I had the distinct pleasure today to visit one of the many Facebook groups for sharing FarmVille links.
Sharing Foals and Calves had been recommended to me by a friend. As so many of these groups are oft abandoned or run by scam artists, I was very skeptical until I saw the group's home page.
Instead of being littered with the usual garbage one usually associates with groups like this ('leet speek', fictitious offers, glaring grammatical errors, etc.) this group's home page manages your expectations and experience right from the start.
Sharing Foals and Calves is a "closed" Facebook group - this means you can't view their wall or much of their content until you've joined, and you cannot join unless you're approved by an administrator.
I clicked the 'request to join' button and figured that, like most Facebook groups, I was in for a wait. Boy, was I wrong. Within a minute I not only had been accepted into the group, but there was a message waiting for me sent from one of the Group Administrators welcoming me into the group and telling me about the services offered, as well as what to expect from my group membership.
It was later disclosed to me that prior to membership approval, group administrators place a 15 point 'test' to your account to determine whether you're likely to be a spammer, scammer or someone who won't be likely to participate in the group.
Really? Management like this in a Facebook Group? I was simultaneously taken aback yet impressed.
The message clearly outlined what was expected (no spamming, civil behaviour and common courtesy - the things we only dream about in Facebook Groups these days), and, more importantly, what I could expect from the group. It explained the FarmVille waiting period (a game bug which disallows collecting of foals and things until you've been friends on Facebook for up to 3 days), and how I could immediately begin adding their Officers in order to start or continue my foal collection.
The group is very large by normal Facebook standards. Over 4,000 members and nearly 30,000 links were visible. Later I was told by some of their staff that they've been diligently working to remove 'dead' and outdated links, and that the total number of 'links' served up on this group since it's inception in June, 2010 is around 50,000.
That's pretty impressive volume for a link sharing group, but only because the wall contains only links for calf and foal shares. There is no chit-chat, no advertisements, no spam, nothing but 'meat and potatoes' posts on this wall. The extensive Administrative staff impersonally and quietly remove all posts which are noncompliant with their guidelines.
Yes, this group has guidelines. It's a document which not only explains the few rules of the group, but in most cases why those rules are important. Whatever the formula, this approach is incredibly successful as evidenced by the many happy comments, discussion topics and other things noticed while perusing what the group has to offer. That document is one of the few 'non-share' posts that floats up their group wall periodically. It's nice to see such an active and dedicated administrative staff.
The Administrative Staff is about right-sized for a group which generates the kind of volume they do, and is featured prominently on the group home page once you're approved for membership in case you're in need of assistance. We've all been to those groups who feature 300 members and 50 admins, or worse, 3000 members and 2 admins.
At 13 people, this team seemed a little small for the group size, until one considers the list of 30+ additional Group Breeders. This list is maintained with one of the administrators since it's so large it would exceed the capabilities of the Facebook Groups Application. It's evident that these Officers do more than breed foals and calves . They mentor other members, participate on the wall and in discussion areas, and serve more like junior administrators than just people who can breed horses all day.
While the group was originally founded by Astrid Shenck from The Netherlands, it's clear that the lead administrator for this group is a man called John Brown. John's a busy man, running several Facebook groups and pages in addition to his own blog with an expected topic of, you guessed it, FarmVille.
I was able to chat with John briefly, and he was quick to point out that he was not THE Farmer Brown (a/k/a Anthony Parfait who seems to have all but completely quit the game), but that most members still refer to him as simply Farmer or Farmer Brown. Given Parfait's abandonment of his farm and gameplay, this man may very well be Farmer Brown now.
Brown's knowledge of the game and strategy was impressive, and his blog posts (located at http://fauxfarmer.blogspot.com) are part education, part rant. It's sometimes hard to tell if Brown likes FarmVille or hates it, but he did make one memorable point to me:
"It's not about the game. The game is so buggy and full of glitches, and attracted so many bot-farmers that the actual gameplay itself is almost painfully slow and repetitive at times. The appeal of FarmVille is the community itself, the people."
This recurring theme was apparent in the way Brown approaches his group. "It's like any other large collection of people -- you must manage their expectations at every turn so they know what they're getting with every single wall post.", Brown muses.
