What can Maplewood Online do more at the local level?

More than anything IMHO, MOL has an awareness deficit. Of course people who have moved to SOMA in the past 10-12 years look to local groups on FB instead of finding this site. FB is a behemoth with hundreds of millions of dollars for marketing, and an enormous network that can exponentially expand a local group through the shared connections of its users.

But as others have pointed out there are qualities of this group that are different (and some may say better in significant ways from FB or Twitter). First and foremost to me is that I get to choose what I want to see here. On other platforms I see what they want me to see. Which means not everything is served chronologically or in an order of importance that makes sense to the user. 

Here's an example. I have a FB friend who is a Boston Bruins fan. He posted about their great season thus far and I replied that they should be looking out for the Devils. Over the next week I started to get daily Boston Bruins content. I wasn't sure why until I recalled responding to my friend's Bruins post. So to stop it I had to request that FB sink that content in my feed. That kind of nonsense interferes with getting to content we really want.

And as others have pointed out, this is a discussion board. It's built to keep discussions organized so that people can have a real back and forth. A back and forth that doesn't sink and disappear from a feed. In my opinion Jamie moderates this board in a more fair way than some of the local FB groups. And not for nothing, but most of the people who post here are more polite than in the FB groups. I stopped posting in the FB groups months ago. It just wasn't worth it. Too much toxicity.

Lastly, I like the anonymous nature of this board. Personally, I'm not really anonymous in the sense that just about anyone in SOMA who knows me IRL knows who I am here. But I'm anonymous to Google. If you search my real name, none of the stuff I post here is going to appear. I don't particularly want everyone to know what I post here, without all the context. 

I don't have the solution to the lack of awareness though.  It's easy for me to say Jamie should do a marketing blitz and explain the advantages of this site. But that would probably take a fair amount of spending.  Maybe all of us who use the site can help generate some word of mouth about what we like about it.


I always recommend this site whenever I meet someone new or just visiting. They mostly have no idea this site exists. Like Ml1 said, we can promote it just by talking about it. 


jamie said:

GoSlugs said:

There was an exodus from MOL to Facebook about seven years ago when the format changed and everyone had to reregister or make new accounts.  

These days, however, I think the force that is really competing with MOL for eyeballs is Nextdoor.  That is where a lot of the conversations about noisy neighbors and playgroups are taking place.  I am no longer a member of the MAPSO Nextdoor but I do watch the Edmonton version and it is, in many ways,  just a crappier version of MOL. Personally, I don't get the attraction, the format is terrible and the moderating is just as bad but the activity level reminds me if MOL circa 2010.

Michael Goldberg says that he doesn't know what the next thing will be and neither do I but, for my money, the current thing for a lot of younger parents who want to network about their community is Nextdoor.  

Yeah Nextdoor was pretty flimsy when they launched.  Now they really have incredibly aggressive email campaigns, which are probably effective.    

They charge businesses $25,000 for sponsored posts and have other revenue streams.  In 2021 they only lost $95 million dollars.  And they've raised over $717 million.

Hard to know what the next big thing will be.  

It's part of my logic to create JamieSpace - it provides a less manic environment for small groups who may not want their information as part of a large social media company's data stream.  For those who need a break from the hyper stream of these megaplatforms.

I don't use NextDoor and probably never will. It turned into a neighborhood surveillance tool with neighbors spying on neighbors and people contacting the police unnecessarily.  If spying is your thing, the NextDoor is probably your platform.


yahooyahoo said:

jamie said:

GoSlugs said:

There was an exodus from MOL to Facebook about seven years ago when the format changed and everyone had to reregister or make new accounts.  

These days, however, I think the force that is really competing with MOL for eyeballs is Nextdoor.  That is where a lot of the conversations about noisy neighbors and playgroups are taking place.  I am no longer a member of the MAPSO Nextdoor but I do watch the Edmonton version and it is, in many ways,  just a crappier version of MOL. Personally, I don't get the attraction, the format is terrible and the moderating is just as bad but the activity level reminds me if MOL circa 2010.

Michael Goldberg says that he doesn't know what the next thing will be and neither do I but, for my money, the current thing for a lot of younger parents who want to network about their community is Nextdoor.  

Yeah Nextdoor was pretty flimsy when they launched.  Now they really have incredibly aggressive email campaigns, which are probably effective.    

