Forum vs social media

[Gwangi]

I'm in agreement with much of what's already been said. I'm glad to have the forum apart from social media, and I think forums in general, specifically those centered around specific interests and niches, will be fairly resilient. Social networking sites are more personal, better for communication between friends and family. This is an excellent group of people, but, with due respect, I've no interest in your weekend plans, political views, and other personal information.

Couldn't agree more. If a friendship takes off on a place like this (and it often does) then you can seek each other out on a place like FB and get to know each other better but I come here to talk about dinosaurs and dinosaur toys, I have little desire to share much else here or get personal.

[DinoToyForum]

I was just looking back on this thread in light of the forum stats over the past three years since. It seems that forum traffic has actually been very gradually increasing. Simultaneously, there seems to be more Facebook groups, but they don't seem to have the same depth. I think the DTF will be safe for a few more years to come (until Facebook or some other giant social media platform replicates our format). It still feels like we are the greengrocer, social media the supermarket. The supermarket is convenient but the quality isn't as good

[Bokisaurus]

I personally love the forum version vs FB, it's more engaging and you can have so many discussions.

[Lanthanotus]

I do not use FB, just sometimes follow links from this forum to see some images there, but I do not even have an account. I am admin on a German forum that is practically dead since people use FB for convinience, but hearing people, yes, it does not have the depth and quality of a moderated forum. I love the DTF as it is and I hope it will stay like longer than FB.

[DinoToyForum]

I personally love the forum version vs FB, it's more engaging and you can have so many discussions.

I regard the Dinotoyblog Facebook page as just a promotional tool, but there are lots of 'competing' Facebook discussion groups.

One aspect where social media has the upper hand is image hosting. It is just a bit convoluted on the forum (easy when you know how). Also, on social media you don't need to log in separately as you move from group to group, whereas forums take a bit more effort on the part of the users. The forum format is superior for meaningful long-lasting discussions (that are easy to find later). Social media is more fleeting.

[DinoToyForum]

I do not use FB, just sometimes follow links from this forum to see some images there, but I do not even have an account. I am admin on a German forum that is practically dead since people use FB for convinience, but hearing people, yes, it does not have the depth and quality of a moderated forum. I love the DTF as it is and I hope it will stay like longer than FB.

I'm sorry to hear your German forum was throttled by Facebook. It is definitely a matter of convenience.

I wonder how STS are doing in this new digital landscape? They seem to be thriving still. There is probably a critical mass. The ATF is probably just under that critical mass. I imagine it would be impossible to get a new forum off the ground these days, and only those with already large user bases are surviving.

[Minmiminime]

The DTF is the place to be! All the news worth knowing finds it's way here. FB is an intrusive abomination, I abhor it but ironically joined very recently, simply to follow VITAE, who I found out about via this very forum! And it turns out I needn't have bothered, because due to the diligence of DTF members I still found out the news I wanted to know here 

[tyrantqueen]

I had a FB for a short while, but have since closed it due to privacy concerns.

[SBell]

I personally love the forum version vs FB, it's more engaging and you can have so many discussions.

I regard the Dinotoyblog Facebook page as just a promotional tool, but there are lots of 'competing' Facebook discussion groups.

One aspect where social media has the upper hand is image hosting. It is just a bit convoluted on the forum (easy when you know how). Also, on social media you don't need to log in separately as you move from group to group, whereas forums take a bit more effort on the part of the users. The forum format is superior for meaningful long-lasting discussions (that are easy to find later). Social media is more fleeting.

I was going to say, the ability to post images on FB, etc, is definitely easier. Even when you know how, there is alwasy some kind of time-consuming modification orr copy-pasting. I think that's why the recent ones that added me (Aquatic Life, Reptiles & Amphibians, Finny Friends) are often easier for people--just drag and drop, or search folders. Of course, once that's done, it's much easier to copy those image links around!

Another big one--all of our favorite companies (literally, including Favorite) are generally more likely to us the SM platforms to do releases, etc. This year Safari didn't even send me retailer info...I had to learn from FB same as everyone (which is stupid and irritating, but I guess they are tired of leaks).

[Libraraptor]

I definitely prefer the forum to Facebook.  There' s so much distraction on Facebook.  so much clickbaiting,  too!  This forum is form following function following Fun. Okay, uploading pics sometimes can be annoying,  but this is okay for me.

[ceratopsian]

I use Facebook - among other things, it's a good way of keeping in touch with my horse-riding acquaintances and the staff at the stables where I ride.  I do also find posts of new dinosaur models and that sort of thing.  But I'd hate to see it take the place of the Forum.  I don't think that Facebook lends itself to more than a quick word or two sort of comment.  It rarely gets beyond "Beautiful!"  There is no opportunity for in-depth discussion.  And it doesn't separate topics out the way we can on the Forum, so that it's easy just to check out what interests you rather than wading through everything.  It's also so difficult to find past posts on Facebook.  I quite often use the advanced search on the Forum to find information or photos of models posted in the past to help me when I'm thinking about buying a particular model, or investigating what's out there.  It's perhaps also worth bearing in mind that some countries block Facebook, and their residents find it very difficult, if not impossible, to see what's posted there.  We can be a more truly international community here.

[docronnie]

I think our PTK forum is almost non-existent, but the FB page is alive and kicking! 😇