If you've been involved in forums at all in the last ten years then you probably know how hard it has been to compete against Facebook. Facebook has a few advantages that are like a steady stream of sugar highs for our brains.....that constant flow of micro-uppers, quick responses, immediate gratification.
If you're trying to build depth in a community of people that have a common interest though, Facebook leaves a lot to be desired. So let's take a look at the differences and then you can make up your own mind.
Facebook posts don't show up in search results.
You might not have noticed that you never see Facebook discussions on a particular topic when you do an internet search. It sounds crazy but in all of those conversations, all of that information being shared, search engines don't register any of it. If you're in a particular group you can try searching the group but going to Facebook to do a search takes away from the convenience factor that people typically give to Facebook over Forums. Being excluded from search results also doesn't help the group to attract new members. All of the pictures of beautiful new airplanes that Dale posts to FB don't do ACA any good in the larger internet since Google ignores them.
Forums posts are indexed by search engines and are actually weighted very favorably. In some cases, active forums will have multiple search hits attributed to them in a single page of search results, usually on the first page. This makes the community stronger by making the information being shared accessible and by giving the community a higher profile which is more likely to keep bringing in new members.
Forums threads run deeper
Conversations at a forums site go until they stop. It might be a day or two, it might be years before a thread runs out of juice. Facebook posts generally run until they're buried by the flow of more stuff. A steady flow of short chats isn't necessarily a bad thing but it doesn't grow strong ties between community members,
Information and interactions are organized and stay organized
We have structure here that make it possible to consistently focus on topics or interactions that you enjoy most.
Noise, chatter, drama
Hanging out at Facebook can be overwhelming.......I don't even think I need to explain that one. It's my job to keep the mood here mellow and fun. No drama, no crazy political chatter, no unwelcome smut smattered about. We're here to talk about a particular family of airplanes that we hold in high esteem. We're here to talk about being out in the sky with people we regard as friends. Enthusiasts are welcome to join in, new owners are encouraged to get up to speed at their own pace, RC pilots are regarded as one of us. Please don't expect ChampCitabriaDecathlonForums.com to host the kind of drama that Facebook seems to attract. Not here, not ever, please.
Unlimited expansion
We are the community here, we aren't just along for the ride. If you have a great idea, I'd like to hear about it. If you think something is horrible, please let me know! We can build or change or remove anything that will make the site better and it will always be that way.
The back button is the back button
Ever notice you're looking at something at Facebook and then you click a link to read something else and when you hit the back button it takes you somewhere completely new because the site is always moving everyone along like a giant conveyor belt??? Where was that last post you were just looking at? A forums site is a stable platform for the sharing of information at a pace set by you.
Photos display better here than they do on Facebook
Ever notice that Facebook doesn't let you zoom in on photos? I don't know why. Take a look at the photos posted to some of the threads here and you'll see when you click on one photo you can scroll through all of the photos on that page and can even zoom way in on them making it possible to see details that you can't pick out on Facebook. I've set up the site so that you can upload up to 100 photos per post. I hope some of you will take advantage of that to post photo collections from air shows, fly ins, days out with friends, projects, classifieds listings, etc.
I'm not stalking you or selling your data
Facebook is free because Mark Zuckerberg is compiling data on your behavior and then selling it. ChampCitabriaDecathlonForums.com is free because I already have a job and I'm just happy to have you here! I wouldn't know how to compile your data and I wouldn't know who to sell it to so you're safe here.
That's it for now. Feel free to add whatever other reasons I might have missed. I don't hate Facebook, I only kind of hate it.
Thanks for reading!
If you're trying to build depth in a community of people that have a common interest though, Facebook leaves a lot to be desired. So let's take a look at the differences and then you can make up your own mind.
Facebook posts don't show up in search results.
You might not have noticed that you never see Facebook discussions on a particular topic when you do an internet search. It sounds crazy but in all of those conversations, all of that information being shared, search engines don't register any of it. If you're in a particular group you can try searching the group but going to Facebook to do a search takes away from the convenience factor that people typically give to Facebook over Forums. Being excluded from search results also doesn't help the group to attract new members. All of the pictures of beautiful new airplanes that Dale posts to FB don't do ACA any good in the larger internet since Google ignores them.
Forums posts are indexed by search engines and are actually weighted very favorably. In some cases, active forums will have multiple search hits attributed to them in a single page of search results, usually on the first page. This makes the community stronger by making the information being shared accessible and by giving the community a higher profile which is more likely to keep bringing in new members.
Forums threads run deeper
Conversations at a forums site go until they stop. It might be a day or two, it might be years before a thread runs out of juice. Facebook posts generally run until they're buried by the flow of more stuff. A steady flow of short chats isn't necessarily a bad thing but it doesn't grow strong ties between community members,
Information and interactions are organized and stay organized
We have structure here that make it possible to consistently focus on topics or interactions that you enjoy most.
Noise, chatter, drama
Hanging out at Facebook can be overwhelming.......I don't even think I need to explain that one. It's my job to keep the mood here mellow and fun. No drama, no crazy political chatter, no unwelcome smut smattered about. We're here to talk about a particular family of airplanes that we hold in high esteem. We're here to talk about being out in the sky with people we regard as friends. Enthusiasts are welcome to join in, new owners are encouraged to get up to speed at their own pace, RC pilots are regarded as one of us. Please don't expect ChampCitabriaDecathlonForums.com to host the kind of drama that Facebook seems to attract. Not here, not ever, please.
Unlimited expansion
We are the community here, we aren't just along for the ride. If you have a great idea, I'd like to hear about it. If you think something is horrible, please let me know! We can build or change or remove anything that will make the site better and it will always be that way.
The back button is the back button
Ever notice you're looking at something at Facebook and then you click a link to read something else and when you hit the back button it takes you somewhere completely new because the site is always moving everyone along like a giant conveyor belt??? Where was that last post you were just looking at? A forums site is a stable platform for the sharing of information at a pace set by you.
Photos display better here than they do on Facebook
Ever notice that Facebook doesn't let you zoom in on photos? I don't know why. Take a look at the photos posted to some of the threads here and you'll see when you click on one photo you can scroll through all of the photos on that page and can even zoom way in on them making it possible to see details that you can't pick out on Facebook. I've set up the site so that you can upload up to 100 photos per post. I hope some of you will take advantage of that to post photo collections from air shows, fly ins, days out with friends, projects, classifieds listings, etc.
I'm not stalking you or selling your data
Facebook is free because Mark Zuckerberg is compiling data on your behavior and then selling it. ChampCitabriaDecathlonForums.com is free because I already have a job and I'm just happy to have you here! I wouldn't know how to compile your data and I wouldn't know who to sell it to so you're safe here.
That's it for now. Feel free to add whatever other reasons I might have missed. I don't hate Facebook, I only kind of hate it.
Thanks for reading!
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