facebook's new look and the future of forums.

[Gabby]

Geeze, as if the last design wasn't bad enough, Facebook has launched an even worse design. Yeah I'm thinking forums are gonna grow faster now.

 

[iTuN3r]

Facebook group layout hasn't changed In last 2 yrs i have seen so many growing groups within facebook and activity is much better in those groups then in forums.

 

[FredC]

I personally think facebook looks and acts much more natural then the version before the current incarnation. However im one of the few that seems to look forward to change.. Id hate to think about where we would be if web software was stuck in the late 90's.

Facebook group layout hasn't changed In last 2 yrs i have seen so many growing groups within facebook and activity is much better in those groups then in forums.

Unfortunately you cant monetize facebook groups which leaves me with little motivation to build one.

 

[Jaxel]

The problem with facebook is its not good for conveying information. Facebook is about NOW, good luck finding something from yesterday, let alone 2 weeks ago in an active group.

 

[Robert F Schmitz]

Facebook is limiting to its audience too. For people who only want to surround themselves with like minded folks, it's good but forums have a wider potential audience.

 

[Paul B]

Facebook is the AOL of online communities.

It's for people (like my sister) who would struggle to post a thread on a forum.

 

[tenants]

It can help build forums, but it's also still a big threat to forums

They already have pages, places, groups, and events. A large population of the world regularly use it, and an even larger number already have an account

If they allowed users to create not just pages, but "public forums" with structure.. "wikis" that could be publicly edited and a blogging system, that would be worrying.

It's a threat even without those, people use FB social media content to find out lots of information instead of searching through forums

But what can we do... make sure your forum offers something they can't

 

[Digital Doctor]

I think Jake Bunce and I are the only people not on Facebook.

 

[thumped]

I think Jake Bunce and I are the only people not on Facebook.

I only have a Facebook account so i can manage my site's FB page... which i only use to direct traffic back to my site... I have no friends.

 

[Paul B]

I joined Facebook quite late and within a few weeks all of my old school friends had sent me friend requests.

I duly accepted and for the next few years not one of them bothered to get in touch.

So I removed them all.

Now I just use it to upload random photos of my daughter and to make the occasional witty comment on posts of what few remaining "friends" I have left.

It's definitely not something I spend any time or effort on though; I went through the whole phase of trying to coax Facebook users onto my site but I realised very quickly that it was a fruitless exercise.

Twitter is far better for that.

 

[0xym0r0n]

Facebook can't replace a forum. As stated before, facebook is used by those who don't know how to use a forum or are uncomfortable with one. I've walked many users through their first forum experience and once they learned, they found the experience can't be replaced with a simple facebook/myspace group.

I use facebook to attract users. I can't deny the millions of users and potential networks can be good for the site. Some people can't tap into it, but for a time it really worked out for me. I've actually haven't bothered with mass mailing since I started using twitter and facebook.

 

[Jake Bunce]

That's like public transportation for people who don't have cars, or Geocities for people who can't make their own site. There is no need to feel threatened.

 

[Alpha1]

Its interesting to see that facebook has launched threads functionality now.

 

[SilverCircle]

I think Jake Bunce and I are the only people not on Facebook.

Nope. Rest assured, there are others (like myself) who don't need fb to find friends

Facebook is just a big mess. I simply do not have enough time to filter out the useful content, deeply buried in mindless spam and stupid comments. People really should think first before touching a keyboard, but that's just my opinion.

Also, I don't want to be a product that is being sold by them.

 

[0xym0r0n]

Haha yeah I don't feel threatened by facebook in the slightest. I don't want the sort of content people provide on there. I don't mind the 'activity' itself, but I feel facebook is about being nosey more than it is connecting. So on a daily basis, facebookers sign on to brag/snoop around/stare at people without being called a stalker/and 'keep in touch'. While they're doing their daily, acceptable stalker, routine they check a few items of interest to their hobbies/life such as sales from vendors or events/updates from liked websites.

I have a regular facebook so that my wifey has someone to link to in a relationship. I have another 'fake' *against terms of service/I do not recommend this method* facebook to use for the websites I run and have pages for.

 

[Jake Bunce]

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[Morgain]

I detest Facebook ... tried it and it's incredibly time consuming to delete all the mass of junk.
I did manage to locate afew lost members and coax them back but they aren't very productive.

To provide an FB beacon to pull interest to a forum, is it best ti have an FB page without friends as Brogan says?
or an FB group page?

A recipe to use FB for PR would be welcome.

 

[0ptima]

I think Jake Bunce and I are the only people not on Facebook.

add me to that list

 

[Nudaii]

I'm not on Facebook either

 

[Dakis]

It's funny, I recall endless conversations about Facebook killing off forums a few years ago. Now I think we will be discussing why facebook died and forums survived in a couple of years