Are you over Facebook?
I have complicated feelings about Facebook. I love how it makes it so easy to stay in touch with high school friends and people I met on the train a decade ago. The privacy issues...not so much.
I reluctantly moved the forums and chats from our site to Facebook when I just couldn't deal with the hackers and bots anymore. Facebook was an easy and free replacement that was meant to be temporary. It works well, the groups are really active.
However, the Facebook algorithm gets to decide who finds our group, and that's pushing us farther from our mission of being the place for ALL caregivers. And, as I know all too well, Facebook can change the rules at any point. We're sharecropping while they harvest our data.
The goal is to build a real community. Where we can solicit advice from a wide variety of people who've been there, done that. But also to build meaningful connections between individuals. We're sharing some of our most vulnerable moments, but Facebook makes it hard to go beyond the thumbs up to really build relationships.
So, where do you think we should move our conversation to? Is there a social networking site that can be our new home? Or is there a tool we can embed into our site to keep the conversation truly private?
Sometimes I get a ton of replies to these emails. I don't always respond to every one, but know that I read every single email I get.
PS. If you're on Facebook, we have a bunch of groups. They're a great place to get advice and understanding, or just share a little bit about your day.