Personally I ditched facebook and twitter totally about 4 months ago. No regrets really, never going back.

I have two profiles there. One personal and one for RO.

For personal, I use it mostly for reaching older gen clients (50+) of mine interested in home renovations. However, I also use it to keep in touch with only close friends of mine. I have 50 close friends all around my age who we share our stuff with. I have no interest in gathering thousands of friends.

I have a recording.org presence but abandoned it two years ago. I found it creates a tone of non related crap coming from Asia which I have no interest in. I am also not interested in giving FB any content from our recording community.

Accordingly to my children, they say FB is for older people, they do not go there at all. (n)

audiokid, post: 457648, member: 1 wrote: Accordingly to my children, they say FB is for older people, they do not go there at all.

smart kids .....

It's comparing apples and oranges to me.

I don't think Facebook (in its present form) has any way to stay as organized as a forum like this can. I've had reason to look at some specific music forums lately and they are linear like your newsfeed. A straight-line dump of posts, most recent post on top. No threading or sorting of any kind, so if you want to find something someone posted last Sunday you'll have to scroll down through 7 days of the other crap to get there. If you missed that post from last Sunday you'll probably never see it unless you're really determined.

For the kind of service you provide to people here, I don't see any way the FB format could come anywhere close to a traditional forum layout like you've got going here.

I do think some forum communities are in decline, but there's no replacement - it's a general lack and loss of rigor in discussion and debate that we are all losing out culturally from. Facebook is not in any way a substitute for forum in the same way a horse and buggy wouldn't replace the personal automobile. You can't go backwards that way.... Forums are where conversations and investigations (and peer moderation) takes place.

Facebook is too uncontrolled and unreliable to use for some things. Our band page, for example - well meaning people can post on their facebook profile, and then their conversations appear elsewhere and this is not always what we want. It's a free-for-all mess, and for group activities, it's really useful - but forums work better outside it. I', a member of several groups but control is weak or non-existent and it gets messy far too easily.

Forums are the place for the sort of issues and discussions we have here. I keep seeing the difficulties some of my associates have got into using social media, and these make me stick to my resolve never to have Twitbook accounts.

I was part of 3 recording groups on Facebook last year. The posts made me cringe 75% of the time. Free is better, cheap is better, no clue what a preamp does and so many missconceptions were offer has solutions to questions that it became a nightmare to me.
Everytime I tried to strait up things using common recording knowledge and science I got put down by others. So I quitted them.
To get to RO, you need to have at least the motivation to search around and when you discover it, you fit right in with more experienced and pro engineers.
Throlls aren't tollerated and since you have to make the effort to come here you are automaticly in a better position to listen and exchange.

On facebook, it's a pit of everything form false pretense to attention hungry people. To me facebook is like the astrology, as long as you take it for entertainment purpose only, you'll be fine. But when it gets to looking for serious info, just get the hell out of there... ;)

Just as an exemple, last week. Someone posted and article taken on CNN or somewhere similar. The big tittle say 600 milliards of donation to built 6 residences.
Before being the 12th to comments, I clicked on the link and read. The article said half a milliard which means 500 millions.
If you are looking for facts, stay away from facebook... !!

The studio I am a staff member gets inquiries via Facebook more often than via the website. For that I think it makes sense, as I/we don’t promote on RO. I have no issue however shilling service on GS whenever I feel like.

FB for me is a way to keep in touch with ‘real friends’ of mine that I wouldn’t otherwise communicate as often with. High school buddies, relatives ect. It’s useful for things like fundraising or event announcements. I also like that my nephews ect, can go back and look at what they’re family is or was up to at any point in time.

That said, I haven’t signed on in quite some time, and as a part of my marketing campaign I will schedule content posts, so I have a presence, without the tedium.

Twitter is probably the most wide spread mass communication network, and I am not a member personally, but feel it will be a necessary part of my professional presence, should I decide to end my hiatus.

As far as useful info, and problem solving, those don’t compare to the forums format.

Social media is a part of the game, it’s a good way to get listens and views for material, and there are real-time chats which I have participated in with professional athletes, with whom I’d never have a chance to ‘talk to’.

