Last year about this time, I covered the changes and developments in the “PUA Community” in: PUA Community Year in Review — 2008. If you haven’t read it before and have been around that long (or not), it may be worth reading again.

In that article, I made the points that 2008 represented a new level of skill for the community as a whole, and a disenchantment with the hero worship that drew most of us to the community in the first place. I also made a few predictions about 2009.

1) Market forces will force a lot of websites and small companies to close shop. I was completely off the mark with this one. In fact, the opposite has happened. The large companies have struggled to make ends meet, whereas there are small-time coaches popping up everywhere and in every major city. If anything, the market is actually splintering and localizing. More on that later.

2) The backlash will continue and grow in the short-term but eventually be incorporated into the market in a meaningful way. I was right about the first part but wrong about the second. The “PUA Hate” trend peaked in early 2009. But as with anything that only exists to tear something down, it was unable to offer any alternative in its place. The fact remains that millions of men out there are seeking dating advice and after a while, “X Guru is a fraud,” just wasn’t offering any alternative. As a result this trend has been slowly dying off.

3) Local lairs and organizations will play much bigger roles. True. Again, the splintering of the PUA market has caused local lair leaders and figureheads to be able to commercialize.

4) A new meme will have to be established in the community. Although many have tried (myself included), this simply hasn’t happened. In fact, there’s some frustration around that “there’s nothing new under the sun.” There hasn’t been any major breakthrough in material or theory in almost two years.

So what DID happen this past year?

- The splintering of the PUA market. This is the biggest one and a product of the improvements in game I mentioned in last year’s review. Basically, people finally realized that the best guys in each major city were all just as good, if not better, than most of the “gurus” and coaches out there. They also realized, that a ton of people would be willing to pay them a couple hundred bucks to take them out rather than pay Love Systems or RSD $2000.

As a result, the market has become far less homogenous, and actually FEELS like its shrinking, when in fact it’s just localizing. Content sites are benefiting the most from this, as they’re able to provide material and products from everybody without prejudice.

Ultimately, the “consumer” is winning out big time in this deal, as this does two things: 1) it forces the “big name” coaches and companies to be accountable for their coaching — something that was desperately needed a couple years ago and 2) it gives guys a wider choice of teachers at more reasonable prices.

- The “PUA Community” isn’t a community anymore… it’s a flat out industry. In fact, I debated calling this post “The Death of the PUA Community” but I think I’m going to hold off on that post for a while. The message boards, camaraderie, free flow of information and advice, is all but gone and replaced by content sites, viral marketing, promotional materials, free trial offers, and viral videos. Any sense of “community” has been relegated to company forums, local lairs and random independent forums.

- The pick up market has officially “matured.” There’s no or very little “unclaimed territory” anymore. Success in the market is relying more and more on working together with other websites, coaches — cross posting, sharing material, doing free seminars or teleconferences, etc. — not coming up with the new exciting bit of theory and material. Guys like Brad P and myself made our careers out of nothing but writing LR’s. I don’t think that’s possible anymore.

All in all, a lot of guys are frustrated or upset with these changes. There’s less new content, everything costs more, and there are more sites to sift through. But in the end, I think our market is finally reaching saturation point. This is actually a good thing. The hacks will be separated from the legit content creators. Guys who do good work will continue to build reputations rather than those who just make the most noise. There won’t be any new “Revelatory” content produced this coming year, but a steady increase in quality and usability of the theory already out there. It will continue to become more personalized, more realistic, and more usable, even if there’s not some big tidal wave of enthusiasm behind it. It’ll happen silently and slowly.

But gone are the days of the “PUA worship.” In fact, the PUA lifestyle and those who celebrate it are seeming to become fewer and further between every month that goes by. Whereas a year ago, “Does guru X date hotter women than guru Y?” was a legitimate question discussed. People don’t really care now. They realize that guru X and guru Y each offer different advice and lifestyles, and it’s up to you to choose which one you prefer.

This is a step in the right direction. And although many may lament the loss of forum gossip, LR’s, pic threads, and free and fresh theory everywhere… in the end, everyone is going to be allotted more quality material in a more efficient manner, for cheaper and on a more localized and personalized level.

As a market, you can’t go wrong with that. As a community… well, I hate to say it, but there is no community anymore.