Considering a Move from Yahoo to Facebook

Up to this point, the Texas HSP Group has always had its home on the Yahoo Groups network. In the beginning, this worked quite well, as Yahoo was one of the better forum providers out there.

Unfortunately (for us and many others) Yahoo Groups went through a major format change a couple of years ago, and the new layout and features for groups are really not very conducive to interaction and conversation.

Even Yahoo old-timers have found the new interface difficult to use.

We are gradually coming to the realization that maybe the idea of having an "email group" has more or less run its course.

One possibility under consideration is to simply move the group's "headquarters" to Facebook. I have written about this previously, and shared the idea inside the group... with a somewhat mixed response.

Of course, a lot of HSPs don't like Facebook, and avoid the social media giant like the plague. However, we have to consider the fact that activity in the HSP Texas group has dropped to almost nothing in the last few years. So it's safe to say that the YahooGroups format is NOT working out for anyone.

After all, there's not much point in being a member in a group if there's never any activity!

Some people would probably follow us to Facebook, and by having a group (possibly a "closed" group) there, we could also gain more exposure, and hopefully help the group grow.

After all, the entire point in forming this group in the first place was to help HSPs connect with each other for friendship and support. And that is NOT happening, at the moment... so the group is not serving its original purpose.

Comments and feedback invited and welcomed!

Facebook, twitter and other Social Media

We have been cautiously considering the possibility of having a page on Facebook, as well as a twitter account, to help promote the group. Even after almost four years in existence, the group still only has 66 members... in a state with almost 25 million people.

For the moment, we're playing it pretty low key. The challenge with using venues like Facebook and twitter is that (a) they are global, and we are a statewide group, and (b) HSPs are not necessarily comfortable with the idea if social media... and how "public" these venues are.

We will continue to discuss and consider. In the meantime, we will look at other ways to add new members to the group.