Food for thought
Massachusetts
I was killing some time earlier and came across a thread on some other page of this web site where Pat (Bowsite head honcho) wrote that there are 500,000 registered users of Bowsite. Although he pointed out that some fraction of these are one-time users, that’s still an awful lot of people. And of course, you don’t have to be registered in order to read the threads. So I assume there’s another entire universe of unregistered readers. Worth keeping in mind.
Crap Jeb that's almost a half million. And then some.
Seriously, thanks for the info.
I don’t have Facebook, Twitter or Instagram but they are killing these types of forums.
How are they killing these forums?
Spike , I was reading about this today and have long thought that the choices that come up in a search are controlled by the stuff at the top of the list. One needs to dig deep into every subject. The one who is jamming the information into the top slot is the culprit. Controlling/flooding the information pool is not a new thing. Propaganda has always been a tool of persuasion.
Info-media is a Hollywood production. Hollywood is a bunch of actors. Actors are good at pretending. Not much else as a rule.
Hunting/fishing groups on Facebook far more active and have more users. We are a very small audience on Bowsite.
I prefer Bowsite.
Only Facebook I go on is some hunting stores and that’s it. And what the hell is Twitter lol.
Don't even know what Facebook and Twitter are. Don't intend to find out either :-)
I don't have any of those things either. Bowsite is perfect
Yup. None of that crap for me either. It seems that those are loaded with "progressive-minded Millennials and other similar folks) They take gossip as truth and just pass it on.
But searching for information (through the computer) is convenient and when you do, it too can be loaded with articles that lead you down the wrong path. Just as Fake news does.
I got twitter for work, and use it for that still. No "social" time outside professional relationships.
FB my sister in law had me get so everyone in the family could share pics, then you get friended by an old friend you haven't seen in a decade or something and bing bang boom, you have FaceBook. There is one hunting group, a few work groups and some general stuff I do on there... But it's pretty mellow.
I lose more of my life to bowsite than just about any internet source of social media ha ha ha.
500K users is less than I'd have thought, sort of surprised at that for Bowsite.
Pi are you talking about general internet searches or social media use? Internet searches are based on what your device, or others on your wifi signal, have searched. So what comes first, is based on what you or your router have searched...
I do think that those platforms foster use of the users better than even Bowsite Mobile for all but those who have learned to love this format. The number of people with, say, FB on their phones is astronomical. And if you are a hunter, and are "suggested" via your friends list, visited sites etc to consider joining hunting groups, well, it's easy and fast to hop on and use that platform, but has multiple streams of dopamine to get you happy by letting you see this and that hunting group, a fishing group, your family and friends stuff etc. I could see how those bigger platforms could ultimately hurt the growth of a site like bowsite, though I hope not, because well, in the words of a drunk guy (and I dont drink): "I love you guys".
Will. General searches . I am sceptical about the way it produces results.
Will, I think it comes down to the way one asks the question. You are largely correct about personal searches but unless one words the search correctly ( according to ones desired information ) we get whatever is at the top of the subject and that information is often garbage. ( opinions) .
I would think that most folks would not know this and just take the first stuff to pop as truth. I am convinced that every outlet of information is manipulated or censored to persuade the casual observer. Nothing new there.
Selective application of a rule or law is another trick. Shadow banning, Tax Exempt status at the IRS. Fake news. Abuse of Positions of power in the court system such as Mueller and FBI. DOJ etc. Police who are your friends or not... All ways to squelch the competition. No Media outlet is immune to this.
I have Facebook, and bowsite, and that's it. Like Will said, great for catching up with old friends, and picture sharing with family, but for the most part useless. I believe I said it best when I installed it on my phone, Facebook's major contribution to my life is eliminating the need for a magazine rack in the bathroom. That's exactly where it belongs, in the crapper! Haha. How about when your talking about something, haven't searched it at all, and yet adds pop up for it in your news feed. Shut your mic off, and your location when you can, trust no one! Lol
I use FB basically as one stop shop for forums/interests. Basically it is hunting, fishing and guns stuff. I also store pics of trips there. I think I have shut down 95% of my "friends" because I do not want to see pictures of their food, or where they are, or read their political rants. I am close to ditching it for good, but some of the hunting stuff is really good and helpful.
I guess I am like most here. No twitter, instagram or whatever the latest flavor of the month is currently. I only go to bowsite, northeastshooters, saddlehunter, and most recently I have revisited stripersonline. Wow, looking at what I just wrote and the sites I frequent; what am I doing living in Massachusetts? :)
Social media visited is Bowsite, Leatherwall, Tradgang and Saddlehunter, I only participate on Bowsite. Not a member of facebook, twitter, instagram or snapchat. I do find the internet itself very valuable for researching hobbies or when planning a trip. I also have a very long commute and listen to podcasts almost daily. Usually hunting related but sometime health, nutrition and fitness.
People above the age of 40 are unique in that they belong to a small segment of human history that was both unconnected and connected. I grew up with rotary phones and vacuum tube technology still ruled. From here forward everyone born will live in a connected information driven world, for better or worse. I find it easy to step out and enjoy those moments when the phone has no bars. Tekoa
The other day we were debating which state has the most cows (Texas, by a wide margin), and found it on the Internet in seconds. Thirty years ago that would have been a major undertaking. A trip to the library for sure.
Right on Jeb , and when you realized your friend said cows "per capita" it was another trip back to the library. Now it's another 20 seconds.
It is amazing that people take the time to ask a simple question but do not take the same time to make a quick internet search. What's with that?
Tekoa - so true man! Blew my mind when my neighbors described how their boy (4.5YO) was handed a book at about 3YO... He slid his finger across the cover over and over and got frustrated... had no idea that you turn pages. Ugh. Books = good!
The biggest issue with the internet to me, is context. People go down the worm hole of their choosing, but without the background information and contextual knowledge... They may know everything in the universe about X... But have no dang clue where in the alphabet the letter goes. That's not knowledge. It's just having information... It can help, but really only becomes applicable when you take the steps to get the context...
I find it easy to step out and enjoy those moments when the phone has no bars. Tekoa
^^^That!