They charge businesses $25,000 for sponsored posts and have other revenue streams.  In 2021 they only lost $95 million dollars.  And they've raised over $717 million.

Hard to know what the next big thing will be.  

It's part of my logic to create JamieSpace - it provides a less manic environment for small groups who may not want their information as part of a large social media company's data stream.  For those who need a break from the hyper stream of these megaplatforms.

I don't use NextDoor and probably neverl will. It turned into a neighborhood surveillance tool with neighbors spying on neighbors and people contacting the police unnecessarily.  If spying is your thing, the NextDoor is probably your platform.

NextDoor also strikes me as fairly toxic. There are some people out there who are aggrieved about a lot of things, many of them that don't even affect them personally (in the pre-internet days we called those people "busybodies" grin  )

There have certainly been people on MOL who seem angry about everything, but FB is much worse. What a strange paradox that on this anonymous board people tend to behave better than people using their real names on FB. There are a few people I am familiar with only through their FB posts, and TBH, I don't want to meet them for real. They seem like generally unpleasant people.


This conversation has been interesting and I've been thinking about it to make sure I knew what I thought before posting.

First - I was a long-ago user of MOL under a different user name. Not one of the top posters, not known to everybody, but I was definitely there. I killed that ID when toxic things started bleeding from here into real life - and I will never ever reveal my real life identity here. So I also like the anonymous nature of this board as compared to FB.

Second - re toxicity - it is better here now, there was a brief period when things got weird and I left for a couple/few years after that. I'm not on FB but I see references here to the toxicity on the local groups there, so I guess all the nastiness just migrated away. Also, as others have said, Jamie is a firm but kind hand in keeping things drama-free. I like that.

Third - I will never be a FB user. I have strong objections to it as a company, but I also cannot stand the model of they push the content to you. NextDoor strikes me as creepy - the neighbor with the binoculars spying on you, ugh. The Nasty Nellies gossiping over the fence. Count me as Not Interested.

But all of that is only background info. The main issue is what is MOL for? I use it now primarily for information, e.g. the recycling thread was / is extremely helpful to me. I rely on Max Weisenfeld and WxNut for accurate, un-hyped information about weather events. We got good info about COVID shots when that was really important. A few other odds & ends here and there. Recommendations of contractors that aren't created by bots or paid raters, that sort of thing. What sets MOL apart for me, compared to other sources of information, is that I trust it. 

But the original mission of MOL was social, I think. Like others I prefer the give & take format here - but you can't help but notice there are very few people engaged in that back & forth any more. It's just not fun any more in the same way that it used to be. Except for (for me) Mark Sierra's jokes - and AFAIK he has never even been to the USA let alone in Maplewood! I assume some people like the sports stuff etc. I won't touch the politics area as I find the discussion there kind of pointless for anything other than blowing off steam. Nobody's going to change their minds. Nobody's learning anything new. I haven't been on there in a long time so apologies if this seems incorrect to anybody, but that's been my strong impression.

I think the social aspect of MOL is fine for those still here but Jamie can't expect this to be a growth area for him, either. It doesn't seem to me that new people are likely to come here and the existing ones are slowly disappearing.

If this is primarily for information, then it needs to be excellent at information and providing value that is different from what people can get from Village Green or the SO or MW webpages etc.

And the paradox is that most of this great information comes via people participating in a social way, rather than officially. E.g. the recycling thread, or the weather threads.

So I don't know what the answer is here - I'm just outlining my random thoughts in the hope that something is useful for Jamie.


ml1 said:

There have certainly been people on MOL who seem angry about everything, but FB is much worse. What a strange paradox that on this anonymous board people tend to behave better than people using their real names on FB. There are a few people I am familiar with only through their FB posts, and TBH, I don't want to meet them for real. They seem like generally unpleasant people.

This has always been a complaint by many people, that things would be nicer if everyone wasn't anonymous.  Weird how that's not the case. 

I know someone else who I run into yearly, and she would say that MOL is all mean threads/angry people, then I would ask - like what?  And then she'd say she hasn't been on.  I know politics can be divisive - but on the main section, things have been pretty tame.


HatsOff said:

 It's just not fun any more in the same way that it used to be. 

You know, I think this could serve as a general comment on the internet as a whole. So  much more toxicity and so much less fun.


GoSlugs said:

HatsOff said:

 It's just not fun any more in the same way that it used to be. 

