absolutelyBangkok archive · Being farang
Originally published Nov. 19, 2009
He’s an institution: George, founder and owner of ThaiVisa.com, Thailand’s probably most popular website among foreigners with its unique forum.
George is the brain behind the success, but success invites envy and jealousy, so not all you read about ThaiVisa is milk and honey.
I recently had a talk with George and here is what he says about Thailand today, ThaiVisa’s sometimes debatable moderators, politics, etc.
George say, how did it all start with ThaiVisa?
It was an accident! It started with an experiment with SEO (search engine optimization) in 2002, I wanted to see if a forum like this would be able to reach the top of search results without any cheating (it’s called “white-hat SEO”). As we only had myself and a few friends in the very beginning, we started to ask each other questions and answered each others topics. Most forums actually start this way, even if it does sound a little strange. At that time there were not many Thai related forums around and mostly they covered the bar scene, and we weren’t interested in that and wanted to offer something completely different. I invested a lot of baht in marketing the site during the first three to four years.
ThaiVisa has some dream stats. Share some of the Google Analytics data.
We have around 35-45,000 unique visistors per day, and we are approaching 6 million page views per month. We grow approx 10-15% per month, but some months are more or less due to seasonal variations and how much we spend on marketing. Around 50% of our traffic is from within Thailand. Most of our revenue is reinvested in server infrastructure and online marketing.
You seem to be constantly online. You’re hooked! Can you ever take a day off from your site?
Well, I do try to take days off, but yes, I am hopelessly addicted. However, we have a great team on ThaiVisa and I know that it’s in good hands. My normal working day is between 12 and 16 hours per day, a bit less on weekends or when traveling. I went to China for a week recently and had severe withdrawal symptoms. smile.gif I have promised myself to “get a life” soon though…
Who are the key players within ThaiVisa?
Our members, and of course the moderating team which help keep the forum a welcoming place for newbies and older members alike. Also our admin team take care of servers, sales, marketing and support. The sponsors pay our bills and bandwidth, a big thanks to them.
ThaiVisa has become a remarkable enterprise with an innovation every few months. You sell insurances, organize parties, now the cooperation with The Nation. You’re way ahead of the competition, if there’s any. Has it become too stressful to manage ThaiVisa?
No, not really, I have a great team backing me up, its certainly not a one man show. Some of the services we offer are outsourced to third parties who do an excellent job.
You have any competition? I mean the hate and distrust between the major expat forums in Thailand seems to be deeper than between red and yellow Thais.
We don’t hate any other forum, we don’t really have the time or energy to worry too much about what other forums are saying or doing. More than 87,000 members keep us busy!
What local sites are you reading? Nah, you don’t have to mention absolutely Bangkok.com ..
Most of the English Thai dailies and blogs. A lot of good content ideas comes from social networking like Twitter and Facebook. ThaiVisa takes most of my time really. I’ve been a member of webmasterworld.com since day 1. I read 2bangkok.com and Stickman ’s weekly column to name a few examples.
ThaiVisa’s commercial tie-up with The Nation, a newspaper quite often so one-sided it asked for the creation of Not The Nation: Wouldn’t the Bangkok Post have been a more appropriate partner of choice?
Our tie-up with The Nation is strictly a marketing/media issue. We have a few new exiting things in the pipeline with them.
A recent example with our tie-up with The Nation and The Phuket Gazette is the new SMS service we started a few weeks ago, targeting expats and their need for news in Thailand. We already got a few thousand SMS subscribers and the feedback has been very positive. We wouldn’t get rich of premium SMS services, but we will be able to employ one or two full time native English speaking editors in the near future.
The Bangkok Post is not willing to cooperate with ThaiVisa on posting news so, unfortunately, they do not have a voice on the forum. We are still in talks with them though, and there is no hard feelings.
Ever got warnings from Thai authorities?
No never, because we have good contacts with them and we try to comply with all Thai regulations and laws. Thanks to our moderation rules and very good communication with the relevant authorities.
ThaiVisa’s the bible of the arriving farang with its rich archives. You seem to be losing longstayers though, some say because overzealous moderators. Not?
Trees grow and fall — for some that will be true — but for others it is a reason to come and stay. Most people do not appreciate being called names any more here than in person. All forums lose posters for the usual reasons.
We have many long-term members with thousands of posts who are still with us. Those who have been banned have usually been given many chances, and their loyalty is a factor in our decisions about moderating them. It is not common for reasonable members who are posting in good faith to have trouble. Posters who wish to be abusive, trollish, or break the laws of Thailand will not feel welcome.
The forum has to be a place for all members to feel comfortable posting in, without fear of flaming or cliquish behavior.
It is also true that as the site has become bigger and enjoyed a larger profile, we have had to become more concerned about public attention and this has meant some long-term members are not able to push the boundaries as much as they used to do. However, the changes have been beneficial to the site overall and the vast majority of our present members are satisfied with the way rules are enforced [maybe cite something from survey here?]
How do I become a ThaiVisa moderator.
People get invited, usually by consensus among the moderators, but one must be temperate, reasonable, civil and polite to become a moderator. apart from the above qualities many mods are invited because of their knowledge of a particular subject and begin as a single-Forum mod, only later moving up to super moderator.
