Is Mumsnet killing itself by posting on Facebook?

[noblegiraffe]

Lots of posts recently have commented on how engagement with threads seems to have dropped, people aren't posting as much.

I was just on Facebook and a post from Mumsnet randomly came up as something Facebook thought I might be interested in. I was pretty surprised to see it had hundreds of replies. The first post said 'engage with the conversation here' with a link to the thread, but people were engaging with it on Facebook instead. And they were discussing the issue, giving advice to the OP, who was never going to read it.

MNHQ - what is the solution to this? Do you care so long as you are getting engagement somewhere even if the OP is missing out on the advice/discussion? I don't know how Facebook is monetised.

I think if I posted a thread and people were talking about me and my post elsewhere without me benefiting from the advice or having the ability to engage and respond (I would not be responding using my real name on Facebook to a post I've made as noblegiraffe!) I would be pretty annoyed.

I know we don't own anything we post on here and MNHQ can use it as they wish, but they seem to be shooting themselves in the foot killing discussion on here by encouraging it elsewhere.

Why does mumsnet advertise support for parents by parents when they just want to use members upset for clickbait ?

I sympathise with this position. I would find it hard to leave because I've had some excellent advice from Mumsnetters and hugely enjoy some of the threads.

Ooh I don’t like this at all! Thank you for alerting, I will post more carefully with this in mind. I assume MN will have in their small print somewhere that they will do this - as definitely doesn’t seem like informed consent that your posts could be put up on other websites without your knowledge.

It is yes,most people do understand that what they post isn't actually private, but a bit of discretion about what the site re posts on social media would protect their "good name" or are they not bothered about that anymore.

MN have been posting threads on facebook for years, I just had a look (although I don’t follow on there) and they created their page in 2009. That’s a lot of years and no doubt a lot of threads posted that the original poster is completely unaware of.

I have only just started to see Mumsnet threads on Facebook and I too really don’t like it. I think it is completely against the vibe of Mumsnet and agree to all the points above about moderation.

Another thing that’s always seemed questionable to me is not allowing posters to simply delete their own posts

Thanks for flagging this up, OP. I wasn't aware of it. Disgraceful breach of trust in the interests of promotion.

They used to be sparse and their FB also had parenting articles and other bits and pieces of interest, i blocked about a year ago because every post was a thread from talk section and some were quite personal .

This.

Yes this absolutely!!💯

That they're still on there is even worse.

Hi Noblegiraffe,

Thanks for raising this. We totally get why it can feel odd to see a Mumsnet thread being discussed on Facebook when the OP isn’t there to read the replies. The aim of posting on Facebook isn’t to move the conversation off-site, but to bring new people in. Social posts help us reach a wider audience and find posters who might have useful experience or advice to contribute back on Mumsnet.

We absolutely want the heart of the conversation to stay here. A bigger and more diverse community means more wisdom, more perspectives and more support for the OPs who start threads. That’s why the link in those posts points straight back to the thread.

We keep a close eye on engagement levels and we do care about how discussions flow. If you ever feel a specific post hasn’t been handled well, or that something we’ve shared externally is having an unintended effect, please do say. Feedback genuinely helps us strike the right balance.

Hi @JustineMumsnet some of the threads shared are exactly the wrong sort of threads though. And by sharing them it makes MN look exploitative

By that I mean by all means share something interesting/generic. But surely you should pause for thought before posting very unique threads or those on clearly sensitive topics? There just doesn't seem to be any reflection going on about what threads it is appropriate to stick on Facebook and it sometimes looks really callous.

Agree, I thought all decent organisations had removed themselves from X?

⬆️ Not in the spirit’…some might say.

Well that’s put me off posting on mumsnet now. I don’t use Facebook at all so I didn’t know this was happening. No wonder threads go pop for “privacy concerns”.

If they turn off comments, then they wont have the interaction and wont show as popular posts. They want more people to see it, not just those on their page already

I felt really uncomfortable as well when I saw Mumsnet posts start to come up on my feed as suggested posts. I have a Facebook account but purely for marketplace or groups - I don't post any content myself. I have family members who don't use Mumsnet but do use Facebook frequently. I've posted threads on Mumsnet for advice about difficult family situations and not worried about changing 'outing' details as Mumsnet felt like a safe space as I knew the people my threads related to aren't here. Realising that Mumsnet are using people's stories and experiences to increase public engagement on Facebook makes me feel less safe to post here.
And as others have pointed out, OPs have no idea that their story is being shared elsewhere and receiving potentially hundreds of additional views and judgements/comments/advice they are completely unaware of.

They’ve been doing this for years and this exact thread pops up every 6 months or so. The Mumsnet membership is massive and if you think what you post might our you if shared to Facebook then there’s a huge chance you could be outed anyway.

Don’t post anything to the internet you’d be worried about anyone else reading- however cosy and small you think the site is. Mumsnet is a business, the juicy threads drive traffic to the page and that’s why they share them. The juicy threads is why we come back. It’s not a private support group.

Agreed, even on reddit a user can remove the post. It’s something that needs to be added, i know you can ask for a post to be removed but sometimes MNs HQ refuses!

Ok thanks for the feedback - we do try to avoid sharing anything identifying or too sensitive but we'll certainly review it.

@JustineMumsnet what about those threads that have been taken down from the MN site?
There is a FB post (6/12) referring to a thread relating to an accident at school, which has been taken down from the main site at the request of the OP. The FB still links to it - with the deletion message showing - but shows the whole of the original post in the FB post.

Well there’s no way to make money from engagement on FB though in and of itself. It’s only useful for driving web traffic and new member registrations.

Because two things can be true at once