I’d be curious to hear from members of RO who are not a washed up kid like me, to see how the youthful generations feel about this issue. I certainly notice a trend on RO of the 30-75 year age bracket, and I wonder if perhaps I’m already falling behind. It’s imprtant I think to be at least aware of bubbling trends and the flavor of the week, whether you personally like it or not. There’s nothing worse than an out of touch music producer, or OMS (old man syndrome) as my RO buddy ChrisH puts it. This isn’t to imply that the community here is out of touch or closed minded, but just a general observation.

Cable TV is dying, Terrestrial radio is dying, censorship proved that people will resist as long as there is something to resist. Most of the online content and podcasts i listen to are much more tame and more Pc, than radio and television in the 90’s, which was ‘pushing the boundaries’ constantly getting closer and closer to cuss words. I find most podcasts and internet content are generally not this way. People want what they think they can’t have. Portugal’s legalized drug policy is a perfect example of how when you remove restrictions, people tend to not want to go to extremes.

With the recording industry moving towards online collaboration, the art of communication becomes even more relavant, as you can’t impress people with the flashing lights, amazing speakers, and comfy couches a commercial studio tour introduces.

You can ride the wave dont drown in the water.

I value the content and expertise of tightly-focussed forums like this one. Credibility is hard to earn, but RO’s is unassailable. I joined six months ago and continue to come back because I almost always find helpful stuff on useful topics. Vanity platforms like Facebook and Twitter are time-sucking wormholes full of content with a shelf-life of hours. When I’ve got time to spare, I’d rather read something challenging that stretches my mental muscles.

Most fora are declining. But, let's face it, there simply are too many.

FB will decline too. The problem is that there is no depth. It's just very superficial. In some cases, that's what people like. In a case like RO, it's useless.

I became very aware of this when doin' some research about The Tascam SX1. The Tascam forums are almost silent. There's an SX1 group on FB, but it's only useful to find other SX1 owners. NO knowledge, NO links, just some chitchat.

There's a guy on there who has been trying to sell his SX1 for over 5 years, fi. If it had been a forum, it would have become clear that you can't sell an SX1...

I've been sucked into commenting on various audio related FB groups a few times, and most of the time I regret it. Kyle hit the nail on the head - thousands of people who have purchased their first DAW and set of plugs and then claim to be recording, mix, or even mastering "engineers"; asking things like, " what's the best pre/mic/interface I can get for under $150?'
By and large, Veteran engineers who try to help them understand that this craft takes an investment to be involved in on a serious level usually get shouted down and accused of being "out to the touch has beens'.
Dave also brings up a great point - there is no organization to any of the posts, and that doing a search for info on posts is nearly impossible. Then again, I suppose we need to ask ourselves if there is really anything WORTH researching, when most posts lack any real sense of knowledge, or are filled with myth propagation and vast misinformation. None of those FB groups are places that can be relied on for any true sense of knowledge or accuracy... And are usually train wrecks.
Reading the back and forth of some of the comments between all the FB "experts" is sorta like watching four monkeys f*****g a football.
-d.

DonnyThompson, post: 457722, member: 46114 wrote: Reading the back and forth of some of the comments between all the FB "experts" is sorta like watching four monkeys f*****g a football.

Lmao. Best thing I’ve read this year!

DonnyThompson, post: 457722, member: 46114 wrote: Reading the back and forth of some of the comments between all the FB "experts" is sorta like watching four monkeys f*****g a football.

(y)

Chris, if supporters are wavering maybe it's time to allow guests use the search function of the forum. I could be wrong, but I would imagine that hurt the traffic numbers. And even so, there may be a hundred other benefits to not allowing guest searches that I'm missing. (just kinda thinking outloud as I clicked on a Rode link before logging in and got rejected)

Facebook is like entering a music store and asking the young teen who works in the guitar section about mastering. He thinks he knows but has no experience and skills to direct you on the right path. (Altought you sometime get the same result in the recording section... I thought the exemple was better put this way) ;)

Coming to RO has to be done with the effort of typing the address or clicking on your favorite shortcut. Since you made the conscientious decision to come here and did not fall in by accident (popup or else), you are more incline to be in the mood to have an healthy exchange with people pasionnate about recording (experienced or not).
If RO stops its operation, I would miss it greatly... But if the forum is keeping Chris from blooming in other enjoyable parts of his life, I'd choose to see him happy any day !

I agree with you, Marco. Every day is an opportunity to learn something. I don't frequent any other forums, because they don't bear much fruit. I would never consider FB a source for anything useful either. Both are full of shills and the blind leading the blind, and I've always felt dumber for having read some of that garbage. So I just don't.

