Forums and Social Media

[Flames0910]

In the last couple weeks, I've been exploring the impact social media has had on forums. In my industry, it's pretty much taken for granted that forums are on their way out thanks to social media, but I don't think that's the case. In fact, forum administrators (Bingo included) say their communities are actually growing.

I posted some thoughts in a blog post (with quotes from our very own Bingo), but I was hoping to get the impressions of the larger CP community, too. How has social media changed the way you use CP? What do you think the future of online message boards will look like?

[troutman]

Forums are social media.

[Delthefunky]

I don't know that Social Media has really changed the way I use CP. I use CP mainly just to get real good inside and early info on news surrounding the flames, and then (some) really good insight on the day to day happening of the team. Not to mention the broader scope, and the off-topic forum I read a lot too. CP is a discussion forum, which is why I like it much more then social media. There's not much actual discussion going on FB, or Twitter, and sometimes I wonder why I even bother to look at it when it just seems to be an endless flood of narcissistic ramblings and faint interests in global views.

For example, Thor had a thread about Monsanto a few months back. I found it to be an awesome read. Compare that to my FB feed where everyone is just anti monsanto this, evil monsanto that, and you can't even separate the truth from the bull####. At least on CP you can have a pretty good discussion about things like that.

[Flames0910]

I use CP mainly just to get real good inside and early info on news surrounding the flames, and then (some) really good insight on the day to day happening of the team.

One thing Bingo pointed out to me is how much a feeder social media can be for topics here. You get guys like Roger Millions tweeting news and information, and it doesn't take long before people are discussing it here.

[Temporary_User]

As troutman stated, forums are social media. It seems you are making or coming into this as there is a distinction, what are these distinctions?

Other than layout but that differs from every site.
Would reddit be considered a forum or social media? Youtube?

At times I wouldn't mind the reddit style of posting for the larger threads on here. When major news happens I don't care to read through page upon page of simply "Woo!" "Awesome" or other 'pointless' posts. I want content, developed thoughts, analysis. A reddit style would allow thoughtful posts to be voted up and generate conversation from each original thought therof. Sometimes I come into a thread 10 pages deep and want to comment on a post that was on page 1 or 2. On page 10 that is too late as others have moved on.
Of course there would still be the jokes and what not, but those would mainly be contained in the threads within the topic which users can choose to read or not.

[Ozy_Flame]

If CP replaces vBulletin with Facebook, we riot.

[Peanut]

i just think things on twitter and YouTube (and other social media) are now part of or central to forum discussion, in addition to more traditional media sources like newspapers and TV/radio.

[Rathji]

Well, for one, I never refer to "Sitting down and engaging in my CP addiction" on many social media sites, because many people get the wrong idea...

[Bigtime]

Forums like this have definitely allowed for wider discussion of topics that can pop up through the other social media channels (facebook, twitter, etc).

However a KEY part to the discussion is well done moderation. In the absence of this things can get out of hand and derailed pretty quickly on other forums.

Personally the two online forums I frequent the most (here and Skyscraperpage) have given me more than just a place to talk about stuff. I have made friends, conducted business, and strengthened existing relationships with people I already knew being on these sites.

I have engaged in the odd long discussion on twitter, and I have to admit I struggle with the 140 characters, usually leading to a string of posts from me replying to others there. So much nicer to just be able to type and type and type on a forum and get all your thoughts out at once.

[GGG]

I almost view twitter as main stream media now. With the spin factor and decline of main stream media it is barely a step up from the rumour mill that is twitter. Both types need to vetted and cross checked for accuracy.

Twitter can spark a discussion the same as any news article but facebook/twitter et all really dont facilitate in depth discussion the way a forum can.

The other aspect of a forum is that it gets you access to more diverse views then you get in your facebook or twitter circle. On a forum with an active off topic forum it allows one common interest in the flames to bring in diverse views on other issues which allow for real discussion to take place.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Well, for one, I never refer to "Sitting down and engaging in my CP addiction" on many social media sites, because many people get the wrong idea...

[Flames0910]

As troutman stated, forums are social media. It seems you are making or coming into this as there is a distinction, what are these distinctions?

Fair question. I supposed I'm using social media as a shorthand for "modern social media platforms" (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc).

This is just a rough list, but some of the main differences might be...

• Follower Model: Modern social sites are built around personality instead of topics.
• User interface: Social networks are dominated by a never-ending feed of content.
• Personalization: Each user's network reflects who, and how they interact with the platform.
• Ownership: Social platforms reflect the interests of a single organization, instead of individuals.

