Hello, you lovely Due in July lot: please can you come and talk to us about Facebook?
HelenMFM
admin
Hello everyone.
We know some of you have decided to start a Facebook group, and now mostly chat on there, rather than here in the Due in July topic.
And that makes us a bit sad – because, obviously, after having introduced you all, we'd really much prefer it if you all stayed here!
So what we want to do is work out some ways we can make the Birth Clubs on BX better – better even than Facebook – so folks love it so much they aren't tempted to stray, ahem, elsewhere.
And to do that, we REALLY need your help please!
Could you bear to spare a moment to tell us what it is about a Facebook group that's better/easier than posting here?
Give us all the gory details - don't hold back! We really want to know (and we can take it!) and we'd be really grateful for any suggestions you can give us that would make the BX Birth Clubs a cool place to hang out throughout your pregnancy.
Thanks ever so much!
Replies
I must commend baby expert for a proactive response though.
Im due in Oct and have a suggestion... without messing up my ease of use on a mobile do u think u could put in a link where I could go to desktop version to post a photo.
My scan is on the 9th of April ao that would be perfect...
Hi Samantha
What are you doing in here? Get back in Due in Oct where you belong
But YES that's definitely something we should try to do! We're working on making it possible to post up pics from mobile but I def agree that having a quick link to desktop would be a good little fix while we're waiting.
Thanks so much for the suggestion!
I'm due July 23rd and love baby expert. I've mostly been keeping in touch with many of my long term ttc ladies.
I think what some ladies like about Facebook is that they can have a private "invite only" type of thread.
I shall remain faithful to baby expert, however it would be nice to have contact with other due in July ladies....its been lonely, lol
Thanks for your posts, Charley17.
And, yes, we know it's annoying about the not being able to post pics from a mobile phone thing. We're working on it, we promise!
It's interesting what you say about the 'private, invite only' thing on Facebook.
We're trying to understand exactly what folks mean when they talk about being 'private'.
Because, obviously, in a Facebook group, you're telling everyone else in the group your real name and things.
But on BX you can post under a Screename and, if you're careful not to post obviously identifying info (your surname, your email address, the fact that you have a one-legged dog, purple hair and live in Birmingham etc), you can be completely private and anonymous – even when you're sharing super-important stuff.
Or maybe it's something to do with the face that BX Birth Clubs are open to view to anyone who stumbles across BX?
Obviously, that's true - but again, no one can identify you if you use a Screename and are careful with the details you share.
And also - and this is the bit that we know can make such a difference to other people's lives - what people post and share in Birth Clubs (and elsewhere on BX) can really help, reassure and encourage others who are at the same stage of pregnancy but are reading, rather than posting on, threads.
Hope you can see where we're coming from.
We'd still really love to hear from anyone who has left BX to go to a Facebook group instead. Maybe we've got your reasons wrong?
Please do come and tell us! We'd really value your comments.
Hi there
I just want to say i did not leave Baby expert for a facebook group, i use both!
The facebook site i joined last year when i fell pregnant were and are wonderful group of ladies that yes i met on here, they supported me and a few other when we went through our m/c and lost our beans, just as much as the ladies on here did, they took me back into the group even tho im now a fair few weeks behind them all, they were all over the moon to see i had got another bfp.
It is a privet group and iv become friends with a few of the ladies on there, i dont feel there is much difference in the 2 groups, i use them both daily and have made good real friends on both sites.
I feel your doing a fab job just the way you are and shouldnt worry about a facebook site as most of the ladies still come on here to see how everyone else is doing
Hi everyone. I'm dew in July 24th and part of the facebook group. I never had a problem with baby expert tbh. One of the ladies in the group said she did it with her first and found it very helpful, so i joined and then ended up becoming admin for the group. For mei think its the ease of it being connected to your phone so you get alerts straight away. where as on BX yo get email alerts and then you log in to see whats going on. I guess its that fast pace at your finger tips information. i know some of the girls still come on the website and i still go on, when i want to get info about something specifc. The one thing i miss probably is being connected to people that are having their first child, as everyone in the group is on thier 3rd or 4th. So everything is new to me, but on the flip side its nice to have all that knowledge aroung me and tap into it pretty much any time of the day. someone is bound to be up. which is cool.
other than that, it just seems abit more private and intimate. So it has to be more trusting, as its so open. You can restrict what people see on your page, but we just seem to be abit more connected for some reason. Which is quite nice in a weird way. Its obviously open to everone. And obviously we can post pics on there and dicuss privitely without the whole of facebook knowing. I personally havent announced that i am pregnant on facebook yet. so its been nice for me.
hope this all makes sense.
