OK, things are getting crazy, fast, in the world of SoshNet.
Social Networking.
Facebook, MySpace, Webjam, Twitter, Ning…
I’ve been finding and getting found by lots of old pals in the last month, via Facebook in particular.
So I started an OYB Facebook group. And groups for various other OYBish concerns. Let’s see if any of it serves a need out there.
The main point, it seems, is that FB reaches out to the nongeeks out there. Lots of FB users have cellphones but they’re not fully wired. Likewise, most of the natural OYB readership is still NOT online. They’d prefer a paper zine. But I can’t find them readily or cheaply enough via paper anymore, so I’ve lost most of them. Maybe FB can help bridge the gap a bit.
I also started a group on Ning.com. (https://outyourbackdoor.ning.com.)
Another thing is that these soshnet things are social. I’ve always intended OYB to be a hangout and a place for sharing tips. But it’s been mostly the sound of (my) one hand clapping. The OYB forum doesn’t get used, even though there’s really nowhere else for indie outdoor diversity. Specialization rules the roost. We’ll see if that applies to FB, et al, as well. The new groups I started give anyone a chance to freely pitch in if they feel the concept can work for them.
I’ve also had a MySpace for years, but this Facebook seems to have hugely “blown up” in the past month, as far as I can tell. For me anyway.
