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Post by richardw on Apr 30, 2016 0:52:44 GMT -5
Facebook has turned most forums into ghost towns. It's unfortunate, but people go where the discussion is and there is more of it on Facebook due to the lower barrier to participation. Some of the New Zealand gardening FB groups are so full of boring dribble that i only contribute when the occasional interesting topic does come up. For me its mainly here and tomatoville. |
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Post by copse on Apr 30, 2016 3:02:08 GMT -5
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Post by templeton on Apr 30, 2016 7:23:40 GMT -5
The decline in gardening forums that most have noticed here is interesting. I also find the linear nature of FB frustrating. And the way stuff just gets all jumbled up. While barriers to entry might explain some of it - I can recall my impatience, and a certain amount of trepidation when first joining a garden forum in Oz - I think there might also be a 'shelf life' effect, along with a bit of burnout. I'm sure there is good research on this somewhere. Studies of rural community Landcare Groups indicates there are key figures that drive activity - when enthusiasm of the focal members declines, or burns out, often the groups atrophy. I suspect that there is also an immediacy thing going on with FB, dare I suggest that the perceived short attention spans of younger cohorts than me might require that immediacy, that the ubiquity of handheld devices might also have something to do with it, FOMO effect.
And finally, I'm still surprised at the dearth of intellectually stimulating gardening/food production/breeding online communication sites, whatever their colour. I occasionally look, but return relatively empty handed. Maybe my search engines/terms are skewed...maybe I'm too old and comfortable.
And finally finally, I don't quite have the online energy I used to. My blog is looking pretty stale, the Oz forum gets less posts from me, I dip into fewer blogs - I think there is less novelty now I'm more informed garden-wise, and I spend a bit more time in the garden.
For the record, I post a bit on Ozgrow, less on Growing Food Saving Seeds, and dip occasionally into Mudflower blog, and the Plant breeding for Permiculture FB group. Tomatoville hasnt had a visit in over a year. TRAVESTY ALERT! After years of growing lots of tomatoes, trying heaps of different varieties, I stick to a few that do well for me- sorry, but tomatoes aren't that interesting horticulturally and genetically. In my little back yard there is no way i can really cut it, because so much work has already been done. There are more interesting things to fool with.
T
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Post by nicollas on Apr 30, 2016 11:15:56 GMT -5
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coppice
gardener
gardening curmudgeon
Posts: 149
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Post by coppice on Apr 30, 2016 20:51:09 GMT -5
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Post by darrenabbey on May 2, 2016 2:11:54 GMT -5
TRAVESTY ALERT! After years of growing lots of tomatoes, trying heaps of different varieties, I stick to a few that do well for me- sorry, but tomatoes aren't that interesting horticulturally and genetically. In my little back yard there is no way i can really cut it, because so much work has already been done. There are more interesting things to fool with. If you're just looking for good taste/production, yeah, it is pretty worked over. If you're looking in novel directions, however, there's lots of room. A spikey, crunchy, and floral-tasting tomato would be interesting. On the topic of favorite gardening sites... I tend to bounce between Tomatoville and here, though I'm always looking for interesting blogs. I tend to not find much interest in standard gardening blogs, but more interest in the blogs documenting the garden experiences of individual plant growers/breeders/gardeners. |
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Post by raymondo on May 2, 2016 15:27:21 GMT -5
Here is the main place I read/post. OzGrow forum would be next. The only FB group I follow is the plant breeding for permaculture one though I check in only occasionally. Blogs rarely get a look in.
Like T and Toomanyironns, my interest in tomatoes is as food or for sale. I will be doing some trialling and selection work for the new garden aimed at improved production of favourites.
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Post by Gianna on May 4, 2016 12:40:12 GMT -5
What I don't like about Facebook sites is you can't read old threads. That is where much meat is in forums. What I've seen on FB thus far has not been very informative, although admittedly, I haven't looked that much. There is some good older stuff in a few of the 'gardening/soil rooms' at Permies.com, but there is an over-arching vibe there that is off-putting. Hopefully some of the more tradition forum sites will get more active as the season progresses.  |
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