Don't mind my overly dramatic title...
Is this Facebook trying to put the final nail in the forum coffin?
- Thread starter Sal Collaziano
- Start date
are facebook groups any good ?
i never tried facebook.
i never tried facebook.
It depends on the niche, I think... The reason Facebook Groups work ao well is because everybody is just there. They're there all day and night - so they might as well just do everything there. Groups are probably just about everything a forum is - just owned by somebody who isn't you. And they're more difficult to admin/moderate. There are constantly duplicate topics and no way to merge them - no way to split them...
Someone has created a FB group for every possible topic...in many cases, 10 someones created nearly identical FB groups (likely because they got booted from another group), and one FB user can then post their question to all 10 and immediately get 10+ answers to their question - mainly from users who's knowledge is gleaned from their FB reading, not from actual experience.
FB has now, in their infinite wisdom, also determined that your normal feed should include random group posts/questions from groups you are not part of, hoping that you join that small town knitting group from 6 states away and start participating.
They have driven me from their mobile app entirely, and I don't miss it one bit (I had notifications turned off for years). I only maintain a desktop presence to manage the business-side of FB (which drives next to zero forum traffic, but I can dream....)
FB has now, in their infinite wisdom, also determined that your normal feed should include random group posts/questions from groups you are not part of, hoping that you join that small town knitting group from 6 states away and start participating.
They have driven me from their mobile app entirely, and I don't miss it one bit (I had notifications turned off for years). I only maintain a desktop presence to manage the business-side of FB (which drives next to zero forum traffic, but I can dream....)
I know exactly what you mean. It's getting crazy over there. Which is why I've put a lot more time into my own forums over the past year or two. I'm seeing that a LOT of people aren't liking Facebook anymore - and a lot of people have big issues with Reddit as well.
God forbid you admin a Facebook group about cars and somebody posts a message about their tranny dying. You could come back to Facebook a day later and find your group is gone.
I loathe FB. But ended up going on it occasionally for local community groups - buying, selling, local ads, that kind of thing. It seems to be the only place to find local info these days and tips for plumbers etc. I still only do it if absolutely necessary.
Facebook Marketplace is the best to buy used things. I use my wife’s account for it.
Also great for flat tires. Came to my house, pulled out the nail, patch and done.
The convenience point is the real one. People are already on Facebook all day, so that's where they post. Forums were never going to win on that.
Where it flips for me is anything with a longer shelf life. A decent thread still turns up in search two years later and actually answers someone's question. A group post is gone the moment it scrolls past, and none of it is findable from outside the platform. For a lot of niches that permanence is the whole reason the forum still exists.
The ownership side matters just as much. On a group you're building someone else's asset, and you can lose the lot overnight if they change a rule or drop the feature. On your own forum the members, the content and the history are yours. Facebook bolting on forum-style features doesn't really change either of those.
Where it flips for me is anything with a longer shelf life. A decent thread still turns up in search two years later and actually answers someone's question. A group post is gone the moment it scrolls past, and none of it is findable from outside the platform. For a lot of niches that permanence is the whole reason the forum still exists.
The ownership side matters just as much. On a group you're building someone else's asset, and you can lose the lot overnight if they change a rule or drop the feature. On your own forum the members, the content and the history are yours. Facebook bolting on forum-style features doesn't really change either of those.
I agree with you. Where things turn really problematic is when Google isn’t sending people to those decent threads posted two years ago - which is becoming more of a reality with every update.
The way I see it, because of this very issue (AI answering questions AT Google without ever having to visit your site) our forums are on life support. This is why I created XenSocial.
Meta Faces Backlash Over Mysterious Instagram Bans and Facebook Selfie Checks
Instagram bans and Facebook selfie checks spark backlash; Meta silent amid calls for transparency and accountability.
They’ve also been locking people out, some more of my friends were hit by the video selfie requirement just for using Marketplace.
They’re chasing people away, I wouldn’t be worried.
Yes, these tremendous entities typically run into and cause problems at various points...Meta Faces Backlash Over Mysterious Instagram Bans and Facebook Selfie Checks
Instagram bans and Facebook selfie checks spark backlash; Meta silent amid calls for transparency and accountability.www.digitalinformationworld.com
They’ve also been locking people out, some more of my friends were hit by the video selfie requirement just for using Marketplace.
They’re chasing people away, I wouldn’t be worried.
Is this your app @Sal Collaziano ?