Who are your readers? Mostly SWM?
Actually, we recently did a poll and its also alot of married men as well and a small percentage of women. I suspect most have Thai wives or GFs. We recently did a demographic survey of the ThaiVisa users that you can read here.
Some of the ThaiVisa mods seem to be more Catholic than the pope. Thai laws are not that restrictive, aren’t they?
Yes the laws, while strict can also be vague — which often requires preemptive action be taken to avoid even the appearance of violating. The new computers laws are indeed much stronger than previously. It remains to be seen how they are applied but we do not want our members being arrested to test them.
ThaiVisa also doesn’t wish to be sued with defamation or charged with lese majeste. Several sites have been sued or closed down for these exact reasons, so, considering the number of people who rely on ThaiVisa as their first port of call for information on living in Thailand, we prefer to follow a middle road.
You could have an even bigger community without some of the zero-tolerance moderation. What do you tell your critics?
That is not our opinion — we have always had a set of rules; and it works. If people just want a brawl they can use other forums or USENET groups. They come here for a fair hearing — only when they can not abide by a set of rules (that they likely would require if they had their say) is there an issue. Most members are warned privately multiple times before any adverse action taken. But as with any such forum, there are those more intent in stirring up trouble than in helping others — and that sometimes causes problems for people who would otherwise not have a problem. That is very unfortunate and is why we have to be very strict at times to avoid personal conflicts.
Have a look at some of the loosely moderated forums (no need to mention who) and see what happens. Who would want to belong to something like that? They’re the only forum I’m aware of that either has “deep seated hatred” of other Thai forums, or whose members would be so concerned over moderation questions.
A very big part of ThaiVisa’s success is the moderating team.
Why not give “abusive” posters a friendly warning first? I got banned once for nothing, or so I thought. The mod thought differently.
We do give friendly warnings. We seldom ban, especially early on. Most poster do indeed get warning(s). It is very seldom a one time thing and should be clear to the poster why — they can always contact support if they feel it was not proper. Many people confuse a suspension or warning with a ban when in fact, they have not been banned at all. And while I am sure you thought it was nothing, there are forum rules that people do agree to follow when they sign on.
Thai authorities must love you. Hardly anything about nightlife, no controversial politics topics, sometimes ThaiVisa reads like an official publication of the governments public relations department. Don’t you need some more zesty content to become a more “credible” source of information? You can find lots of yellow, shall I say: propaganda stuff in ThaiVisa. The reds don’t seem to exist.
Yellow propaganda stuff? We try to keep a level field and do not believe you will find more of one side or the other here than in any other mainstream source. Our goal is not division — but helping each other. This is not a supermarket tabloid but an information exchange. We long ago decided the nightlife business was not our business. Those seeking that have other avenues.
Thailand today George, how different’s the place compared to when you arrived years ago?
Well, its certainly gotten more affluent, and with that affluence comes some of the downsides. But, honestly, I still find the people warm and welcoming and love living here.
What role can foreigners play in all this? I mean, they better limit themselves to forums? Most of us love the place and are just utterly disappointed about the dirt and lies being thrown around by all sides. What can a farang here contribute?
I think most foreigners need to take a more local approach when dealing with issues in Thailand. Its best clean up one’s own backyard before telling others how to take care of it themselves.
How will politics here play out? A wild guess?
I watch the political developments in Thailand with much interest, but am too far from being an expert on the subject to give any advice to the various players.
Your advice to Thaksin?
I don’t comment much on Thai politics.
Your advice to Sondhi?
See above.
Give me the names of some outstanding Thai people.
HM the King is an inspiration to not just Thai people but to foreigners as well for his ceaseless concern for the welfare of Thai people in his many projects around the country.
Is Thailand still inspiring you today after all those years? I mean the reputation of Thailand and her values seem to go down the drain lately.
Yes I love Thailand. It can be frustrating sometimes, but I haven’t found any better country to live in so far. At least not in Asia.
You must hate at least something about Thailand.
Yes indeed! Thailand get your act together politically! This is a great country!
As mentioned in the previous answer, there are some things that frustrate me in day to day living, but that will be the case no matter where you live. Overall I find Thailand has more positive aspects and these make the small frustrations easier to deal with.
Did Thailand make you a happier man?
Yes, certainly. While in my heart my birth country will always have a special place, Thailand is my home since more than 20 years, but I do visit there from time to time. Would be very hard for me to return and live in the western world.
Would you again, today, emigrate to Thailand? Or your place of choice?
Yes, I would. I haven’t been in South America and Vietnam yet though.
Your favorite three places in Bangkok?
I’ve been to all the cultural places already, but lower Sukhumvit feels like home to me. Good restaurants and great places to have a beer or ten at. Not so much barhopping these days though, but it’s nice to be called “handsome man” once in a while.
Oh, and you never organized a ThaiVisa party in Hua Hin. When?
Our team has recently been expanded with a moderator and an admin from Hua Hin, both very well-connected in the local area. So who knows what the future will bring.
Anything else?
If you want to contact me directly for whatever reason, feel free to email george@ThaiVisa.com or join my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/farang.
We also use Twitter a lot, http://twitter.com/georgebkk.
Thanks for your time George.
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