Facebook. Myspace. Twitter. Linked In. Social websites seem to rule the internet these days. Everyone and their grandparents seem to be using them. Most of the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have a Facebook profile, as do I. In fact, I have an account on all four sites.
None of these sites existed in the year 1999 when I began creating the troop’s website. We added a BBS to the site so the boys could leave messages for each other. When the BBS became over run by spammers we switched to a forum in which members needed to be registered. That eliminated the spam since I controlled who was a member. The troop forums were well used for many years. Until social websites. Until Facebook.
These days the troop forums are seldom used. Part of the reason is that we now have a small troop. But the major reason is Facebook. The Scouts use Facebook to keep in touch online. They can easily share pictures and videos, and they can add friends who are not in Scouting.
To tell the truth, I do not think many of the current Boy Scouts even think about the troop forums anymore. The only people to visit the message boards anymore and actually leave a message are troop alumni who used to use the forums regularly. The site only receives a couple new messages a month these days.
I have been thinking about creating a Troop 68 fan page on Facebook. Has your troop done this? How is it working for you?
