I've been thinking about making a forum in Norwegian (I'm from Norway), but are not sure what type of niche. Any suggestions? There's so many niches to choose from.
You can make a localized related forum with categories such as businesses in Norway, Norwegian hosting services and so on. Add to your general chat categories that include Norway's tales and traditions, Norwegian recipes, etc. etc. Otherwise you can choose from those niches you are knowledgeable and comfortable with, either hosting, online job, alternative medicine, or whatever is your field of expertise.
+1 on that suggestion. And you should also ask yourself what do you have a passion for? What do you care about? If you are thinking about starting a forum, grabbing a nitch and making a quick buck - you can just forget that idea. Its going to take at least 6 - 8 months before your forum gets a steady stream of traffic. And expect around a year before your site sees any real traffic growth. I have seen some forums that have been online for 2 - 4 years and still have little or no traffic. When you start a forum, its going to be a labor of love, not lust. To make the best out of it, you will have to dedicate a lot of time and energy into building and marketing the site. When I see people posting questions about forums, and how to start one. And asking about what kind of nitch - both of these questions are a setup for failure. Because if you knew what you wanted to do, you would not be asking. You should pick a nitch (topic) that you have been interested in for a long time, not a spur of the moment decision. Whether this is stamp collecting, model cars, racing cars, sports - what ever the topic, plan to spend about a year of your life dedicated to the site. If you are not willing to spend a year posting to a forum, building links, promoting and marketing your site, then do not start a forum. Building a good forum is a lot harder then it sounds. When you are dealing with people, there are going to be conflicts. Then there are the drama queens and kings, the people that complain about everything, threats, ---- it never ends. Building a forum is not for the faint at heart or people with short attention spans.