How does one review social media? I’ll confess, while I use various platforms, the process of objectively evaluating one in public as opposed to “try and see if it sticks” was daunting. Still, when the folks at WatchCrunch asked me to take it for a spin, I agreed. It was good to try something different. No new forums have really grabbed me in the past few years, and I was beginning to think that type of platform was on its way out as specialty groups and accounts on the social media giants took command. WatchCrunch is not a forum exactly, but rather a new watch-centered social media platform and a breath of fresh air.
When I first took up the watch hobby, I dove into the forums, mostly lurking and soaking up knowledge. I learned a great deal, but over the years, I have spent less and less time on those platforms. I have nothing against forums per see, it’s just that I feel like I’m already getting my daily watch fix when I log into Instagram and Facebook, which I do for reasons other than watches too. Most forums look like they date from the dawn of time, and maybe this sounds shallow, but the interface matters. Logging into something that looks like it was built in 2003 kind of dampens the experience. Finally, forums are full of people, and people act in predictable ways: they will coalesce into in-groups and out-groups, some will participate only for the joy of correcting others, some come for the express purpose of trolling, and still others will be peacocks who exist only to attract attention. It gets old. I confess I entered WatchCrunch with some trepidation.
The first thing I noticed was how good the interface is. It’s clean, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. It has a stripped-down color scheme, a modern typeface, and a refreshingly restrained approach to icons and buttons. Navigation is in the left column, with everything simply labeled. Sorting? Four choices at the top. Profile and personalized selections are on the right. Hashtags are welcome. New post? Easy. Just tap the big, green, and totally unmissable button.
It’s almost quaint when compared to the juggernaut Watchuseek but leagues beyond just about any other forum I’ve frequented in the past few years. What you won’t find on WatchCrunch, is advertising. Maybe this is only temporary, after all, it is damn near impossible to keep a good site going without revenue, but boy, I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
Organization is one of the great advantages of a forum over social media. I love the steady supply of watch photos Instagram provides, and I follow the users and hashtags that post what interests me most, but the more you follow, the less you see. Instagram’s algorithm is a constantly shifting enigma. Why does it feed me the images it does? Why does it bury accounts I have followed for years? Why does the coyote sing its mournful song at the moon? These are unknowable. I just let the images flow like water over stone. Besides, there isn’t much discussion on that platform.
Facebook is marginally better in this department because I can join interesting watch groups, and regardless of what the algorithm feeds me, the posts are in chronological order when I check in on the group page. The downside is that the more general the group, the more of a hodgepodge the posts tend to be. For a community dedicated to something very specific, modding Casios, for example, the scope is sufficiently limited that you can hop in and find relevant content right away. A broader group covering watches in general, or lose terms like luxury or budget watches, is going to attract a ton of posts to weed through with little or no organization.
One of the advantages of a forum over social media is that they tend to provide some method to the madness, and WatchCrunch employs this to its advantage. General topics of discussion are broken out by watchmakers’ country of origin, with special categories for vintage, tool, fashion, smart, women’s, and pocket watches. Watchmaking, maintenance, photography, and accessories get grouped as well. And, of course, the topic nearest and dearest to my heart, microbands/independents. You can dig further with hashtags. No, you are not going to find a bazillion specialized sub-forums like Watchuseek, but that’s fine. Watchcrunch is a different community.
This brings us to the people. Just a few brief paragraphs ago, I talked about how predictably awful they could be. As a dedicated misanthrope, I stand by that. And yet, I did not find that in WatchCrunch. Its content is exactly what you would expect from a group of watch fans: “what are you wearing,” “new watch alert,” “is X brand any good,” etc., but also some unique gems like this vintage watch restorer who made a glorious kintsugi dial for a 1973 Seiko Skyliner.
The overall vibe is positive and encouraging, which is all the more impressive when you consider that WatchCrunch has just a brief code of conduct and few specific limits. You would think that would risk turning the forum into something out of Mad Max, but such is not the case. People are actually civil to each other, they don’t abuse the site, and nobody has tried to sell me an NFT. So far, so good.
Maybe it won’t last forever. I know they are working on some common sense rules, and as the community grows, it will inevitably gain a jerk or two along the way, but right now, things are good. There is a prime time to join a platform. It is after it is sufficiently established to have an interesting array of contributors and while they all still get along. There will come a point when the old guard will look back wistfully and say, “Hey, remember the old days before the posers and trolls moved in?” Now is that time on WatchCrunch. You can join just in time to enjoy “the good old days” before they are old, and with some thoughtful moderation and guidance, I hope that WatchCrunch can keep the days good for a long time.
If you want to give WatchCrunch a try (and I hope you do), there is really nothing to it. Signing up is a breeze, and once you are there, you will be joining a host of watch fans as well as industry insiders, brand owners, and the odd blogger or two. You can follow me here: The Time Bum.
