I gave up on competing with FB. Instead I am trying to offer something that gets lost with FB, which is privacy. My forum deals with sensitive topics that users may not want to share openly in FB groups etc, so we have the anonymity that FB doesn't. On top of that, we have safety policies and regulation that FB doesn't. The internet has been plagued by the idea that anonymity = bad; when really it can be positive. Sure, you might get a few creepers, but we have a team that monitors suspicious activity and can take action; whereas on FB 'creepers' and bullies are allowed to roam free.
Obviously then, we're not trying to be users first source of social networking, because we simply would be wasting resources. Instead, the focus changes to how you can supplement peoples online experience. I haven't even enabled the FB connectivity because it undermines our safety policies, and users aren't allowed to publicly share that info. I think that separation might actually be a positive thing - Why visit the actual forum when you can see what is going on via FB?
Yes, it cuts both ways. A niche audience will respond positively to this approach whether others just wouldn't be doing as well without the integration of FB.
05-02-2014, 10:27 PM
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