You know, I think this could serve as a general comment on the internet as a whole. So  much more toxicity and so much less fun.

I think MOL is a bit like SNL... it's often trashed as 'not as good' anymore, but then we find ourselves quoting from recent sketches like the old times.


I don't think that you are going to get many groundbreaking ideas about the site from the people who have aged with it.  The people who needed something more left.  Those are the folks you need to talk to.


sprout said:

I think MOL is a bit like SNL... it's often trashed as 'not as good' anymore, but then we find ourselves quoting from recent sketches like the old times.

Ah, the good old days.  Hard to bring them back:


DanDietrich said:

I don't think that you are going to get many groundbreaking ideas about the site from the people who have aged with it.  The people who needed something more left.  Those are the folks you need to talk to.

pretty sure a lot of the people who left are the same ones making FB groups intolerable. It's not a coincidence that any perceived toxic environment on MOL started to decrease as FB became more dominant. 


ml1 said:

pretty sure a lot of the people who left are the same ones making FB groups intolerable. It's not a coincidence that any perceived toxic environment on MOL started to decrease as FB became more dominant. 

exactly!

I have a friend from south orange who left MOL and joined next door whatever… she ended up selling her house and moving away from this area. 
I never joined any of those groups. 
This site has lost some of the best members over the years, dying way too young, and some of the older members are dealing with their own illnesses. Priorities change as we age. 
Is there anyway to post up some posters and flyers at the train station about MOL? What if we all chipped in to print them up? I would hate to see this site disappear. Jamie is way too much of a nice person. Honestly.


I liked what HatsOff said - "What sets MOL apart for me,compared to other sources of information,is that I trust it." I certainly agree.


If you had an in with the schools where they had their groups and postings on MOL that would be excellent. The two main reasons I'm on FB are all of the school updates are on there and I foster dogs and the agency uses FB. 


there are some really good subgroups and discussions here. And that's one of the things that I like about MOL that you don't get as easily on Facebook. I'm a pretty frequent contributor to threads on NYT Spelling Bee, the Mets, and baseball "hot stove". Those are good groups with respectful and very knowledgable contributors.  I can't think of too many similar experience that I have on FB. And sure as hell not on Twitter.


That is what interests me on FB…an international group on container gardening…. old  maplewood reminiscences, photos, etc…..a similar Bay Ridge Brooklyn group going back to WW2… my own community’s FB page which, during the pandemic isolation, provided vital connections. ZERO political focus.



Placing the ads in the discussion threads is a great idea. 


Thanks - I thought it was better then on top - especially in the mobile view.  Made several tweaks.


jamie said:

Thanks - I thought it was better then on top - especially in the mobile view.  Made several tweaks.

There used to be a thread for screen shots of humorous thread pairings on the main page (can't think of the name).  You will have to watch out for that.


GoSlugs said:

jamie said:

Thanks - I thought it was better then on top - especially in the mobile view.  Made several tweaks.

There used to be a thread for screen shots of humorous thread pairings on the main page (can't think of the name).  You will have to watch out for that.

This one?  More fun with thread titles...


marksierra said:

This one?  More fun with thread titles...

Exactly! For example, this thread about Vlad’s interest in landscaping caught my eye this morning. cheese

ETA: Which is to say it caught my eye which I suppose is what you want in advertising. 


I really like/liked the thread about funny quotes that were pulled out-of-context from MOL posts.


GoSlugs said:

Exactly! For example, this thread about Vlad’s interest in landscaping caught my eye this morning.
cheese

ETA: Which is to say it caught my eye which I suppose is what you want in advertising. 

I just wanted to post this to see if anyone can beat my score of unread What does Putin want posts.


ridski said:

I just wanted to post this to see if anyone can beat my score of unread What does Putin want posts.

Not me, even though the question appears to have been answered.


I try hard, not always successfully, to stay out of that entire politics section.


ridski said:

GoSlugs said:

Exactly! For example, this thread about Vlad’s interest in landscaping caught my eye this morning.
cheese

ETA: Which is to say it caught my eye which I suppose is what you want in advertising. 

I just wanted to post this to see if anyone can beat my score of unread What does Putin want posts.

dude


and I'm always in the Politics section grin 


ml1 said:

and I'm always in the Politics section
grin
 

I switched off the Russia category, which made it easier. 


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