This is the most chatter I've seen on the Forum in six months.. I guess it's struck a chord...
 
To clarify for those that are dubious of Facebook and social media in general... To have a Facebook account you require a name and an email address... Sure they will ask other questions but you are not required to answer them... After that they do what all big companies do, they profile you... They look to see which groups etc within Facebook you 'Like'.. This tells them which ads will likely peak your interest thus boosting their revenue if you click said ad...
 
If you're using it on mobile devices they also do at your contacts list so they can apply your friends profiles to their profile of you to build a bigger picture of your social group... This doesn't achieve much... and for those that think they're safe from this level of data mining... You're already being profiled thanks to all your friends who are using social media and have you in their own contacts... 
 
I've been on Facebook for many years and all it knows about me is that I like MR2's and I also like one of my friends bands.. Another personal choice I have is that I never post photo's of myself on Facebook... It actually knows less about me than the Forum does.
 
Everyone has agendas, Social Media has the agenda of profiling you so they can tailor advertising to you in the hope you will click links and earn them money.. My agenda is to make MR2 and club information more visible.. Is Dudeman's dislike of Social Media somehow related to him being a forum administrator ??????? :)
 
Eric, in case you're not aware, you do have a few members who are in IT and are social media/net savvy. I won't speak on their behalf but if you need any assistance or ideas, I'm available (Ex IBM Webmaster).

mikel1966
Is Dudeman's dislike of Social Media somehow related to him being a forum administrator ??????? :)

More likely because he's in law enforcement ;)

 

mikel1966
Is Dudeman's dislike of Social Media somehow related to him being a forum administrator ??????? :)

 
Next time someone adds a 'free' app they should read the fine print carefully. The freaky creepy ones are the ones that allow the app writer to not only access your photo album, but to access your camera and mic. Whenever they like.
 
Its no skin off my nose if every man and his dog jumped on the fb thing, makes no difference to me. This forum is a form of social media anyway, if I was a dedicated tinfoil hat wearer i'd only communicate in black smoke signals and bov morse code.
 
I guess the thing that really irks me about fakebook is that when people post links to photos or events that 'access is denied' until you submit and get a profile. Meh.  

Even with smoke signals, they're profiling what type of wood you prefer to burn and will be ready to sell you some at the next servo. :)
 
I agree with the 'access denied' part... That is why I said we keep it a 'closed group' for club members only..... One of the side effects will be other MR2 enthusiasts that are not affiliated will need to join the club if they want to get the same level of info and chatter as existing members, thus the MR2 club family increases.... It's a win for everyone :)

The aim of a Facebook page for the club would be to open up to a differentiated market, as some people don't know of the forum.

The added benefit too is that files can be sent to club member easier and in bulk. Currently, run sheets can only be sent to 5 recipients at a time. if we have 20 run members and 2 run sheets, it takes a long time. 

If we had facebook we could send the run sheets to facebook page users directly and also to those who just use the forum/want the run sheets sent through the forum. 

Regardless, there is still some discussion about this that we need to have. but we are working on it :)

mikel1966
 
I agree with the 'access denied' part... That is why I said we keep it a 'closed group' for club members only..... One of the side effects will be other MR2 enthusiasts that are not affiliated will need to join the club if they want to get the same level of info and chatter as existing members, thus the MR2 club family increases.... It's a win for everyone :)

Would you still need to join Facebook though? Profiling is the least of the many dislikes I have towards Facebook

5SGTE
Would you still need to join Facebook though? Profiling is the least of the many dislikes I have towards Facebook

I would hope not, however we would need to see what Eric et al. come up with.
 
 
my 2c...

• Maintain the public Forums at the primary source of info and discussion (run calendar, run attendance thread, saved conversation history, easier to search).
• Cross-post info / links to a private Facebook group - either "Brisbane MR2 Crew" or a new group if required (off the record banter for those who 'like' Facebook).
• Create a private Google Apps group (or write and maintain a webpage) to act as an email distribution list, shared calendar and document store for run sheets (and maps), official club info and restricted Committee only info (eg. member list & financials).

This takes the burden of distributing Run Sheets and last minute updates away from the Forum interface, but maintains public access / awareness of the Qld Club for new visitors.  Contact details (email / phone) have already been collected from members which are used to define access/permissions for Google Apps documents and calendars. Leave facebook to do what it does best - short term questions, inane banter & photos of cats cars.
 
 
 

If we did open a Facebook account it would not be a replacement to the forums

we would run them side by side

Basically if we were to do it, we would do it the way that Fredhoon explained. 

anyway, still to be discussed

One thing our forum could benefit from would be a "Chat Box" function for registered users. I used to be a regular user on a Lancer Forum and we had one - it was always handy if you had a quick question but didn't know who to ask, so it helps keep thread "fluff" down and can actually be a source of entertainment for those of us that sit on the forum homepage refreshing out of boredom.

Here's a screencap of the Lancer "shoutbox" I'm referring to. Just a note though, they never used to have that "no car questions" rule (Haven't used that forum in 1year+). Personally I find that silly, it's great for quick "help" situations

A specific Facebook page should be used as an extension of communication for this site, not as a copy of the information provided on this main site.  It should be used to provide incentive to sign up to the forums to gain access to all other facets of the organization.