FADU on Facebook and Twitter

[Steve Smith]

Originally Posted by KevinCharlie

Just imagine if this group potentially had the power to inspire someone so much that they got rid of their digital camera and dove right into film and never looked back.

That could happen. Finding APUG made me switch to 100% film so it could happen with this site too.

p.s. My votes are yes to FaceBook (or FaceTube as James May calls it) and no to Twitter.


Steve.

[Dave miller]

For the newer members here an explanation of the reason for this forum may be of assistance.

FADU was formed by a group photographic aficionados whose friendship had been forged on another internet forum, and who thought that they would like a little more freedom to progress that friendship, and quest for knowledge through this sort of medium without constraint. We are not intent on empire building, forming an exclusive club, nor creating a cash cow; all those with an appreciation of the craft of film and darkroom use are welcome to join our growing circle of Friends and contribute here to our mutual benefit. Today’s novices are tomorrow’s teachers, so those same novices need to know of our existence, hence the request for advice, on the potential usefulness, or otherwise, of mediums of which we have little experience, from those of you that have.
Please lower the temperature a little.

[Xpres]

Hello Kevin, or is it Charlie? ...and welcome!
I find I agree with much of what you've said, in fact all, if Fadu was trying to be another APUG. But I don't think it is and I don't think FADU needs to evangelise about film.
However it will inevitably grow and attract all sorts of people who communicate in different ways and will most likely talk about the things going on here anyway. Maybe a dedicated page on both sites, and indeed Flikr, that was maintained just by those who want to use it would be a good idea. Endorsed by FADU but not run by it.

[Graeme]

Originally Posted by Dave

For the newer members here an explanation of the reason for this forum may be of assistance.

FADU was formed by a group photographic aficionados whose friendship had been forged on another internet forum, and who thought that they would like a little more freedom to progress that friendship, and quest for knowledge through this sort of medium without constraint. We are not intent on empire building, forming an exclusive club, nor creating a cash cow; all those with an appreciation of the craft of film and darkroom use are welcome to join our growing circle of Friends and contribute here to our mutual benefit. Today’s novices are tomorrow’s teachers, so those same novices need to know of our existence, hence the request for advice, on the potential usefulness, or otherwise, of mediums of which we have little experience, from those of you that have.
Please lower the temperature a little.

Your comments encapsulate the reason I believe we should avoid both FB and Twitter. Initially I applied a judgement on FB/Twitter from my viewpoint of working in a progressive, professional and commercial organisation. To me FADU is not that, this site provides all I need, it is magnificent; supportive, knowledgeable people use it, we don't, at this stage need the extras - look how membership has expanded.

[Kev M]

Originally Posted by B&W Neil

The type of questions we are looking for answers for are:

* Is this a good idea to pursue?
* Would it bring us more publicity?
* Would a FADU presence fit in with Facebook ?
* Would a FADU presence fit in with Twitter?
* Would creating and maintaining a Facebook and / or Twitter presence involve much work?

1. Yes. There has been a lot of elitism expressed in this thread, a lot of judgements cast on people who use such social networking sites which I find quite depressing. I'm sure you all hate the stereotypes you're given for using outdated technology but you're quite happy to judge others.

I say yes because a forum survives through its members and as some drift away or die off you need to bring new blood in as Dave recognises in his earlier post. Facebook and Twitter are both free advertising sources for FADU and you should never look a gift-horse in the mouth

2. Yes it would bring more publicity. You start up a Facebook page of some sort (others have touched on the different types of pages and will know the differences better than me) and I either join your group or become a fan of your page. This action is then posted on my profile which my "friends" will see. It may well be that I have friends with a love of analogue that I wasn't aware of so I hadn't previously told them about FADU. Now I have and they might decide to take a look. Or I might have a friend who is into digital but is intrigued about analogue and wants somewhere to find out more. And that is how the word is spread. It's not intended as a replacement to any other form of advertising but as a supplementary form.

3. I can think of no reason why a FADU presence would not fit in with Facebook and the same goes with Twitter. You will get out of them what you put into them but I think Facebook is probably the easier way to spread the word than Twitter.

4. As above.

5. You can put in as much or as little as you like, but I think although Facebook would take longer to setup than Twitter you would probably see returns quicker.

It seems to me that quite a few people have either completely missed the point of the OPs questions or don't really understand how these tools can be used for the benefit or the forum but as Dave wants this thread keeping on track I won't try and address those points here.

Either way, it has been an eye opener to some of the attitudes around here.

[Stoo Batchelor]

Hi Leo

I did briefly try to touch on why I feel that FADU could benefit from a presence on Twitter in my original post, but rather than trying to do that again, I would ask you to read new member KevinCharlie's post, or Kev M's, as I am pretty much singing from the same song sheet.

I must say, I am shocked and saddened that a lot of friends wish this to be a closed shop

Best

Stoo

Originally Posted by Leo Stehlik

I do agree that Twitter (and also Facebook) is great for an individual photographer / artist to advertise & or send updates about up-comming events he/she plans in the near future.

(I do have experience with both)

But I wondered how these two tools could be of use for FADU?

[Dave miller]

This thread has certainly polarised opinion and brought forth some strong sentiment. I can now see that Facebook, at its basic level, could be used to encourage new users in much the same way as a link on another website does or a flyer on a club notice board. I’m not so sure about outgoing traffic on that or Twitter since it seems that it is just as easy to log-on here and read the summary of recent posts to keep abreast of events.
Thank you all for taking the time to make your views known, we will consider them all carefully before coming to a decision to employ or ignore this technology.