy island where Tolkien races are allowed
- A single character for new players who can be whatever class they want, so they don't get frustrated trying to become something "cool". WoW did something similar by giving new players 1 level 80 character, as it shows them what hard work and dedication will earn them.
- Dragon Hunts. Adventurers should be able to hear rumors of/hunt dragons to their lairs, and armies should be able to tackle these beasts at their own peril. In true medieval tradition dragons should be terrifying and deadly (say, they do a lot of damage to 1 random region on 1 random day each week), and win the knight who strikes the killing blow great honor, prestige and riches (gold and/or unique items). Politics on the islands could get interesting if your army is decimated by an underestimated dragon, or a famous figure dies in combat with the beast, or an enemy realm finds a dragon roosting near their capital.

It's easy! Once you have an account, you'll always be @(Whateverusernameyouchoose). Other people form accounts the same way for either themselves, groups, products, etc. (I.e. @CocaCola or something).  You look for things you like (example: if you like the voice actor/Luke from Star Wars Mark Hamill) and Follow them (the blue icon on their page). From then on your main hub is not your personal page like it is on Facebook, but the most recent things the pages and people you 'very followed have said, to within a few seconds of posting it.

Think of it as a compact forum where, instead of selecting topics and reading everything that they've posted (which is entirely possible) you are instead getting a window into that forum by seeing the latest posting, and joining the conversation below it (the arrow icon on the left under each posting). If you like something enough that at you want to share it you hit the square recycling symbol (retweet) where it is then linked to your page. The heart is self-explanatory.

Bummer. But that's a perfectly good reason not to have one.

The reason I suggest Twitter over Facebook is that it's like if Instant Messaging, Pintrest and Facebook had a baby. Its 160-letter format for posts means you must be succinct and to the point with anything you say. And because whatever you post shows up immediately to any followers it's --as I said-- the perfect opposite number for Battle Master.

Cool. So am I sitting on Twitter with my thumb up my ass waiting for the 100+ views this thread has gotten to yield more than 3-4 followers, or are people going to take the initiative and join me?

Form unofficial accounts for realms and islands. I did it for Dwilight at @DwilightBM;  use that as a reference. Let's get out there and get engaged!

I got overexcited and started an unofficial page for Dwilight. @DwilightBM

It's great that they use it for updates, but that's a VERY small part of the app's full potential. If the message boards are formal wear and Facebook is casual, Twitter is the glitzy club where you slam a martini and hit the dance floor. It's fast, shallow, and great for members of the community who usually play on the go.

Imagine you're sitting in the doctor's office waiting to be seen. You could load up the website, but you don't know when you're going to get called back. So you pop onto Twitter and see 4 new notifications from your realm that !@#$ is about to go down. Now who's excited to pop back on when they get home, instead of habitually checking it from time to time?

@BattleMasterOrg

Doesn't it?

Because I totally found one with the most recent updates about the game and a link to the website. Maybe it's an overzealous player, but if it were it wouldn't be so banal (I hope).

I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!

Unfortunately, Twitter accounts really only work if there's reciprocation from the account host. It does require a lot of activity, but the payoff is a place where we don't seem like a bunch of stick-up-our-asses nerds. Hell, individual realms and continents could have their own Twitter accounts and trash-talk each other.

Nothing gets people more involved than having a common enemy. "What, you think you won that last battle? We LET you win that battle! You wait until you see what's next! #Diversion #WatchYourBack #Astrum"

My Gaia Online account is still active: 10 years and 30K RP posts. I'll start RPing in medieval fantasy forums and stick a link to BM in my signature.

I know, right?!

I already sent OOC messages to the rulers of 2 continents my characters are on. If players are worried about anonymity they can create an account under their favorite character's name, but it's no less anonymous than Facebook. More so, even.

CHAAAARRRRGGEEEEE!

If we want new players I first started out Role Playing on Gaia Online. HUGE, untapped community of new bloods. We should also be putting up flyers in local card and tabletop shops, as well as maybe getting a bit of a presence on the tabletop, gaming and geek convention circuits.

DIBS ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA FRONT!!!

#BMCrusade #BMLives #BMAddict #BattleMaster #100ProblemsBMAin'tOne

Updates:

Join me at @DwilightBM!  Whether you have a character on that continent or not, let's lead the charge in getting ourselves out there!

Original Post:

Let's face it: we're hemorrhaging players faster than new players are being infused. It's a slow process, but every realm big or small (especially the small ones) feels the sting of loss when someone decides, "Eh, not going to log in today," and then realizes it's been weeks since they last did.

I propose a Twitter revolution.

I've been to the Battle Master Twitter page, and let me tell you: it hurts my heart how rarely this vital tool (and let me tell you; it IS vital) is utilized. Twitter is not a source for occasional updates, and our page there should cater to a broader audience than its meager 20-30 followers. Its 160-letter limit is the perfect supplemental format for a game in which actions occur over a 12-hour period, and the ability to attach pictures and video should not be taken lightly.

I think I speak for a large part of our audience when I call us geeks. So we should act the part! Holy !@#$, I play a neurotic, reclusive, widowed bureaucrat with 4 children and a country to upkeep with one of my characters! Why don't I have a place where I can slap together a !@#$ty D&D-flavored meme and plaster it up like a picture on Mom's fridge? I can do that here, but scrolling through forums is a lot more time-intensive than the instant gratification of a 160-letter post!

Getting people involved with the Twitter account, getting the page actively posting in the way Twitter is supposed to be used (shootin' the !@#$ with the community), and getting new players involved in an active learning process where they can ask and receive immediate feedback from everyone else following the account is the way to attract more people!

Let's get out there and get geeky! Post to Wizards of the Coast, Wil Wheaton, D&D, parody accounts, who gives a !@#$ who!

#BattleMaster #BMCrusade #BMStrong #BMLives #BMAddict #100ProblemsBMAin'tOne