h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

https://twitter.com/TorstenBell/status/1016361288333758464

Time for a BBC version of Facebook - is the call from the always thought provoking @DianeCoyle1859. Great read with badly needed creative thinking. Just slightly dodges the competition for the market vs within the market challenge from public provision https://www.ft.com/content/d56744a0-835c-11e8-9199-c2a4754b5a0e …

Yes indeed - I first got into messageboards and h2g2 via the BBC because I felt OK there with Auntie Beeb looking out for me, but then the rest was history...

I suspect that Facebook has the market pretty thoroughly penetrated. How are you going to get tens of millions of people to switch?

Maybe China knows.

I miss the Guide when as it was. I liked talking to people all over the world without being concerned about someone at work complaining to the sheriff. Now it seems so quiet.

Yesterday was particularly quiet. I assumed everyone was down at the pub watching the footy.

~~ ~ ~ ~

Maybe Nighthoover and Elvis were at that pub too.

Yeah, Facebook has a cunning strategy, that people aren't all that keen on it in general for various reasons, but people can't stop using it because they want to stay in contact with other people who can't stop using it because they want to stay in contact with other people who can't stop using it...

h2g2 is much nicer for not being viral, but it is a risk that people forget about it even though it is a great place to talk to people around the world and share knowledge about all kinds of topics

Maybe someday they'll fin a cure for the viral malady that F***book keeps infecting people with.

Hootoo is a place where you can think quietly and take your time..and I can't persuade my family/friends to use it so FB is my go too place to keep in contact quickly.

Maybe FB is a certified thinking-free zone.

Why think when you can share a meme with a simple click?

I know that many here sneer at FaceBook. For me, it is an active way to be in touch with many family and friends of 40 years that are all over the world. This includes quite a number of 'researchers' who simply drifted away from h2g2 when it was still under the BBC, but also families and co-workers of military times over the years.

h2g2 is not very likely to attract any of these people - especially those who had their own reasons for wandering off without flounces.

Facebook is casual, but it's a hard place to carry on a lengthy conversation. That's one of the big things that I miss about here.

I recall there being access issues here that caused some problems. It wasn't easy to get on if you forgot a password or login. I nearly lost my ability to get on ten years or so ago.

I wonder if it would be better if there was an app or a way to do push notifications when someone responded to a conversation. I think it would, but there may be issues that I haven't thought of.

The site needs to be more phone friendly. I generally do personal stuff in my phone rather than a computer. It's a real pain.

That's not to say that I don't love Facebook. In many ways I do. It's my photo album and the place that I keep in touch with people that I know.

It's also the place where I learn that half of my friends are jerks or incapable if thinking deeply about issues.

I wish Google Plus had been more successful. I liked the way you could designate "circles" of people and have conversations within those circles and overlapping circles.

Now the only posts I ever see on G+ is from h2g2.

That's currently a reality with Facebook, most of it done automatically, pre-empting G+.

I finally established a Facebook account since it was a convenient way to stay in touch with my sisters.

I never really figured out Google+. I migrated from here to LiveJournal to Facebook.

I've got admit I really miss IGoogle.

Before Google stopped supporting it, I used it every day.

Yeah, I joined FB on encouragement from my sister

I don't really understand Google+ either, but that is reassuring that Baron Grim sees my communications on behalf of h2g2