Forums vs Facebook Groups.

[Shaun]

It seems more an more people are using Facebook DJ groups now. Personally, I'm not keen on Facebook groups. The same questions being asked time and time again. Plus, it's not easy to go back and find a discussion you saw earlier on Facebook. Forums (I think) offer far more. More of a sense of community plus earlier discussions are searchable and offers a readily viewed database for both new and old members alike.


Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are about Facebook vs Forums?

[Vectis]

:like:



































:)

[Benny Smyth]

I have a Facebook page for my business, but I don't have a personal account. Once I realised that Facebook was just a place full of people that I haven't spoken to since school talking about the weather, I was done.

Facebook has it's uses, but it isn't a suitable alternative to forums for the reasons you've stated.

[MikeW]

I have got to say that I do look at DJ forums on facebook. And whilst I do a lot of looking I really don't post or reply that often. To be honest I can't believe some of the comments that are put on facebook forums. It seems that some of the people who post some of the comments don't realise that the public are able to see what they post.
So in answer to the question. Facebook forums for me are very good for getting information/keeping up to date with what other DJs are doing.

I would rather post comments or ask questions on forums (this one!)

[DeckstarDeluxe]

DJ facebook groups are full of keyboard warriors and idiots in my opinion. Only a member of two (one being the MDD the other being a local group useful for passing on gigs and getting venue knowledge).

I've google various issues with kit, music etc... and a MDD always lists in the top three.

[Corabar Steve]

Forums all the way, for the reasons mentioned.

FB groups are like car crash TV

[Creature]

Doesnt it depend on what your looking for from them ????

Forums - great for talking to other djs and discussions ect - but absolutelly useless for bookings, and a dying thing inmany ways, like at somestage FB will do when something better comes along

Facebook - a pain in the butt - but a good way of free advertising :)

60% of new bookings and enquiries come direct from facebook, either because a potential customer has seen my FB page, or from postental customers posting on there walls wanting a dj, and someone who has booked me in the past points them to my FB page.

[Corabar Steve]

I'd guess the question is about DJ groups on FB, not FB as a whole though.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Using that arguement though I couldn't offer the level of service and quality of my DJing if it wasn't for this forum. Five minutes on fb and I wanna hang my headphones up.

[Creature]

Using that arguement though I couldn't offer the level of service and quality of my DJing if it wasn't for this forum. Five minutes on fb and I wanna hang my headphones up.

But why would you want to discuss techinical details or ask for advise on Social Media like FB?

the two are totally seperate mediams, just like the posts on each are seperate mediums! (or should be)

[Shaun]

The stark reality is that all the main DJ forums seem to have taken a downward trend of members posting regularly. A lot of the old faces seem to have moved on from the forums they used to be frequent and and have taken up posting mainly on Facebook to discuss DJ matters and ask advice. Trends come and go, but Facebook looks like its here to stay. The more that members move away and stop posting regularly on the forum, then gradually things will just fizzle out. Which I'd hate to see happen..it'd be a real shame. I prefer the format (and sense of community) of sites like this over Facebook.

[DJColsie]

Although I have looked at the groups on Facebook and read occasionally, I have never contributed and don't feel inclined to either.

[DJ Jules]

I'm a member of two facebook groups, a closed one for local entertainers and the Mobile DJ network. The local entertainers one is mainly made up of people I know, or I have gotten to know quite quickly so it's been really good for networking. The MDJN group has something that no other forum or group has as far as I know - national scale. With active membership in the 1,000's it's very useful to keep up with current music, equipment and national trends in terms of how DJ's are presenting their shows. It also has a very broad demographic with the full range of pub, club and large & small operators so people on there have views on most topics.

What I will say is that on the MDJN group I've had success buying and selling, but if you pass gigs on you have to be very, very careful to vet who you pass them on to as there are some very good and professional operators on the group, and some complete cowboys. I've found the professionals are represented in buying & selling, but typically don't look for work on the group so won't speak up if you offer gigs. If I'm looking for someone to fulfil work I'll come here, or go to the closed local Facebook group - but I'll never book someone off the MDJN group again.

As for marketing my services on Facebook - I have a personal account and a Business facebook page, and while it's good for showcasing what I do, every enquiry I've received through Facebook has ended with "I've found someone cheaper" - and that's even the Kids parties where my pricing is slightly below average in the local market.

Just my opinion based on my experience.

Julian

[ukpartydj]

I know an agent which is a closed Facebook group very well.

If he gets a gig or needs help he posts it on the group and everybody gets a notification.

Half the time it's stuff like "know any good balloon suppliers" to help out clients but sometimes you get the odd decent gig pop up last minute.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Most of the people on DJ FB groups aren't worth knowing and there are way too many idiots out there.

People post the same things that we were talking about over 10 years ago....

[Corabar Steve]

Most of the people on DJ FB groups aren't worth knowing and there are way too many idiots out there.

People post the same things that we were talking about over 10 years ago....
You forgot to say that they still expect people to agree with them, even though nobody did on here.

[yourdj]

Both.

Its like a pub, they are all different so its worth spending time in the one with the nice people and quality beer/surroundings. Our HDA group and other similar groups are great. no harsh words ever said and its very busy. I don't even look at large groups as its quite frankly depressing and boring. There area couple of characters on there I would love to psycho analyse, bet they were bullied or worse as a kid; if you shout at them in real life and they will poo themselves ;) I used to wince at the thought of them being in control of wedding entertainment for the night.

So if you take out the HDA my Facebook group usage is minimal - i am on here more so this is my second largest posting area. :)

Given the choice I would opt for forums as they have more serious members and the content is better managed and laid out, with better audio visual interaction. Tkes more dedication to be on a Forum and generally the members are sound. Its also beneficial for SEO and your information is not devoured by the many affiliates Facebook have (although its an open forum, so can be monitored).

