What is more active ……..?

[bargetanika]

This forum? Or the face book page? I am reluctant to join face book.

[kenris]

Pat,

I’d rely on this group, and the two MoPac groups on Yahoo. MPHS is trying to steer all serious discussion to this group for fear that Yahoo and soon cease to exist.

Dick Ryker

[benjamintickell53]

They really serve two different purposes. Facebook is a conversation, here today, gone tomorrow. This forum is a serious effort to preserve exchanges between people who are interested in, or who have information to share about Missouri Pacific and related companies. In terms of volume of posts, you would see more on Facebook. Recently, the most active MP facebook site splintered into two groups, so its even more difficult to keep up. However, with that volume of posts comes the near impossibility of retrieving past posts. If you see a photo of interest, or read an exchange with good information on Facebook, you better save it then as an image and a text document, because as time goes on, it will become buried with newer posts, and the Facebook search function, such as it is, probably cannot find it.

Its relatively easy to transfer good information from Facebook to a much more permanent thread on this MPHS forum. In the same light, use of the Yahoo group also puts information in an area where it cannot readily be retrieved in the future. Try going to the MP yahoo group and searching for information from 2008 or so. Its almost impossible, and scrolling through the posts is often not functional either.

Bill Pollard

[luisflierl26]

As Bill said, they serve different purposes.

This forum I check about once a week, and read the new posts that are on interest to me.

I check FB several times a day just to keep up with the huge amount of data on my newsfeed. Most of which is photos. However you can join groups that fit your specific needs and interests, and try to control your newsfeed that way.

There are a number of MP related Facebook pages and groups, but only one is managed by MPHS. It is interesting to see how many different types of followers we get on the MPHS FB page. We currently have followers in 45+ countries.

If you want to reach a larger audience quicker – than FB is probably your choice. If you want to post something more informative and have it around for a loner period of time and searchable, than the forum is better.

Now many more things are migrating to Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest and other assorted social media sites, which I have yet to start using . It is impossible to keep up with everything.

[mopac]

I am with Dick. I check the face book pages daily, lately there have been some good stuff show up.

Now for the rest of the social media I do not bother trying to keep up. There was one that I got banned from
OGR O Gauge Railroading also known as the NK forum as in North Korean they did not like my comments and started to censor every thing I was posting. When I get ticked off I shoot from the hip. They did not like anything dealing in 2 Rail, there all toy train TCS folks.

If you get tied up on all of these forums you can’t play trains and build MP models 24/7. This is what retired people do Me Dick? and Charlie?

Bill Basden Delta Models http://www.deltamodelsusa.com

[peggyrothschild]

Interesting when I’m with a group of guys my age (65) none of them are on Facebook, me included. Yahoo groups are fine for a posting that people read for a couple of day but after a while no one will remember the discussions and inquiries on Yahoo time out without a response (at least for me they behave this way). The newbie to these groups have a difficult time determining previous topics without a lot of paging through prior postings.

The MPHS Forum is designed so the user can find a subject and look at the topics that have been discussed. Images are easy to post and posting can be edited by the writer at anytime. I’ll now log in and look at new posts and active topics. The MPHS Forum is also owned and managed by the MPHS which I feel is an important difference when we are talking about history; the responses on the forum are well researched and it’s important we do our best to retain them. The forum has a feature where a user can subscribe to a topic and will get an email when there’s a posting.

The reality is there’s many social networks around (and will continue to go) and the MPHS needs to have a presence on them so prospective members can find us. A few months ago I launched a GoogleAd program that displays our web site and small ad based on certain key works being searched on this has been successful.

It’s certainly not the information landscape we had 10 years ago when our only Mopac ‘fix’ was reading the Eagle magazine or paging through Mopac Power….

[mopac]

Charlie

great comments and suggestions. This is the one I use mostly, but do check the other MP sites as well.

FWIW I have a link from my web site to this one and the MPHS site.

If I have a project build model in the works, this is where you can follow what I am doing, or have planned.

I am currently finishing up on the T&P 300 Baggage Dorm model. I need to up load more updated photo’s
in the O scale section, I am in the paint and lighting phase right now.

Next up for me will be the IGN 896 Pullman dome car.

Bill Basden

[luisflierl26]

Here are some stats:

This forum currently has 427 members. Only 74 have made one or more posts. Only 23 members have made 10 or more posts. Most of the posts come from the same 5 people. Most of the people on this forum are already MPHS Members.

The MPHS Facebook page has almost 2,500 Likes. Most posts reach 500-1,000 people within 48 hours. Most posts receive comments and many are shared to other sites.

Both sites serve a purpose. The forum is probably better for an “Ask The Experts” question. You seem to get a more straightforward response rather than the rambling comment of someone who can’t really answer the question like you get on a more public forum like FB. The FB page is better at promoting and reaching a larger audience.

Like Charlie said, MPHS needs to stay active with all forms of media to reach the widest audience possible. Staying current and staying relevant is the best way to see continued growth of the organization. Moving forward I would like to see a MPHS youtube channel, and a photo site like Flickr, but all in good time.

[Author]

Posts