5 ms·

And events. I use Facebook Events extensively. As a teen, I'd go to the movies with my friends maybe 4 times a year. Never went to any events. The extent of ou

by acchow 8y ago

And events. I use Facebook Events extensively. As a teen, I'd go to the movies with my friends maybe 4 times a year. Never went to any events. The extent of our fun was playing basketball or just sitting around.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
sanderjd 8y ago
See maybe this is why I never understood the supposed all-important-ness of Events. I still just hang out with friends or family or by myself rather than going to "events".
- jozzas 8y ago
  I follow local market and food truck events, a couple of cool bars and arcades I like that frequently have events on, a place that does dog-centric events, local car shows that are of interest to me, etc. Facebook then surfaces other events that it thinks are of interest to me, and most of them are. I'd say 75% of my social calendar comes from Facebook events. I can understand young people not being interested in any of this and following their specific interests, like following a band on instagram rather than a venue on facebook.
- michaelbuckbee 8y ago
  A few of the local meetups are organized over FB instead of Meetup.com (because even the few bucks that Meetup charged was "too expensive" - though I think more in time/logistics than in actual dollars). Similarly, my daughter's GirlScouts troop uses FB exclusively for organizing/announcements/voting, etc.
  - takluyver 8y ago
    I used to organise a local user group - it was free to attend, quite small, and we averaged maybe one meeting every couple of months. I wanted to put it on meetup.com for more visibility, but $10/month feels like a lot to pay for something so small and non-commercial.
- Tomte 8y ago
  I'm dancing Swing dances. Some scenes don't even have a web site or a newsletter (or the web site is always outdated and inaccurate). But they all plan their dances and workshops meticulously in Facebook. I can mark dances as "interesting" months before they happen and look up later what's coming next week. That's especially nice for other scenes than your own, in towns two hours or more away. It's the only thing keeping me on Facebook, because I don't see how to replace that.
  - hukjhgrvf 8y ago
    > I'm dancing Swing dances. ... Is this popular with American Teens? I am guessing not. Which kind of makes the GP's point.
    - azernik 8y ago
      At the older end of "teens" - a lot of people enter partner dance scenes when they're starting college. So 18-20-ish. (I'm a late bloomer, only started dancing at 25.) And at that point, yes, they start to do everything on Facebook.
  - royroyroys 8y ago
    This is also the only reason I keep using Facebook.
  - azernik 8y ago
    Same with me - Blues and Fusion. (The Tango scene is more traditional, websites and flyers.)
- acchow 8y ago
  Everyone has their own thing. Probably my second favourite thing is hanging out with friends and talking and laughing with wine. But I love nothing more than dancing the night away with great music. I'm a raver. Facebook Events is a game changer.
  - gaius 8y ago
    I'm a raver. Facebook Events is a game changer. When I started going to raves you got a phone call from a guy who heard from a guy that there was a layby off a remote B-road that you might want to be at and when you got there another guy would give you directions along an unnamed road to an abandoned airfield and that was where the rave was. Now we got corporate raves on a public website. The old way was better.
    - RandallBrown 8y ago
      I have to imagine those secret raves still exist. I also have to imagine that sometimes you just want to dance and it's probably nice to not have to jump through a lot of hoops to find a fun party.
    - HappyFapMachine 8y ago
      That way still exists, so not really "old way".
    - Cshelton 8y ago
      Yes, the raves you will only hear about from friends of friends are very much alive and well. Weekly in my area. The bars/clubs close at two, these start right after and go to 8am... 1pm next day... whatever you want.
- Balero 8y ago