In many ways, I agree that "forums are social media" (you'll notice that I thanked troutman's post) — but I would also argue that today's social sites are significantly different when compared with message boards, hence the distinction. It would be a simplification, but you could say it's old school social versus new school.

Forums were my first introduction to online community, and really got me interested in the internet... I think that's true for a lot of people, which is why I think it's a topic worth exploring.

[Jacks]

Not a big fan of facebook and twitter, every so often I say something stupid (like 99% of the online folks) and am happy to be relatively anonymous. Just ask ANDY GRESCHNER

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Forums like this have definitely allowed for wider discussion of topics that can pop up through the other social media channels (facebook, twitter, etc).

However a KEY part to the discussion is well done moderation. In the absence of this things can get out of hand and derailed pretty quickly on other forums.

Bingo!

Well, not "Bingo"" but you know what I mean.

[Thor]

I find FB to be 90% crap, and about 10% worth while discussions. Those worthwhile discussions for me are in small groups in FB that are full of people trying to fight back against all the bad information being posted on FB, my favorite being GMOLOL which is full of people that range from farmers to scientists and even a few Monsanto employees!

Calgarypuck is where the real action is at, such a well moderated and beautifully run forums. The thing that makes this place so unique is the level of discussion I see here, I am so in awe of the intelligence and perspective I get from our many debates.

I even have owned a rather large and active message forum for over a decade, and post there maybe once a year if even that, I cannot come close to the quality of what I see here in discussions.

Something in the water here, but like was mentioned earlier any topic on social media like GMO is instantly flooded by morons who have no clue what nonsense they are spouting is based on lies and deception. Everyone is an expert on every issue, and people spread and share nonsense in all manners of topics, skeptical and critical thinking is so sorely missing that I am convinced that its more important to be fighting to teach people how to skeptically think rather than to waste time debating religious people or such things I used to do more of in the past.

I love CP, and this place will never go away, message forums have their place and always will.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Bingo!

Well, not "Bingo"" but you know what I mean.

[Itse]

Moderation is one thing that keeps the site good.

Discussions here are kind of how discussions are in real life; we talk about things with the people who are here, instead of people coming here to talk about a specific thing.

We also don't all come here from within the same sociopolitical bubble and quite obviously all don't share the same interests outside of hockey (which is a rather universal interest to some extent, expect for being male dominated).

The worst discussions on this forum tend to be hockey related, because that's what people come here to talk about and are most passionate about.

(Not that there are no good hockey discussions, obviously.)

[Maritime Q-Scout]

In my mind message boards and "modern social media" fill very different roles. Even within modern social media the different sites fill different roles.

Message Boards: open discussion where thoughts and ideas can be presented in detail with debate over ideas.

Facebook: See what friends are up to, keep in contact, and provide for a place to start discussion, depending on how the issue is raised. IE: I'd be willing to debate about something like Monsanto if it was a status update or a note on Facebook. But not an open share, mostly because I'd have to filter the crap myself.

Twitter: A place to lead you to other ideas. I loathe the 140 character limit (being a long winded person it's annoying). But quick news headlines and ideas with a link is great. I primarily use twitter for sports and life hack ideas.

Pinterest: I'm going to say home improvement but not in the traditional hardware store sense. From meal ideas to life hacks to decorating, Pinterest fills a role that I do not partake in but my wife (that's still weird to say) does.

Reddit: if you want answers to a question reddit is where you need to go. The voting system is ingenious and filters the crap. However I do find it hard to follow along, and (perhaps I'm wrong in this) I don't think it's conducive to the long response like a forum.

LinkedIn: allows you to have all the contacts you need in one space. Being from a small town, when you need an electrician or a plumber or a painter we don't go to the phone book. The phone book is your last resort. You think "who do I know that can ______". LinkedIn is the answer to that. That said I don't use LinkedIn not do I know how you interact to maintain contact so your contact isn't 5 years + old and possibly outdated or forgets who the heck you are.

Email: it's dying, but quick private messages or blimps of information that will need to be retrieved at a moments notice makes email advantageous. Mind you there really isn't any discussion without the dreaded "reply all" that everyone hates.


Different sites = Different roles.

Reread this post and think how I could only do it here. This answer wouldn't work anywhere else.

[Flames0910]

In my mind message boards and "modern social media" fill very different roles. Even within modern social media the different sites fill different roles.

Totally. And I think your descriptions of each network's place were pretty much bang on.

My thought is that having all these new(ish) social services helps to introduce a new group to forums. Many of the forum administrators I talked to said that social has been great for their traffic. Facebook, Twitter, etc., are like a gateway drug to online community. They're the shallow end of the pool, and CP is the deep end. What do you guys think of that?