Are we ready for a rant? Okay, so, I am a member of a whole-lotta Facebook groups, this much is true. Though some may consider this egregious, I love each and every one one of them. They are made up of, mostly, like-minded individuals who enjoy metal detecting. While I certainly cannot engage in every single group daily on any grand scale--I depend 100% on my news feed and Facebook notifications to keep me involved.--On each page I post one or two video links a month, a meme, or blog here and there. I try to participate in special events, such as Stealth Diggers' "Selfie Sunday", Global Detecting Adventures' "Art Tuesday", or if I see something pirate related I'll post it on Dirt Pirates. But beyond that I'm frequently scrolling, commenting where I can, liking posts I enjoy, and in that way I am differentiating by individual people not the groups themselves.
I mean, isn't that what Facebook is about anyway? The individual people?
To me, Facebook is a gathering place, much like the city center. There are a ton of shops, businesses, bars (or pubs if you will) downtown. While I can go inside any one of these establishments, I generally prefer to be outdoors, lounging on some cafe sidewalk chair sipping a glass of wine. I sit and observe...watch the people go about their business, petting someone's dog as they walk by, complimenting someone's shoes, or just nodding a friendly hello. Sometimes I'll pop in a place, sing a song, then drop the mic and walk out the door (proverbially speaking of course).
In this analogy, if I'm in your group and I don't always engage--If I simply wish to "walk in and sing my song" and decline a game of pool or darts, are you going to ask me to leave? Truth of the matter is, maybe your patrons ENJOY my brand of "music" and they're staying a on a bit longer because they like what they hear. Or maybe my version of Ballroom Blitz filtered out into the street intriguing a few people to stop by. Or, hell, maybe I'm simply background noise, adding to the over all atmosphere. Regardless of the role, it is all part of the overall spirit.
I recognize that groups need to have rules. No cursing, no porn, it's a family show after all...but demanding that your members comment on posts, and "filtering out" those who participate primarily through links is a bit elitist. Who are you to say that one or more of your members do not wish to see these posts? Shouldn't it be up to THEM to either watch or scroll by? As I've said before, I'm an introvert. So, by nature I am not a "joiner". I have friends and family who get aggravated on a regular basis because they don't hear from me enough. So maybe you can appreciate that I put my heart into everything I create and am giving a little bit of myself with each new video, blog, meme, or what have you. This IS my form of participation. So if you're telling me, the introvert, how I should interact within your group, and if you enlist nothing more than individuals who are being threatened with removal if they do not frequently comment--like a bunch of mindless automatons--I'm best left out anyway. Thing is, 90% of all group members are in at least one other group, so it's safe to surmise they will eventually "hear my band play" somewhere along the line. In the meantime, I'll just sit out here humming my tune, enjoying my wine and casually conversing with those who feel I have something of value to offer. Heck, I always preferred the intimacy of smaller gigs anyhow.
xoxo Siren Kimmie (HDIC Girls Rock Metal Detecting)
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