Facebook

[cruiserlarry]

X2 on this. I'm finding Facebook less interesting the more I use it.

Less interesting doesn't mean less useful...there is no larger audience with which to announce our events and ham nets than the Facebook audience. One needn't be a participant to see the value in terms of publicity, IMO.

Facebook, for better or worse, has gone beyond the boundries of a college kid's social scene. Many major corporations now maintain pages to distribute product information and keep their "friends" up to date concerning product and corporate information. There is no easier way to have your information linked to others - anyone who is interested in what you have to offer is but a click away from distributing that info to all of their "friends" - much faster communication than traditional ads or polling e-mails, IMO.

While I use Facebook, I have not tried Flicker, and I don't understand its function other than a picture-holding site. Based on the enthusiasm shown here, it is much more than that. It would be great if someone familiar with Flicker could summarize how it is used as a social medium, and even how it differs from Facebook, aside from picture quality...

[DaveK]

X2 on this. I'm finding Facebook less interesting the more I use it.

Less interesting doesn't mean less useful...there is no larger audience with which to announce our events and ham nets than the Facebook audience. One needn't be a participant to see the value in terms of publicity, IMO.

Facebook, for better or worse, has gone beyond the boundries of a college kid's social scene. Many major corporations now maintain pages to distribute product information and keep their "friends" up to date concerning product and corporate information. There is no easier way to have your information linked to others - anyone who is interested in what you have to offer is but a click away from distributing that info to all of their "friends" - much faster communication than traditional ads or polling e-mails, IMO.

While I use Facebook, I have not tried Flicker, and I don't understand its function other than a picture-holding site. Based on the enthusiasm shown here, it is much more than that. It would be great if someone familiar with Flicker could summarize how it is used as a social medium, and even how it differs from Facebook, aside from picture quality...

The flaw in your thinking is the audience facebook purports to offer, will see us. Additionally, while it is true that there are quite a number of facebook users, we do not want and should not expose our site to a great number of them.

Our objective here at OAUSA is not to have our information linked arbitrarily to any other site. Our objective here is to create and maintain the best outdoor site possible and we should not sacrifice the quality we have worked hard to achieve for the expediency of distributing our info by a "simple click".

If your objective is to have a location where people can get information on our site, (or as you say, a page to distribute product information) there is no better place to get it than visiting our site.

[Chazz Layne]

While I use Facebook, I have not tried Flicker, and I don't understand its function other than a picture-holding site. Based on the enthusiasm shown here, it is much more than that. It would be great if someone familiar with Flicker could summarize how it is used as a social medium, and even how it differs from Facebook, aside from picture quality...

For the most part, it is. The big difference between Flickr and other photo-dump sites (Photobucket, etc) is there community-oriented approach to it. There are a lot more features built into the site to encourage critiquing and sharing of photography and the subjects (in our case, places) photographed, without the often overbearing social side of it. It lacks so many of the basic "social features", it is actually kind of hard to compare it. There aren't any of the usual "like", "share", or "George did this" feeds going on there. The most common way people come across groups is either by a direct search (how I found the Mojave Desert group, and in turn Frank), or by browsing subject/location to find an interesting image and investigating from there. This sort of sharing seems weed out many of the sorts we wouldn't want visiting (as Dave pointed out). For example, you could pick anyone at random from the Mojave Desert group and chances are not only could we trust them with our most precious locations - they've probably already been there for the very same reasons.

In other words, while Flickr isn't quite as "everywhere" and doesn't integrate quite as well, the people we bring into our group from Flickr will tend to be a much better fit already and will often have far more to contribute.

[cruiserlarry]

The flaw in your thinking is the audience facebook purports to offer, will see us. Additionally, while it is true that there are quite a number of facebook users, we do not want and should not expose our site to a great number of them.

I am amused at how you can assign a flaw to my thinking on a medium you have admittedly no experience with....