  If we're gonna meet up for a few drinks or lunch/dinner, we just message a group (whatsapp/telegram) but if were sorting a weekend away, or a party then FB events gets used. Easy to keep the convo all together, post details, see whos coming etc.
- kinsomo 8y ago
  > See maybe this is why I never understood the supposed all-important-ness of Events. I still just hang out with friends or family or by myself rather than going to "events". It's not so much all-important, but it's the one feature that impacts Facebook-abstainers the most. If someone's planning a party and is lazily using FB events, you'll probably be left out if you don't have an account.
  - sanderjd 8y ago
    My point is that I, and I suspect lots of people, aren't reliant on being included in party planning of this sort. I just send or receive a message to my friends or family like "barbecue at 6:30 on Friday?" or way more often I don't do that at all and just chill at home. I'm not at all saying that there isn't a very large contingent of people for whom Events is super useful because they do way more stuff that makes sense to plan that way, I know that this contingent definitely does exist. What I'm saying is that there is another contingent of people like me who just don't do that, and people often seem to be in disbelief that such people exist. We do!
- cirgue 8y ago
  It’s hard to coordinate large numbers of people without events. Organizing a party before Facebook was actually a lot of work compared to now, when all of the information you need is all in one place.
developer2 8y ago
Your saying "I use Facebook Events extensively" places you most likely in the ~30-50 age range. The 30+ crowd appears to believe that FaceBook is the most logical way to organize events - you can check in on your own schedule, without feeling pressured into immediately responding to someone poking you about joining up. Today's youth has no problem being expected to respond within minutes - or in the worst case, a couple of hours - to an inquiry made via SMS or Snapchat. ie: Older person: "I may have some free time this weekend, maybe I'll check FaceBook tomorrow to see if anyone is planning something"; vs. younger generation: "Someone snapped our group telling us to come out with them Saturday, I'll decide in the next 5 minutes whether I'm in or out".
- Jommi 8y ago
  This seems very very disconnected from reality. You're confusing the word "events" for meaning "meeting up with friends" In reality FB events are extensively used by ages 16-30 as well for bigger group gatherings, such as going on holiday, going for a weekend somewhere, or something like that. Your anecdote look like something an older person would charicaturize about youth and elderly.
  - kinsomo 8y ago
    > In reality FB events are extensively used by ages 16-30 as well for bigger group gatherings, such as going on holiday, going for a weekend somewhere, or something like that. I don't understand why you'd use FB events for "going on holiday, going for a weekend somewhere." Those things would entail a smaller, tighter knit group with much more communication and planning. Group chat seems like a better fit. IMO, FB events are really only suitable for things like parties, with an large invite/smaller rsvp dynamic, with mostly broadcast messages from the host.
    - Jommi 8y ago
      Oh I meant "bigger group" holidays, ones arranged by a society/class. Yes groupchat is better when it's less than say, 8 people. FB events are suitable for lots of things, I woulnd't say it in such a reductionary manner like "only parties".
bobf 8y ago
Closed groups are big for certain use cases - either for small-ish hobby+location specific communities or for attendees of some large events (i.e. music festivals).
- bitcoinbutter 8y ago
  Yes, Facebook is very popular for expat groups around the world. Nearly every city with an active expat community has an extremely active Facebook group where people communicate. It's automatically assumed that other expats in the area are subscribed. This may be more of a 20+ use case, but either way, Facebook groups provide a sense of community. They are more personal than subreddits and less personal than a group chat.

