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Greetings Everyone!
To paraphrase my favorite general, "Facebook, Facebook, Facebook! You'd think Facebook is going to do a back somersault and land in our rear. Instead of talking about what Facebook will do to us, let's start talking about what we can do with Facebook." Yep, US Grant again. I like that quote.
Over the past week, I have talked to dozens of people, observed and read on various forums and have tried to answer the question, "How can a Civil War Forum fit in during the rein of Facebook?" "Is there still a place for forums in this new cyber world?" "Is Facebook going to kill the AC?" Quite the contrary. I think it depends on how it is utilized.
Listen, I really like Facebook. Many of you have seen me there and I have seen many of you. I like to keep up with old friends and it has been fun to learn more about the members in the CW hobby and what they do in their "real life". Like many others, I hadn't been to the AC in a while either when I came here to post our event information for Corricks Ford. When I got here, I couldn't believe that I couldn't find events listed here. So, I went on FB and searched down the events. At the same time, one of the members here, Pete Berezuk was also working on an event calendar and for the same reason - the information that used to be in one place is now everyplace. So, if there had to be a central location for the schedule, I think it needs to be here - again.
From what I understand, when the first AC Facebook page was opened, there was a struggle with the staff here, because the rules were not really enforceable on the Facebook version. No signing names. People from all walks of life were posting topics and without the structure of this forum, it was hard to control the content from straying too far from the purpose here. The first site was shuttered and the staff started over with a second site.
With the second Facebook page, the staff decided that if they posted the content, it would be easier to keep people focused on the discussions. You will notice on the page that different articles were posted from news organizations and other sources and the AC was once again putting out content on the FB page.
The problem I saw with that strategy is that it is separate from the forum here. If separate topics are posted over on FB, then it doesn't encourage people to come here. The biggest complaint I have heard from people about Facebook where it concerns the CW is that people used to be able to come here and everything is in one place. On Facebook, the information is scattered amongst the many groups. Not too bad as long as you keep up with everyone, but to get to the information, you have to wade through a lot of pop culture, politics and the latest meme to find it. So, over the last few weeks, I have conducted my market research and this is the conclusion as far as this site is concerned. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
There is a way that we can promote the forum, utilize Facebook and spread the word about our hobby at the same time. It is really pretty simple:
1) Link the Two Sites - The staff here will find threads on the forum that they think might be interesting to the larger public, or we might broadcast events, or bully buys, or whatever we think needs to be broadcasted. We copy the link to the thread. We paste the thread link into a Facebook post. Bingo. If you are cruising Facebook, it pops up on your feed if you have liked the AC FB Page page and you can click on the link right from FB and it will take you directly to the thread. You can respond right on FB if you like, or you can follow the thread back to here. Instead of creating a separate site with separate topics, we link the two together. We may still post articles from other sites, but most of it will be from here.
2) How Can Members Use Facebook Here? The staff aren't the only ones that can link to FB. You may have noticed that it is already integrated here on the site. You can link your FB account at the top of the page when you log in. If your accounts are linked, when you post a thread, there is a check box right next to the posting button that will allow you to post the thread on Facebook at the same time that you post it here. It will go on the forum and on your Facebook feed. So, you can also "broadcast" your thread to the larger audience and bring people here at the same time.
3) Like Threads - You can like posts right here on the forum just like Facebook.
4) vBulletin 5 - Paul and I have been discussing the next vBulletin update - Version 5. We need to do some more research, but Version 5 is supposed to be more integrated than the current version. We want to make sure that we have everything settled down a bit from the management change, but the new version is coming this year.
I would like to hear your thoughts. I really would, because ultimately, the staff operates the site and Paul created the site for you guys. So, what do you think? Facebook - friend or foe? Remember MySpace?
To paraphrase my favorite general, "Facebook, Facebook, Facebook! You'd think Facebook is going to do a back somersault and land in our rear. Instead of talking about what Facebook will do to us, let's start talking about what we can do with Facebook." Yep, US Grant again. I like that quote.
Over the past week, I have talked to dozens of people, observed and read on various forums and have tried to answer the question, "How can a Civil War Forum fit in during the rein of Facebook?" "Is there still a place for forums in this new cyber world?" "Is Facebook going to kill the AC?" Quite the contrary. I think it depends on how it is utilized.
Listen, I really like Facebook. Many of you have seen me there and I have seen many of you. I like to keep up with old friends and it has been fun to learn more about the members in the CW hobby and what they do in their "real life". Like many others, I hadn't been to the AC in a while either when I came here to post our event information for Corricks Ford. When I got here, I couldn't believe that I couldn't find events listed here. So, I went on FB and searched down the events. At the same time, one of the members here, Pete Berezuk was also working on an event calendar and for the same reason - the information that used to be in one place is now everyplace. So, if there had to be a central location for the schedule, I think it needs to be here - again.
From what I understand, when the first AC Facebook page was opened, there was a struggle with the staff here, because the rules were not really enforceable on the Facebook version. No signing names. People from all walks of life were posting topics and without the structure of this forum, it was hard to control the content from straying too far from the purpose here. The first site was shuttered and the staff started over with a second site.
With the second Facebook page, the staff decided that if they posted the content, it would be easier to keep people focused on the discussions. You will notice on the page that different articles were posted from news organizations and other sources and the AC was once again putting out content on the FB page.
The problem I saw with that strategy is that it is separate from the forum here. If separate topics are posted over on FB, then it doesn't encourage people to come here. The biggest complaint I have heard from people about Facebook where it concerns the CW is that people used to be able to come here and everything is in one place. On Facebook, the information is scattered amongst the many groups. Not too bad as long as you keep up with everyone, but to get to the information, you have to wade through a lot of pop culture, politics and the latest meme to find it. So, over the last few weeks, I have conducted my market research and this is the conclusion as far as this site is concerned. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
There is a way that we can promote the forum, utilize Facebook and spread the word about our hobby at the same time. It is really pretty simple:
1) Link the Two Sites - The staff here will find threads on the forum that they think might be interesting to the larger public, or we might broadcast events, or bully buys, or whatever we think needs to be broadcasted. We copy the link to the thread. We paste the thread link into a Facebook post. Bingo. If you are cruising Facebook, it pops up on your feed if you have liked the AC FB Page page and you can click on the link right from FB and it will take you directly to the thread. You can respond right on FB if you like, or you can follow the thread back to here. Instead of creating a separate site with separate topics, we link the two together. We may still post articles from other sites, but most of it will be from here.
2) How Can Members Use Facebook Here? The staff aren't the only ones that can link to FB. You may have noticed that it is already integrated here on the site. You can link your FB account at the top of the page when you log in. If your accounts are linked, when you post a thread, there is a check box right next to the posting button that will allow you to post the thread on Facebook at the same time that you post it here. It will go on the forum and on your Facebook feed. So, you can also "broadcast" your thread to the larger audience and bring people here at the same time.
3) Like Threads - You can like posts right here on the forum just like Facebook.
4) vBulletin 5 - Paul and I have been discussing the next vBulletin update - Version 5. We need to do some more research, but Version 5 is supposed to be more integrated than the current version. We want to make sure that we have everything settled down a bit from the management change, but the new version is coming this year.
I would like to hear your thoughts. I really would, because ultimately, the staff operates the site and Paul created the site for you guys. So, what do you think? Facebook - friend or foe? Remember MySpace?
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