Facebook

We use Facebook to keep in touch with family and also for photographic groups. Our own photo society has a very active Facebook page where members and non-members share events, chat and images.

It's the sort of thing that can be fantastically useful or go to the other extreme, but it depends, like all tools, on what it's being used for.

You can take what you want from Facebook. You can set the security really high and unfollow 'inane' people.
My business is doing very well just from my personal page 'friends' and 'fans' of my business page (below).
It's simple enough to take what you can and avoid the rest.
My only gripe is the appalling quality of the photos. This is also easy enough to side-step, by supplying a link to the work for images where the compression really messes up the detail or beautiful gradients etc.
I don't tend to follow photographic pages or groups as I prefer this type of forum for information and I'm not trying to sell to photographers.

I should have said I couldn't see the point of it for me.

His Nibs is a member as are many friends and family and they all enjoy it, and use it, some more than others, but I have nothing much to say, never post photos online anywhere, don't have a business, and got sick of reading various people's drivel.
If I am totally honest I also didn't really understand it, and had little desire to learn how to use it for all the reasons above.

I can quite see that there are great groups on Facebook, indeed one forum I am on has a huge Facebook group too, but no, just not for me.

I'm sure others will be pleased to know there are Pentaxians groups on FB.

I have noticed an increasing number of museums, galleries and heritage organisations now have a facebook page. They use it to post latest news about events, lectures, exhibitions etc. On the whole I have not found a lot that's useful on these sites.
I have never contemplated joining it. I have never believed that it would be useful to me personally.

Martin

I am a member of the particular group - 'Pentaxians'. It's mostly for people to display their photographs and occasional technical question. Pretty friendly group and so far I have not come across any issues/controversies. I'd suggest you should become a member - the owner is pretty prompt in adding people.
As for Facebook itself, I have been a member for about 3 or 4 years and use it mainly to keep in touch with my extended family in Pakistan. I have lots of nephews and nieces and before FB they and their children were all growing up without me getting to know them. Since joining FB I have become so much closer to my family and really enjoy my interactions with them, including looking at their photographs. I had been dubious about FB before joining but now am a fan.

I was dubious but now a fan too.

Like anything web related there is a bit of garbage, even this page gets spam. When used for "sensible" purposes FB is ok, for everything else there is the "pointless thread"