I think the pillar members here at RO understand that while much of the tech stuff may be etched in stone, art in any form allows for (and even encourages) experimentation, a variety of tastes, opinions, viewpoints, and interpretations. So at the end of the day if we don't all agree, it's no big deal. On RO many of us are on a first name basis, and haven't forgotten how to respectfully disagree.

As a society we've become addicted to outrage, but not every topic has to devolve into an online shouting match (or pissing contest). I REALLY appreciate that about RO.

dvdhawk, post: 457793, member: 36047 wrote: Chris, if supporters are wavering maybe it's time to allow guests use the search function of the forum. I could be wrong, but I would imagine that hurt the traffic numbers. And even so, there may be a hundred other benefits to not allowing guest searches that I'm missing. (just kinda thinking outloud as I clicked on a Rode link before logging in and got rejected)

Guest have always been able to search. I just checked the settings and its still that way. I wonder why you can't.

dvdhawk, post: 457793, member: 36047 wrote: Chris, if supporters are wavering maybe it's time to allow guests use the search function of the forum. I could be wrong, but I would imagine that hurt the traffic numbers. And even so, there may be a hundred other benefits to not allowing guest searches that I'm missing. (just kinda thinking outloud as I clicked on a Rode link before logging in and got rejected)

what do you mean you clicked on a RODE link and you were rejected?

dvdhawk, post: 457793, member: 36047 wrote: Chris, if supporters are wavering maybe it's time to allow guests use the search function of the forum. I could be wrong, but I would imagine that hurt the traffic numbers. And even so, there may be a hundred other benefits to not allowing guest searches that I'm missing. (just kinda thinking outloud as I clicked on a Rode link before logging in and got rejected)

Ah, I think I found what you are referring too,

the image took you to a search page, correct?
https://recording.org/threads/the-videomic-me-l-from-rode.63895/

I have a restriction set on images not being able to be downloaded for guest to save bots and unwanted data mining from draining resources. Those are never links though. But good idea to change that setting, I can see how that could be confusing or annoying. I've changed that setting, thank you!.

The search capability hasn't always been that way.

Donny's thread: Permalink #4 and 5 : Does someone have to be a member of RO to access posts?

When I dropped in this morning and wanted to learn more about the Rode VideoMic Me-L that you posted. I had to log in to follow the link connected to the image.

No worries, the restriction doesn't bother me, but I can see how a guest would leave - rather than register to follow a manufacturer's link. It would hurt your click-through stats with the vendor is all.

dvdhawk, post: 457803, member: 36047 wrote: No worries, the restriction doesn't bother me, but I can see how a guest would leave - rather than register to follow a manufacturer's link. It would hurt your click-through stats with the vendor is all.

no, what you were seeing are not links to vendors > effecting CTR. They are only a thumbnail link to download the larger image, not a url to anyone other that the image itself.. The software shouldn't do that though, not very logical.

Its

dvdhawk, post: 457802, member: 36047 wrote: The search capability hasn't always been that way.

Donny's thread: Permalink #4 and 5 : Does someone have to be a member of RO to access posts?

When I dropped in this morning and wanted to learn more about the Rode VideoMic Me-L that you posted. I had to log in to follow the link connected to the image.

That RODE image or what you were referring too was never a link to a manufacture. That link never was. The issue you are talking about only creates a link to the image stored on RO when you are a guest. But when you are a member, it shows the full image and removes the link to the image. But I fixed that, thanks for letting me know it did that. Pretty goofy.

I don't always log-in when I visit. And I can tell you the search functions haven't always been available to guests.

I'm just trying to make sure you're not losing any ad revenue - so you can keep it going!!
Keep up the good work!

Thank you!!

dvdhawk, post: 457807, member: 36047 wrote: I don't always log-in when I visit. And I can tell you the search functions haven't always been available to guests.

I'm just trying to make sure you're not losing any ad revenue - so you can keep it going!!
Keep up the good work!

Lol with respect to you! The search function has always been available to guests.

Your cross reference in Jan is the exact same reason you thought it wasn’t working now.

Note, If you “aren’t a member” Guest... , uploaded images that are thumbnails appear as links to “guests” which point unregistered members to a search box saying “you need to be registered to use the search function.

It’s a bug that only happens with uploaded images to guests.

But now that I figured it out thanks to you, I fixed it!! Thank you.