The first five subgroups represent levels of how connected fans are with each other from least to greatest. The sixth group is very connected in one sense but completely disconnected in another.
1. Some fans have never gone online. Their only contact with other fans is through printed series book publications such as Mystery and Adventure Series Review, Yellowback Library, and The Sleuth. Other fans in this group may not even know about any of the series book publications and quietly enjoy their series books unaware that any other fans exist.
2. Another group of fans are those who are online, buy and sell their books on eBay, but are disconnected from all online resources. It is as though eBay is an island, and they know nothing else. You might be skeptical that this group exists, but I know that it does based on my interactions with eBay buyers over the last 22 years.
3. The next level consists of eBay users who are aware of this blog and the websites, but are disconnected from all of the online discussions, both past and present.
4. Some fans who are online and purchase on eBay also were members of the Yahoo! groups. These people never made it out of the Yahoo! groups and have lost contact with other fans except for those who were active 20 years ago. These people also know about all online and offline resources, but they do not use Facebook.
5. The fans who were open to using Facebook made the migration from the Yahoo! groups to Facebook where the current discussions occur. These people know about all resources that exist both online and offline.
6. Fans who are on Facebook only and do not know that this blog exists or that any informational websites exist. No matter how many times we link to outside resources in the Facebook groups, these people do not figure out that they can get information directly from these resources. Some of them may not understand what Google is and how it works. They use the Facebook groups as an online chat where they ask questions and get answers. The same questions get asked over and over.
Even though these people are online, some of them refuse to purchase books online and lament that they cannot find any of the old books in stores. No matter how many times they are told about all of the books available on eBay and other sites, they won't make a purchase. Some of them think online sellers are out to defraud people, while others think all books online are priced too high.
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This last part is for those of you who are in the third and fourth groups. Since you do not use Facebook, you miss out on a lot of information. Some of the information can be gleaned from Facebook sources that are public, where you do not have to be a member in order to view the content.
Most series book groups are closed, so you cannot view the content unless you join Facebook and then join each group. However, a small number of series book groups are public.
The Dana Girls: Super Sleuths
Hardy Boys Fan Club
Series Book Forum
Series Book Swap & Sell
Tom Swift Fan Club
A number of Facebook pages exist, and you can view these without joining Facebook.
My page is Jennifer's Series Books.
Here are some other pages that have content strongly related to series books.
Around the World with Nancy Drew
Books on Bay
Capwell Wyckoff Fan Page
The Happy Hollisters
The Hardy Boys Mysteries
Nancy Drew Games
Nancy Drew Sleuths
The Three Investigators Mystery Series - U.S. Editions Collector Site
You are missing out on most discussions that occur on Facebook, but at least you can glean some information from the above sources.
3 comments:
Thank you for posting this. I'm a casual collector who's not on facebook for a whole bunch of reasons. I guess I fall into category 3, but I also shop and buy at flea markets, junktique stores and estate sales. I've been thinking of joining Nancy Drew Sleuths, but there's not much info on the "members only" section of their website. Is there an active forum or message board there?
I am not aware of any active forum on the Nancy Drew Sleuths site. There is a private group, but it is on Facebook, so any discussion would be there.
Offhand I can think of only two series, Judy Bolton Yahoo! Group and Trixie Belden Jixemitri site, where there is any significant discussion outside of Facebook.
Unfortunately, Facebook is pretty much the only place online these days where any discussion occurs. Even this blog gets very few comments. Those who wish to comment do so on my Facebook page.
I completely understand reasons for not wishing to join Facebook, because I share those feelings. I'll just say that it is possible to join Facebook, follow Facebook's terms of service, and have an account solely to keep track of hobbies and interests. That's what I do. Facebook doesn't need to know where I went to school or other similar details. I am not interested in communicating with anyone from my local community, so they cannot find me. It also helps to have an extremely common name like I do; however, even people with uncommon names can lock their accounts down tight. Facebook does require the date of birth, but that can be locked down as secret where only the user knows.
Thank you for this post! I'm new to series books and not on Facebook. I mostly read Judy Blume books when I was a kid.
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