Another Bran' New Facebook site 'Old Guitar Pickers'

[Kerry Krishna]

  I am now doing admin/mod on the months old ' Old Guitar Pickers' site. It has a certain charm, is about 95% about acoustics, and is actually starting to grow a bit too big for my comfort level. It sure is an interesting place. 

  A few observations

: There is a massive number of folks over 55 who think that no acoustic guitars on the planet are worth playing except for Martins, and they are 100% convinced that every person on the planet should agree. It seems to be a product of their age also....

It's pretty amazing the thought process involved in keeping that thought process alive in this day and age... It's almost to the point of talking about any other brand makes the person die a bit. It's pretty darn ridiculous actually (and thank goodness that they don't speak up about it vera often.) 

                      : Hardcore flatpicking is alive and well  and in great hands with the younger folks. There is a young'un who is tattooed head to toe, even the back of his hands, who three times a week is posting new vids of himself playing all these hardcore steep learning curve pieces. He is SO enthusiastic about doing it, and the Internet is his teacher! He is from Sweden too, and is a great study

                      : Russ Swanson, who is the Mod there is really into the idea of this little place, and it is growing so fast! I had to approve 27 folks one day last week. 

!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/OldGuitarPickers/requests/?notif_t=...

                      

[Ned Knepp]

Morning Kerry,

 There is one problem with building a "site" on Facebook, they want me to sign up just to see the content. When someone builds a "site" on face book, it's not like the other web sites on the Internet which allow everyone to view the content before signing up. Facebook is the site and your pages or the pages you are linking to are your "Facebook site" and only a small portion of that site. Your pages are part of an access controlled Facebook site and are not directly or freely available to everyone on the Internet, they have to pass through Facebook to get there. Facebook isn't really on the business of hosting web sites so much as they are in the business of building a social network that it under their exclusive control. Facebook is, in essence, a club. Membership is required before a person can even see if the "site" is something they are interested in. 

 I don't have a membership and I don't particularly want one so I'm excluded from most of the content that anyone puts up on Facebook. I can't access either of the last link you posted because I'm not a member of the Facebook club. Unless there is a way that I'm unaware of to access Facebook pages without a login, I cannot see the content on these "sites".

I could get a membership but I don't want a membership, I don't want a Facebook page, I don't want to have another Internet "thing" to manage so I can't see the content you linked to.

Rant over.   

[LARRY KLOSE]

Rant doubled.  I have the same problems with FB.  Don't want to surrender my privacy and I don't need another piece of business.  The internet is already too big a time suck as it is.  

Luddite I yam,

Larry

[Mark McLean]

Hi Kerry

I would be keen to visit and participate in a forum like that.  But, like Ned and Larry said, I am not a Facebooker and don't want to be.  So I guess that counts me out.  No hard feelings though, and I hope it goes well.  Good on you for trying to broaden the minds of players who will only look at one brand of guitar. 

Cheers

Mark

[Ron frazier]

Kerry

I have a music store and personily I have in Martins a 60s mandolin  a single O 18  1947 a OO 18 a OOO 18 and a D 28.  The only thing I have to worry about whitch one Martin do I want to play.

Ron

[Kerry Krishna]

 There is nothing I can do to help you folks get access to see over there.  For my own Facebook photoessays that I post here, , there is a certain link that I have to go and find and post in places like this that is universal and always works for everyone.

  As to having to join Facebook to see the page, there is nothing I can do to help you folks if you don't want to join up. Speaking personally, I find a lot of enjoyment over there, and there is a ton of places like 'Old Guitar Pickers' that have an amazing amount of relevant stuff for me. I am on every single day, and enjoy my time there.

   Once I learned enough about Facebook, It made my life a bit richer, but I suspect that none of the three of you believe that it would do the same for you. Ah well, to each their own. 

[Ned Knepp]

I didn't expect you to do anything about this, Kerry. I know what the issue is and I know that I could gain access by signing up for FB. I was pointing out that creating a "site" on FB isn't like this site or Frets.com.  Your information is very good and I'm sure the other material is too but it's behind a portal that stops anyone from even seeing it unless they sign up. Frankly, I find that grating. ( Nothing personal towards you, you understand.)

Besides that, I'm finding more and more people that I know, that have been using FB are drifting away from it now. Even my kids both of which are in their 20's have stopped using FB because they feel like it's just too much trouble and most of the friends they used it to keep in touch with have stopped responding or updating as well.

 Searching for information on Kay instruments will give me hits on your material and it seems that you have built a very good reputation for that but being on FB automatically excludes many people from accessing what you have work so hard to put together. I guess I'm really saying that I wish your material and the material you are linking to was on a more open site or even a site of your own.