Is facebook killing forums?!

[ShawneyJ]

i seem to be losing mods to facebook. running a teen forum seems to be maybe the hardest? i see mods log in to the forum for like 2 minutes, check it and go, then you see them commenting on facebook for the next hour. most teens have limited time on their computer, so im guessing they are choosing facebook over the forum. teens also add every tom d ick and harry to make conversions. then they can make their own group and have a small discussion forum with in that group. haha and its all FREE!
altho you can really get teen help on facebook hmmm.

[ZombieAndy]

Our forums has had quite steady growth for last year and the year before, but i guess you could class us as a niche forums.

I Don't see facebook as a 'competitor' though, We use facebook, we have our own facebook page which we use to link to important new topics and news and run competitions through and we have seen growth on both sides, using vB4's integration tools our users are 'liking' forum posts and attracting more visitors back to us.

Facebook isnt an enemy of forums, its a important ally. But you need to know how to use it.

[sergio00]

The social forum can lose users but the technicals forums no.

[RedTrinity]

I have run a non-profit parenting forum for 5+ years now, and I can definitely confirm that Facebook has been responsible for the quiet state it is suffering from today.

This time 2 years ago we had 50+ members logging in on a daily basis, around 400-500 posts being made per day... today, we are lucky to have 20 members log in, and see up to 50 posts a day I've witnessed forum members posting up a storm on Facebook whilst not bothering to visit our forum anymore, or barely participate on it. They are well and truly addicted to this social networking site. I've also had moderators do the same, and admit to me that they just find Facebook to be easier and more convenient... some have even stepped down because they don't participate enough anymore.

I've tried competing with the Facebook monster but unfortunately I just can't compete with their billion dollar budget and high tech features, especially considering I don't make anything from our forum in the first place. There's little I can offer users that Facebook isn't already providing them, it even now has a new influx of parents groups on it - one time, one of our users even tried starting her own on there and inviting all of our forum members to it, much to my dismay!

Recently I have actually closed down my Facebook account and I'll tell you what, it has led to me posting on our forum a lot more again. Its a shame we can't get other members to do the same, it would definitely help our forum recover!

I think the other cause of forums becoming quiet nowadays is because of mobile phones. People are increasingly using their phones to access forums instead of their computers and laptops, and because it takes so long to type out proper responses on their phone, they just tend to peruse instead.

Technology in general is killing off discussion forums, in my opinion.... and its a real shame.

I am only still running our forum because I did a group vote and nobody wanted me to close it. Plus its something I have worked so hard on for many years, so I admit I'm attached to it. But I do admit that the thought still crosses my mind sometimes as to why I am still bothering, it just doesn't seem worth the effort anymore at times, especially when you deal with the frustration of seeing your members posting away on FB to each other, whilst the forum sits through another dead day of activity....

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Oh, and I forgot to add, it doesn't seem to be just our forum suffering. I've seen other rival and similar forums to ours struggling lately, including ones which are a lot more established than ours. Today they are seeing about the same results (daily posts made, visits etc) on their forum as we are on ours, even though they have more members than we do. A couple of them have even threw in the towel altogether and closed down completely over the past couple of years.

Its a major slump throughout most of online parenting forum land, with Facebook being the main culprit...

[JohorBahru]

Originally Posted by Cyburbia

Facebook has had an impact on forums, no doubt. However, I still see a place for forums, because:

* It gives users the chance to discuss issues with some level of anonymity. On my site, many users are in the public spotlight in their communities. They still want to interact with their peers, but they really don't want to have their names out there.

* I've got the dominant English-language forum dealing with a certain profession. On Facebook, and before that Yahoo Groups, there were many scattered groups. Which one of the many groups do you join? (The same thing can be said with subjects that are represented by hundreds of forums, like anime and gaming. Which anime site of the thousands out there do you join?)

* Facebook and other large social networking sites is blocked at many workplaces. Professional forums usually aren't blocked.

* A forum allows a communtity to develop its own identity, independent of Facebook.

cant agree more!

[vithorius]

Hi everybody! I believe that this topic is more than actual...! Is Facebook killing forums? (or is it killing the internet as we actually know it?)

Originally Posted by sergiop

I would not be surprised if they come up with their own search engine or even their own one stop shop, though i am being sarcastic with the latter.

Here you have it:
Facebook Radically Revamps Its Search Engine

In an effort to make the content and preferences of its 1 billion users more discoverable, Facebook (FB) today announced a new feature called Graph Search?a long-awaited effort to improve its previously underachieving search engine. If it catches on with users, the tool, which the company says will move into a limited beta period today for the site?s English speakers, could challenge a range of other Internet companies, from archrival Google to ratings services like Yelp, and even video streaming sites such as Netflix.

[leannet]

Facebook has had a big impact on my forum. I've noticed hardly anyone comes on anymore but I see them on FB all the time. They post so much on FB and nothing on the forum.
I sometimes feel like giving up and closing the forum but some people want it open and I started it in 2006 and I don't really want to say goodbye. At one stage it was a very busy forum and hard to keep up but now it's so quiet.

[cellarius]

It depends. General chit chat forums will suffer. Forums that cover a certain niche won't probably notice much difference. I also am pretty sure that facebook has reached it's peak. There's growing awareness and scepticism about company policy.

[Princeton]

I agree with cellarius...
you need a niche - FB is mostly chit chat stuff.

Niche sites should...
continue focusing on their niche AND grow a Facebook following. (Not your personal page but a site page.)

Think of Facebook as a "daily newsletter" - you update it to alert your readers about something (article, news, etc) on the site.

Posting on your site FB page doesn't mean that you add threads from your site on a daily basis. This will only lead to a decrease in participation on your site. Keep your FB following entertained with images, polls, and links. The more interesting something is the more people will share (and Follow).

Keep in mind that only a small percentage of traffic will come from these updates - something along 1-14% (avg). So, the higher the number of followers you have the better off you will be.

In short...
Don't use FB strictly for traffic ... use it to promote your brand.

I dont think so , but the fact is that , people now getting bored from facebook, but the forums are evergreen.