Just need some more people on here like the old days before Facebook.

[stormproductions]

I don't use FB at all, for personal or business. And only this forum and one other which is linked more to the lighting side that I do. Plus maybe once every 2 years I'll have a look at the Ford Transit forum if I've got an issue with the van! And that's it in total for my 'discussion' use of the internet.

It does mean that unfortunately I never nowadays hear anything from Toby about HDA though... I enjoyed the couple of meetings I did get along to a couple of years ago.

[funktions]

I use both. have had a couple of bookings via facebook that have happily agreed on the price we quoted them, yes it can be a troll fest but you don't have to get involved. read and move along down the bus. there will always be a 50 quid sid somewhere, "im only doing it for the fun" the good will always rise above the rest and word gets round that its worth the extra money.
I have been to many weddings recently that were just absolutely dire, one had cheap and distorting audio, cheap lights, just looked tacky and sounded it.. worst was they paid a reasonable amount for someone to do it. and they got it from a forum full of so called dj's . one even had an absolute killer funktion1 sound setup all the gear no idea type ..
there will always be ways of advertising and if social media is a way of doing so im all for someone posting how pleased they were, I would rather stand up and see where I went wrong publicly and learn from that rather than Chinese whispers behind our backs...

[Imagine]

:agree:

I've had several decent bookings from Faceache, my business page is getting good hits (mainly because I've joined all the local wedding groups), and clients are actually checking the feedback on there before booking (sad but true).

I never really liked FB but see it as a necessary evil. With the number of wedding groups I belong to, it's a chance to appear on the screens of several hundred local digital devices for no cost other than a little effort from me to make the posting.

True, there's trolls out there, and I've got a guy out this way doing ANY function for a mere £20 an hour (and he looks the part as well with the rig photo's he's got...and he gets good feedback). Of course (even with mine) there's no way of proving that the feedback's genuine but do customers necessarily think about that?

I also use forums (such as this one) for the more serious discussion type of thing, and where there's an area to keep things out of the public arena. There's a use for both mediums.

The one I haven't really got into is Twitter.....I just don't get the point of it :daft:

[yourdj]

Most of the people on DJ FB groups aren't worth knowing and there are way too many idiots out there.

People post the same things that we were talking about over 10 years ago....

Boring isn't it. I don't socialise much these days with anyone in the industry as it is all the same discussions and crap.

Here (of course) and Pro mobile Conference is the only one I really get a lot from now, but its always beneficial to keep an eye out for trends as i don't want to end up like a blinkered dinosaur DJ, like the roadshow ("CD's will never be replaced") type people when i started.

I find the HDA events and Facebook chat excellent as it has some of the best DJ's in the UK so we can get some great discussions going and not mull over speaker combinations, pricing and whether you like scrims or not :p

[ckpr2]

I got an email from another DJ forum last week.
Due to lack of people using it they are considering closing it down.
They cited Facebook as one of the reasons.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I am not a member of any facebook DJ groups for pretty much the same reasons as a number of people have stated already.
I have a facebook business page and I try to use that as much as possible. I've had a number of enquiries via that.

Facebook DJ groups seem to be inhabited by wannabe's and those that think they know it all (in my opinion).
I'd much rather use a forum like this. It's the only one I use and I'd rather be here where it is administrated well and the content is interesting.

[Corabar Steve]

Facebook DJ groups seem to be inhabited by wannabe's and those that think they know it all (in my opinion).
I'd much rather use a forum like this. It's the only one I use and I'd rather be here where it is administrated well and the content is interesting.

Indeed.

One of the FB groups is likely to shortly have one les member due to him being electrocuted as a consequence of the downright dangerous advice he was given.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Forums are maybe a bit more "high brow" shall we say because it takes a bit more effort to engage whereas with Facebook any half wit can join a group and do whatever they want to do whether that's hoovering up work for sid prices, giving out bad advice or generally just being a bit of a prat.

I had a guy (and then his bird :daft: ) call me a :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: via PMs in facebook earlier in the week because I refused to give this guy (who I've never even seen post in any of the forums, have never met, has no website and looking about 12) the number to follow up a lead for a night I was already booked :daft:

He then proceeded to make a total arse of himself on the public page pretty much burning plenty of bridges (certainly with myself and a few big hitters I know)

At the same time, me and another guy who have enough IQ points between us to suss out that networking and working together makes more sense than acting like Johnny Big Balls sorted me out with a gig he was needing covered :confused::beer1:

If you're savvy enough to know who to listen to, who to treat with a pinch of salt and who to not give the time of day, there's nothing inherently wrong with FB.

[a2bdisco]

I use the Facebook groups sometimes for advertising, and I do get quite a few bookings from there. But certain DJ's in the Wirral area are not liking it.
Theres even a couple of their friends who have posted 1 star reviews with no comments to bring my star rating down from 5 stars as I have got all 5 stars from previous bookings.
This, I think is petty and ridiculous.
I do various offers which a lot of people do enquire for, which is great, and gets me quite a bit of work, but these individuals don't realise that its just a special off, it's temporary, not permanent.
Hell, they even created a thread specially for little old me some time ago on their little FB group.

So I, for one, think there are quite a few nasty people on there, but that's up to them as people can see who they are insulting and don't realise that these people could be potential customers and may not go to them.

Mark
AM Entertainments Wrexham

[soundmaster mobile disco]

I remember back in the day when I first joined here, it was great, lots of guys willing to share good advice. I do feel over the last 2 years or so since facebook became as big and popular as it is now. I have seen the decline on here.

I am probably guilty of using fb more than here

One thing I do find with fb is that its full of bull :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored:ters and guys that are asking the most silly questions about how to dj

I'm sure the popularity of the mdd forum will return at some point