While Facebook users may not all be OAUSA material (kind of elitist, don't you think, Dave ?), the way it works tends to prevent random links from just happening. Folks that I've encounterd, as well as many of my friends with business sites, don't find themselves randonly linked to ne'er-do -wells...most people don't spend time, given the vastness of the medium, just hooking up to sites for which they have no interest in promoting, or worse, want to trash. Linking is rarely random, even though, theotretically, it could be done that way...that's why Facebook has grown the way it has, and why some time with it might alter your view about it.

Our objective here at OAUSA is not to have our information linked arbitrarily to any other site. Our objective here is to create and maintain the best outdoor site possible and we should not sacrifice the quality we have worked hard to achieve for the expediency of distributing our info by a "simple click".

OAUSA is not affected at all by the Facebook page - it is a separate entity, and anyone interested will still have to join OAUSA by registering. Facebook is merely a means of providing a much larger audience of perspective members information of our existence.

If your objective is to have a location where people can get information on our site, (or as you say, a page to distribute product information) there is no better place to get it than visiting our site.

[/quote]

True. but Coca-Cola didn't wait for people to buy a bottle and drink it, one at a time, to promote their "product" - they advertised in the various mediums of the day (and still do - in fact, they have almost 14 million people who follow them on their Facebook page )

So, we can sit and wait for people to find us, or...

[DaveK]

Larry:

No need to be amused that I assign flaws to your thinking. On many matters, it seems to be flawed.

Your first flaw is your convenient assumption that "a lack of experience" equates to no knowledge. You forget that I see these things from a perspective that you don't. While you are busy on your facebook informing the world about your latest rogaine purchase, I see firsthand the darker side of these sites, especially from the criminal prosecution perspective.

The biggest flaw in your thinking is the assumption that by merely having a face page, we will automatically attract large numbers of new people. This is not just flawed thinking, it is downright naive. If having a facebook presence was as rich in advertising as you imagine, no one in his right mind would continue to pay for advertising elsewhere.

I understand your need to shed your elitist label, but you are going to have to come up with a better approach than trying to stick it on someone who dislikes facebook. But, nice try.

I too want to spread the word about OAUSA, but it seems a better choice to wisely focus our advertising than throwing it out indiscriminately. If we were selling Coca-Cola perhaps I would feel differently.

[cruiserlarry]

Larry:

No need to be amused that I assign flaws to your thinking. On many matters, it seems to be flawed.

Flawed ? Maybe. But flexible, and willing to change my perspective based on the input of new information - Critical thinking, to be specific.

Your first flaw is your convenient assumption that "a lack of experience" equates to no knowledge. You forget that I see these things from a perspective that you don't.

I didn't forget at all - in fact I have great respect for your perspective (whether I agree or not). You forget I was turned down when I asked for your input on the possible downside to a Facebook account for OAUSA.

The biggest flaw in your thinking is the assumption that by merely having a face page, we will automatically attract large numbers of new people. This is not just flawed thinking, it is downright naive.

At no time did I state we would automatically attract large numbers of people - just that it is possible. As someone who had helped construct an advertising campaign for Bank of America in the late 70's, and having worked in retail for almost 35 years, I have a pretty good understanding of advertising. Naive - no; aware, yes.

I understand your need to shed your elitist label, but you are going to have to come up with a better approach than trying to stick it on someone who dislikes facebook.

Not sure where you see a difference - the insinuation that someone is not as knowledgeable or aware as you because they don't know your perspective of Facebook is every bit as elitist as anything I've been accused of here...

I too want to spread the word about OAUSA, but it seems a better choice to wisely focus our advertising than throwing it out indiscriminately.

This is focused at a specific audience - this is where some experience on Facebook would be helpful - and nothing is being thrown out indiscriminately.

I hope, with help from Chazz and Ollie, it will benefit OAUSAand it's membership

[OLLIE]

You can now visit our or become a fan of the Outdoor Adventure USA Facebook page by going to the following link.

Become a FACEBOOK fan !!! OUTDOOR ADVENTURE USA

[DennisDawg]

You can now visit our or become a fan of the Outdoor Adventure USA Facebook page by going to the following link.

Become a FACEBOOK fan !!! OUTDOOR ADVENTURE USA

Cool deal! Facebook is a great tool and plenty of fun!