Why Facebook cannot really help you in your neighborhood

E-democracy is working on a blog post on the Top Ten Reasons Facebook (Alone) Doesn’t Cut It for Neighbors Online. This is a partial, extra-short summary of that page, expressly written in the hope that it will motivate you to join that discussion, understand what is at stake and get out of the dangerous “Facebook-only” bubble.

  1. by using only Facebook you eliminate at least 1/3 of your potential online audience, not to mention inter-generational connection potential
  2. Most people don’t friend many neighbors, deliberately
  3. Facebook gives you what you like most, not what you need to know
  4. Facebook pages don’t work for effective neighbor connecting. They are too passive and not designed to connect diverse cultures in the same neighborhood
  5. Facebook Groups (version 2) were designed for small, often private groups of under 50 people. They removed the reference to “50″ people from their support materials, but keep that in mind. Besides, they don’t support attachments, or pre-moderation
  6. With Facebook, a group creator has no control over features, default settings, privacy or advertising. Exporting a group outside Facebook? Good luck!