Sorry Charley17 if you have felt alone. We seem to be dew around the same time too. Is this your first?
Helen, I agree with you on the private thread thing. I just think that may be why some ladies moved to Facebook. I joined BX because it was looking for answers to fertility questions and it seemed that every question I had some on here had asked before and it was a tremendous comfort and help. As a result I've made a point of sharing my ttc journey because it could end up help another poor girl that is lost in there journey and needing hope!
Thanks so much for posting sarahrowland2 and MrsTbabycrazy.
It's great to hear your thoughts. And PLEASE PLEASE don't think we blame you in any way for being on Facebook (as if!).
We just want to make BX Birth Groups better than Facebook so you all stay here as much as possible!
That's interesting about the alerts, MrsTbabycrazy. That makes sense to us - and something we should think about copying/adding for BX.
If you got alerts on it and could post pics easily from your phone, MrsTbabycrazy, would that be enough? Or is there something else that makes Facebook more attractive than here?
Helen
Your welcome, as much as i love the facebook group i do spend more time on your site as a lot of the ladies that i met on here last year when i had my first m/c back in july are on here.
They have given me so much support through my 2 m/c and now still supporting me with my bfp i got in feb, i wouldnt lose them for the world, its fab to be able to stay with them and share their story and get excited every month of trying for their bfp i love them all and your doing a fab job xxx
Thanks so much for posting sarahrowland2 and MrsTbabycrazy.
It's great to hear your thoughts. And PLEASE PLEASE don't think we blame you in any way for being on Facebook (as if!).
We just want to make BX Birth Groups better than Facebook so you all stay here as much as possible!
That's interesting about the alerts, MrsTbabycrazy. That makes sense to us - and something we should think about copying/adding for BX.
If you got alerts on it and could post pics easily from your phone, MrsTbabycrazy, would that be enough? Or is there something else that makes Facebook more attractive than here?
Hi. I was originally from due in August 2010 and Im now due on 9th July. I used Baby Expert all the time the first time round. I've met friends for life and I thank baby expert for this. To share something so special throughout pregnancy, birth and onwards is invaluable.
I haven't totally left baby expert because I log on to keep up to do date with things but I did however leave due in July 14 because the fb group is more secure (as in secret) so I feel more confident in posting pictures etc. The baby expert site is open to all sorts of people and I won't be confident posting pictures on this website.
Thank you for getting in touch.
Thanks mummy2izzy. That's really interesting.
So, if when you posted a pic up on BX, you could select who to share it with - so, for example, "share with everyone" or "share only with my Birth Club", would that make you feel more secure?
Thanks, MrsT - this is all so helpful!
Yes I think it would to a point. I suppose you can't control who the members are but then you can't on fb so it would help me.
Hiya. I was actually originally part of Due in March '10 on BE, and I loved it (and made many friends, who I am still friends with today) on there. We moved to Facebook when the DIM board was shut down.
It's a shame, because I do have fond memories of the March 2010 BE experience.
With Due in July 14, I just found it really, really hard to keep track. Everyone seemed to be only posting on the one thread (the Due in July thread, which now has over 400 "replies" on it). Using my phone, it was impossible to keep track of who was who, and what was going on, as the discussion went off on so many tangents. and spanned several months I've no idea why that happened! But Facebook just became much simpler for me to manage / read from my phone, particularly with email alerts, and the ladies on there easier to get to know. I still occasionally pop into BE, but I feel like I don't really know anybody here any more.
Also as you can't hide who you are completely it feels safer to trust people and get to know them, I wouldn't post pictures of my children on here not knowing who can see them.
Unfortunately in my first due in group - opened to get to know each other better and share photos, we had a lady who we discovered was a prolific lier claiming repeated pregnancies and late miscarriages with medical problems this was easier to pick up with how we could look at her claims on Facebook.
your so right. I think we have bonded a lot more on the facebook group. As you have to trust each other just that little bit more. Deff feel close with some of the ladies*