Chad McCulloughJan 1
It's 2026. How about we normalize NOT using social media as our website? I'm looking at you city governments, restaurants, businesses, orgs, etc.

Build a website to announce your events. The website doesn't have to be elaborate. Just something with a calendar of events.
Show threadLynn McAlister UE  Jan 1
@cmccullough Yeah, I get really annoyed when I go looking for information from a civic organization or a business and it's on Facebook. Why should people have to sign up to a proprietarial, actively harmful platform to hear about your events/offerings? This is especially annoying when it's the government, to which we're supposed to have access.
Show threadCarina C. ZonaJan 2

@lmgenealogy you'd be shocked how many people still have no idea how to make a basic one page website, let alone arrange hosting and do updates for it. Facebook goves them a way to instantly make their organization a presence on the internet without having to learn anything technical whatsoever. That it comes with messaging support and events support makes it even more appealing.

You or I know plenty of other ways to accomplish these. But none so easy for a non-technical person with no budget, no interest in tech learning, and no advisor to explain what the downsides are.

I hate it too. But the trend continues for reasons that make sense to the people who are choosing the easy path presented to them.

Show threadChris MartinJan 2
@cczona @lmgenealogy Plenty of them can't even manage to hang onto the Facebook account credentials
Show threadLynn McAlister UE  
@chris__martin @cczona I can believe this. When I worked at a local public library there were regular patrons who asked us to just keep their login information because otherwise every time they came in we'd have to set up yet another new email account for them. But a business - certainly a government institution - should make the effort to get someone to help them. There are many techy people out there (the CEO's grandchild could probably do it). I guess with a business it doesn't matter, as long as they don't mind losing some customers. But for public services, they're forcing people into an association, already understood to be predatory, that many people do not want. I understand that I'm shouting into the wind, but alas, that's what I do.
Jan 2 at 2:44pmWeb
Show threadAnne DelongJan 3

@lmgenealogy @chris__martin @cczona

I belong to organizations which compromise by keeping a static website, maintained occasionally, with general information: what the organization is about, phone numbers, mailing and email addresses, FAQ, etc.

They then have links to social media or a mailing list for reading about upcoming events and other time-sensitive announcements, asking questions, etc. I don't have a Facebook account, I can usually see the main page of an account.

Show threadChris MartinJan 3
@Anne_Delong @lmgenealogy @cczona I'd love to know a few general specifics about how they host the static site
Show threadAnne DelongJan 3

@chris__martin @lmgenealogy @cczona

One organization, a computer club, pays for a domain name, and joined an international organization of such clubs, who provided space on their server. The files are written old style in HTML in a text editor and FTP'd to the server.

Another group, a music club, also pays for a domain name; the files are edited by me using Dreamweaver and uploaded to my web space on Hostpapa, which allows add-on domains.

Both of these groups have Facebook pages too.

Show threadChris MartinJan 3
@Anne_Delong Thank you. Interesting how collaborative it all is
Show threadLynn McAlister UE  Jan 3
@Anne_Delong @chris__martin @cczona That's fine. I have no problem with groups using FB if they must - it's certainly the quickest way to reach the largest number of people. I only have a problem when there's no other way to access the information. If another way exists, then nobody is being forced to sign up for FB to have access. Especially when it's public services or something like that.
Show threadAnne DelongJan 3

@lmgenealogy @chris__martin @cczona

I agree - I don't have a Facebook account, and although many people enjoy keeping in touch with their friends on social media, it shouldn't be used as a replacement for a website for disseminating important information.

Show threadLynn McAlister UE  Jan 4
@Anne_Delong @chris__martin @cczona Or heaven forbid, X. Like, when that guy was running about shooting up people in NS, maybe the cops should have done something a bit more public than just post vague comments on Twitter.