Blogs vs. Facebook

[Mats]

I began writing and illustrating a blog http://konstliv.blogspot.com/ about 4 years ago. When I first began, I felt a huge thrill at being able to publish worldwide. After some time, I realized that while I was writing, not many people were reading. In order to establish a readership, one had to publish quality material on a regular and consistent basis. This would mean treating as a job, with schedules, deadlines, and a constant supply of new material. This is something I'm not prepared or equipped for. Facebook, on the other hand, relies on short written updates and is viewed by an audience you have chosen.
It has options for posting longer "stories", photos, videos; it even has a "chat" capability. So, for my money, one (facebook) is easy and fun, while the other (blogs) is difficult and time consuming.

[CAM]

So, for my money, one (facebook) is easy and fun, while the other (blogs) is difficult and time consuming.

AND, you can feature your blog on your facebook pages with the simple "share link" tool.

[David]

I have been blogging for about 7 years and although my blog is in the public domain, one of the main reasons for doing it was catharsis and self-reflection. When Facebook introduced the option to automatically import new posts from blogs I continued using my blog for a year or so but gradually began to make more posts to Facebook and less to my blog. I've never mentioned in my blog that I use Facebook so I suppose there may be people who read my blog and wonder why the posts have dried up after all this time. Mind you, they could have emailed if they cared. If they existed, I mean.

[ejm]

Aren't they sort of the same thing though? Facebook, Blog, Bulletin Board... "A rose by any other name, etc. etc." Or is the attraction to Facebook the privacy thing? Or is it friends?

Mind you, they could have emailed if they cared. If they existed, I mean.

Hmmmm...

I care and yet I didn't think to email. And I wondered why you had stopped blogging.

I'm not quite ready for facebook (brrrrr). I don't have any friends; I don' need no stinkin' friends.

[CAM]

I'm not quite ready for facebook (brrrrr). I don't have any friends; I don' need no stinkin' friends.

Do you like green eggs and ham?

[Mats]

ejm, just listen to good advice from Bette Midler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x1R50zN ... re=related

[ejm]

I'm not quite ready for facebook (brrrrr). I don't have any friends; I don' need no stinkin' friends.

Do you like green eggs and ham?

I do not like them in a house
I do not like them with a mouse

[David]

Try them, try them, and you may! Try them and you may, I say.

[Mats]

So, if all the participants on this forum (except the host) are connected on Facebook, will posting here just fade away??????

[ejm]

So, if all the participants on this forum (except the host) are connected on Facebook, will posting here just fade away??????

I guess if that happens, I'll know that Facebook (or Twitter or whatever the latest craze is) has replaced phpBB entirely and I'll just fold the board up.

[Mats]

I've been writing to myself (via a blog) for 4 years. I've honed my writing skills enough that I quite enjoy my own writing. So, that's it for my blogging; it was a creature of its time; now is later.

In a way, I wish I hadn't started this thread; that's silly of course. Que sera que sera. This forum has provided an outlet for me to express views and to share information among the 5 or 6 participants.
Ive done this for 500+ times and I've enjoyed it. It's just that I like the wider dynamics of facebook. Since you all now belong, it's not really goodbye, just a change of venue.

Thanks Elizabeth for your hard work over the years.

Mats

[ejm]

Since you all now belong, it's not really goodbye, just a change of venue.

Well, I'm not quite ready to give this up quite yet. The only reason I joined facebook was to play games (that I'm not even allowed to play).

I'm probably not going to give up blogging either just because it's no longer the thing to do.

[David]

Since I became a Facebook user I still visit forums with the same regularity. To me, visiting a forum is like going to a jazz club or custom car show where the discussion topics are mostly related to a specific theme whereas Facebook is more like meeting friends for coffee or a picnic. There is no theme and no administrator. Whilst it's clear that Facebook is taking people away from blogs, I don't see Facebook as an alternative to forums.

[Barbara]

I see a place for both Facebook and forums. Facebook is (for me at least) similar to having a hallway conversation - if you're not in the hallway at the time, you miss out on that particular conversation. Forums are slower paced, and the conversation is available to be continued at any time.

I know there are forums on Facebook, but do they have this: ? I think not!

[ejm]

Thanks guys; I'm glad to hear that this forum isn't about to disappear immediately.

do they have this: ? I think not!

Even though I know that I'm the one who replaced the standard smileys, I am constantly amazed when I go onto other sites and type one of those sideways smileys that I DON'T see the stomping cat, yo-yoing pig, rope jumping sheep, hoolahooping cow, etc. etc.

I still visit forums with the same regularity. [...] Whilst it's clear that Facebook is taking people away from blogs, I don't see Facebook as an alternative to forums.

I don't even see that Facebook is taking people away from reading blogs. There are several blogs that I go to on a regular basis. As long as the authors are still posting things on their blogs, I'll still go. Many of those blog owners are also on facebook. In fact there is a "link this to facebook" plugin that can be added to any wordpress blog (probably something similar for blogger, livejournal, etc. too)

What I have found is that forums, blogs and facebook have completely replaced newsgroups for me. I used to go into three or four newsgroups almost daily (alt.os.windows95.crash.crash.crash was particularly useful when we still had Windows 95). I rarely even peek in a newsgroup now, unless a google search has led me to a post. Of course, it could be that the reason I don't go into newsgroups very frequently is that our ISP no longer has a newsgroup server on it so the only way I can access newsgroups is through google.