Chawlk

1. Drawar
2. Fenxy
3. Decaflon
4. Two Credits
5. Wriging
6. Loose Suits
7. Chixe
8. Dud3s
9. Wing Colors

 

One thing that is cool on Facebook is that I had a friend create an event and becaus the event was so much fun, they created a group so that they could do more events with those same people. That's about the only good use I've found for a group. Otherwise, they serve no real value.

I don't use any of those social networks although I belong to fb and virb so I can't say I see much use for groups at all.

i really am at loss as to the usefulness of any of it really.

Looking at it from the point of someone who never uses them I would actually think a general forum would be more useful.

I joined them to show support but I think there useless

I am going to point you back to the note I wrote about the facebook groups on my campus that changed university policy in a day. Social Networking Protests. They really are a means of communication and getting an important message out to a large volume of people very quickly. If used correctly for the right purposes, they can be very powerful. Though sometimes that can be a bad thing.

I guess to some extent I see groups as a earlier rendition of note communities. People join, get included on a list and then what? They get the warm fuzzy glow of togetherness? Maybe.

My having broader brush note communities like you have here, a wide variety of note topics are seen by people who might not normally have bothered to go into a specific group.

Something I think would be cool to have is the ability to selectively pick note communities to include and number of notes to show from each on a central location on a grander scale that what we currently can see.

One might be able to for instance see who also has selected the community that you have chosen to include on your page. In essence giving a "group like" feel and community while still retaining the open format feel you currently have.

Just my jumbled thoughts..

i really am at loss as to the usefulness of any of it really.

I often feel the same way. I think I'm a part of them if I get some sort of concensus that a group I've been relating to initially "in person" collectively seem to congregate at that URL. Like a lot of my school friends are on Xanga and MySpace and it's a way to keep in touch with them in at least a minimal capacity... But I don't go to these sites to find people related to my specific interests. I go to sites dedicated particularly to that interest (for instance, vwvortex to see what members of my old car club are up to). School friends (other alumni) I'll keep updated through glancing through my MySpace bulletin once in awhile. Thing is, my interest in keeping in touch w/schoolfriends has varied to the not-so-interested end of the spectrum quite a bit... Other things on the web just are a lot more interesting sometimes.

9rules already has groups. They're just called communities here.

I am a member of a lot of social networking sites but I rarely use them (except for this one). Sometimes a friend or an acquiescence leaves a note and I scribble something back but I prefer to keep in touch with my friends through email.

Rich is right ... where does a community end and a group start? I was just about to suggest a 9rules Book Club (judging from the writing section), but then I realize that could very well be a community of its own.

We've got the Football Field, how about The Bookshop?

No, groups aren't really effective in this current setup.

Two thumbs up to Rich for seeing the forest through the trees ;)

"No, groups aren't really effective in this current setup."

Maybe in 2010 they would feel more at home.

So, for 2010, are you trying to turn mr.9r into another social networking site?

As has been discussed it has been a social networking site, but since you actually use it it doesn't seem like one :D

Also as Rich pointed out you could call our Communities groups and I guess if we implemented them they would be like sub-communities where more specific discussions could take place around a topic.

Scrivs, what kind of effect with that have on the general idea of Notes though? Would you want all of these discussions going out into separate groups instead of having a main platform for Notes? Just curious as to the benefits of that over the current setup.

Good question and I have been thinking about that as well. The way I see things it would work like this. I want to talk about soccer more here, but because of the nature of the site not everyone will care to read about soccer or the Note will get lost quickly. But if there was a Soccer group that people could join then I could post games on TV and talk about lil stuff that really wouldn't be a benefit to the main Notes section. Also because this is a soccer specific place then it might be easier to get people to come talk about soccer because they know that's what they are getting.

Another aspect is that I'm sure there are some topics that just don't fit under the current structure so maybe if you could create a group for that you could begin discussing it.

For something that could apply to you, what if there was a Halo group where people posted Halo strategies and other tidbits. Seeing 100 of those on the 9r frontpage would probably annoy people, but having them concentrated in one area would benefit everyone who cares about Halo.

In these examples I don't see them taking away from the main Notes, but enhancing the quality and creating a better experience for everyone.

Here is an example (are you listening Ryan?): One community that I've been wanting to set up is GLBT but in it's current set up 9rules members create a community which means one would not be setup until we had enough sites. With groups The GLBT group could form and be interacting. When GLBT sites are added to the 9rules they would compliment that group.

Does that make more sense?

edit: another example of Scrivs and I thinking similar things at the same time.

I understand bringing up a topic that might annoy the general Notes user. If implementing a group feature on Notes, could the topic that shows up in the /notes/ section still be shown in the group Notes section as well?

That seems to be the 'best of both worlds' scenario as opposed to just have a Notes topic show up in just the group as opposed to the overall Notes section. Especially because it could be a topic that I didn't necessarily have in mind, but I could have a big interest in it if I see it presented in my face.

Not sure I follow you J. Are you asking if a Note posted in a group can show up in that section and on the main notes section as well?

Yeah that's exactly what I'm asking. Or would that note, that's particular to a group, only show up on a group page?

Since we are talking notes, any chance you could include a "Last Reply By:" in the note title area somewhere, I am turning into a note junky and find my self anxiously checking a favorite note that someone has posted only to find I'm the last person to reply.

And I told myself I would only have conversations with myself in my head, I have to draw the line on blog debates with myself.

No you don't.

<sigh>

@cap: Then you will love Ali2...

@JPhill: I would think it would only show up on that group page or maybe if there was a main groups page as well (like the current Notes page).

I'm a member of both Myspace and Virb. I've found I'm more interactive on the Virb groups than I am with the Myspace ones I'm part of.

The Virb groups are more like this site, to me. The Myspace ones are more like mini-forums (based on how they're laid out).

I think, either way, the main purpose is just to unite those with a common interest or whatnot.

Groups are one thing on social networking sites that bother me. In the way you describe them, Scrivs, I understand that these 'groups' would become mini-social networks of their own... making 9rules a social network with sub-networks inside of it?

The problem is that these things become too big and too complicated. People start creating groups for anything and everything, and then you get crossover - where should something go? I want to talk about Soccer and David Beckham. Does it go in the Soccer category, or the David Beckham category? And if you can create sub-groups within a group, does a David Beckham group come under celebrity or soccer?

If you try and become all things to all people, people get lost. And how are you going to differentiate between what goes in groups, and what ends up on the main page? Sure to you, 100 posts about UK chart positions may not be relevent for the main page, but to me some of the web 2.0 content that appears in the main note stream is not relevent. Who decides what goes where?

Maybe rather than groups, the better implementation of tags could be used. Perhaps you should be able to subscribe to certain tags, so that they show up on your personal homepage above others?

I understand that as th esite grows, how to organise the growing amount of content becomes an issue, but I think in the long run that the concept of groups just splinters the community and adds much more "noise" to the experience.

Yes, can we get a GLBT group before 2010...that would be lovely. :)

I have tried and failed to get excited about any of the social networking sites. Maybe it is my age, or the fact that I haven't really kept in touch with anybody much as I have travelled around, but they just don't grab me.

The last one I tried was Facebook as my niece wanted me to sign up. I think I lasted 2 days!!! BUT I would say that my impression of all these groups is that they remind me of a self appointed club - you sort have to go with what they have set up rather than do your own thing - which is probably why I don't get on with them at all!

@Daneeeboy: Yeah we would probably setup a system where we approved the groups so there isn't any conflicts as you mentioned and the ecosystem doesn't get out of control. Just a thought though.