by acchow 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

sanderjd 8y ago

See maybe this is why I never understood the supposed all-important-ness of Events. I still just hang out with friends or family or by myself rather than going to "events".

jozzas 8y ago
I follow local market and food truck events, a couple of cool bars and arcades I like that frequently have events on, a place that does dog-centric events, local car shows that are of interest to me, etc. Facebook then surfaces other events that it thinks are of interest to me, and most of them are. I'd say 75% of my social calendar comes from Facebook events. I can understand young people not being interested in any of this and following their specific interests, like following a band on instagram rather than a venue on facebook.
michaelbuckbee 8y ago
A few of the local meetups are organized over FB instead of Meetup.com (because even the few bucks that Meetup charged was "too expensive" - though I think more in time/logistics than in actual dollars). Similarly, my daughter's GirlScouts troop uses FB exclusively for organizing/announcements/voting, etc.
- takluyver 8y ago
  I used to organise a local user group - it was free to attend, quite small, and we averaged maybe one meeting every couple of months. I wanted to put it on meetup.com for more visibility, but $10/month feels like a lot to pay for something so small and non-commercial.
Tomte 8y ago
I'm dancing Swing dances. Some scenes don't even have a web site or a newsletter (or the web site is always outdated and inaccurate). But they all plan their dances and workshops meticulously in Facebook. I can mark dances as "interesting" months before they happen and look up later what's coming next week. That's especially nice for other scenes than your own, in towns two hours or more away. It's the only thing keeping me on Facebook, because I don't see how to replace that.
- hukjhgrvf 8y ago
  > I'm dancing Swing dances. ... Is this popular with American Teens? I am guessing not. Which kind of makes the GP's point.
  - azernik 8y ago
    At the older end of "teens" - a lot of people enter partner dance scenes when they're starting college. So 18-20-ish. (I'm a late bloomer, only started dancing at 25.) And at that point, yes, they start to do everything on Facebook.
- royroyroys 8y ago
  This is also the only reason I keep using Facebook.
- azernik 8y ago
  Same with me - Blues and Fusion. (The Tango scene is more traditional, websites and flyers.)
acchow 8y ago
Everyone has their own thing. Probably my second favourite thing is hanging out with friends and talking and laughing with wine. But I love nothing more than dancing the night away with great music. I'm a raver. Facebook Events is a game changer.
- gaius 8y ago
  I'm a raver. Facebook Events is a game changer. When I started going to raves you got a phone call from a guy who heard from a guy that there was a layby off a remote B-road that you might want to be at and when you got there another guy would give you directions along an unnamed road to an abandoned airfield and that was where the rave was. Now we got corporate raves on a public website. The old way was better.
  - RandallBrown 8y ago
    I have to imagine those secret raves still exist. I also have to imagine that sometimes you just want to dance and it's probably nice to not have to jump through a lot of hoops to find a fun party.
  - HappyFapMachine 8y ago
    That way still exists, so not really "old way".
  - Cshelton 8y ago
    Yes, the raves you will only hear about from friends of friends are very much alive and well. Weekly in my area. The bars/clubs close at two, these start right after and go to 8am... 1pm next day... whatever you want.
Balero 8y ago
If we're gonna meet up for a few drinks or lunch/dinner, we just message a group (whatsapp/telegram) but if were sorting a weekend away, or a party then FB events gets used. Easy to keep the convo all together, post details, see whos coming etc.
kinsomo 8y ago
> See maybe this is why I never understood the supposed all-important-ness of Events. I still just hang out with friends or family or by myself rather than going to "events". It's not so much all-important, but it's the one feature that impacts Facebook-abstainers the most. If someone's planning a party and is lazily using FB events, you'll probably be left out if you don't have an account.
- sanderjd 8y ago
  My point is that I, and I suspect lots of people, aren't reliant on being included in party planning of this sort. I just send or receive a message to my friends or family like "barbecue at 6:30 on Friday?" or way more often I don't do that at all and just chill at home. I'm not at all saying that there isn't a very large contingent of people for whom Events is super useful because they do way more stuff that makes sense to plan that way, I know that this contingent definitely does exist. What I'm saying is that there is another contingent of people like me who just don't do that, and people often seem to be in disbelief that such people exist. We do!
cirgue 8y ago
It’s hard to coordinate large numbers of people without events. Organizing a party before Facebook was actually a lot of work compared to now, when all of the information you need is all in one place.

developer2 8y ago

Your saying "I use Facebook Events extensively" places you most likely in the ~30-50 age range. The 30+ crowd appears to believe that FaceBook is the most logical way to organize events - you can check in on your own schedule, without feeling pressured into immediately responding to someone poking you about joining up. Today's youth has no problem being expected to respond within minutes - or in the worst case, a couple of hours - to an inquiry made via SMS or Snapchat. ie: Older person: "I may have some free time this weekend, maybe I'll check FaceBook tomorrow to see if anyone is planning something"; vs. younger generation: "Someone snapped our group telling us to come out with them Saturday, I'll decide in the next 5 minutes whether I'm in or out".

Jommi 8y ago
This seems very very disconnected from reality. You're confusing the word "events" for meaning "meeting up with friends" In reality FB events are extensively used by ages 16-30 as well for bigger group gatherings, such as going on holiday, going for a weekend somewhere, or something like that. Your anecdote look like something an older person would charicaturize about youth and elderly.
- kinsomo 8y ago
  > In reality FB events are extensively used by ages 16-30 as well for bigger group gatherings, such as going on holiday, going for a weekend somewhere, or something like that. I don't understand why you'd use FB events for "going on holiday, going for a weekend somewhere." Those things would entail a smaller, tighter knit group with much more communication and planning. Group chat seems like a better fit. IMO, FB events are really only suitable for things like parties, with an large invite/smaller rsvp dynamic, with mostly broadcast messages from the host.
  - Jommi 8y ago
    Oh I meant "bigger group" holidays, ones arranged by a society/class. Yes groupchat is better when it's less than say, 8 people. FB events are suitable for lots of things, I woulnd't say it in such a reductionary manner like "only parties".

bobf 8y ago

Closed groups are big for certain use cases - either for small-ish hobby+location specific communities or for attendees of some large events (i.e. music festivals).

bitcoinbutter 8y ago
Yes, Facebook is very popular for expat groups around the world. Nearly every city with an active expat community has an extremely active Facebook group where people communicate. It's automatically assumed that other expats in the area are subscribed. This may be more of a 20+ use case, but either way, Facebook groups provide a sense of community. They are more personal than subreddits and less personal than a group chat.