In August, Brown suffered a heart attack while blogging. He came back to an outpouring of well wishes in his group and on his wall, and while he's often alluded to that fateful entry, he's yet to post it. "It's on my list, honest.", he says.
Nearing the magic 5,000 mark in his Facebook friends' list, nearly all of whom are FarmVille players, Brown's list may never get shorter than it is now. The same team who manages Sharing Foals and Calves so efficiently has branched off into another venture, a quietly-held group which goes by the moniker 'Farmers Unlimited' or F.U. - a rather cheeky name by a cheeky bunch.
"The name of the group was actually inspired by a former Group Breeder who came up with several phrases she'd post without actually saying the 'F' word. In this group we share absolutely everything and anything FarmVille related, but it's based upon the apparently complex notion that if someone posts something and you take it, you thank them for it.", Brown confided.
Asked to have a peek inside, Brown simply chuckled and said that those admitted to this exclusive group have earned their FarmVille 'bones' many times over, and that I'd have to do the same to be granted entry.
"We've branched out further in the Foal sharing concept and created 'Sharing Foals and Calves II', which is a smaller group where our most active sharing members can place their posts. Every member admitted there is one who actually shares back with the group on a regular basis, as opposed to those who join simply to complete their Foal collections.", Brown added.
Despite not being able to see inside either of these two new ventures, if the groups are run with the same smooth, member-focused efficiency that is 'Sharing Foals and Calves', Brown and his team will soon have another hit on their hands.
Whether you're looking for a place to share your foals and calves, or just collect a few to complete your collection, one thing is clear:
Sharing Foals and Calves had been recommended to me by a friend. As so many of these groups are oft abandoned or run by scam artists, I was very skeptical until I saw the group's home page.
Instead of being littered with the usual garbage one usually associates with groups like this ('leet speek', fictitious offers, glaring grammatical errors, etc.) this group's home page manages your expectations and experience right from the start.
Sharing Foals and Calves is a "closed" Facebook group - this means you can't view their wall or much of their content until you've joined, and you cannot join unless you're approved by an administrator.
I clicked the 'request to join' button and figured that, like most Facebook groups, I was in for a wait. Boy, was I wrong. Within a minute I not only had been accepted into the group, but there was a message waiting for me sent from one of the Group Administrators welcoming me into the group and telling me about the services offered, as well as what to expect from my group membership.
It was later disclosed to me that prior to membership approval, group administrators place a 15 point 'test' to your account to determine whether you're likely to be a spammer, scammer or someone who won't be likely to participate in the group.
Really? Management like this in a Facebook Group? I was simultaneously taken aback yet impressed.
The message clearly outlined what was expected (no spamming, civil behaviour and common courtesy - the things we only dream about in Facebook Groups these days), and, more importantly, what I could expect from the group. It explained the FarmVille waiting period (a game bug which disallows collecting of foals and things until you've been friends on Facebook for up to 3 days), and how I could immediately begin adding their Officers in order to start or continue my foal collection.
The group is very large by normal Facebook standards. Over 4,000 members and nearly 30,000 links were visible. Later I was told by some of their staff that they've been diligently working to remove 'dead' and outdated links, and that the total number of 'links' served up on this group since it's inception in June, 2010 is around 50,000.
That's pretty impressive volume for a link sharing group, but only because the wall contains only links for calf and foal shares. There is no chit-chat, no advertisements, no spam, nothing but 'meat and potatoes' posts on this wall. The extensive Administrative staff impersonally and quietly remove all posts which are noncompliant with their guidelines.
Yes, this group has guidelines. It's a document which not only explains the few rules of the group, but in most cases why those rules are important. Whatever the formula, this approach is incredibly successful as evidenced by the many happy comments, discussion topics and other things noticed while perusing what the group has to offer. That document is one of the few 'non-share' posts that floats up their group wall periodically. It's nice to see such an active and dedicated administrative staff.
The Administrative Staff is about right-sized for a group which generates the kind of volume they do, and is featured prominently on the group home page once you're approved for membership in case you're in need of assistance. We've all been to those groups who feature 300 members and 50 admins, or worse, 3000 members and 2 admins.
At 13 people, this team seemed a little small for the group size, until one considers the list of 30+ additional Group Breeders. This list is maintained with one of the administrators since it's so large it would exceed the capabilities of the Facebook Groups Application. It's evident that these Officers do more than breed foals and calves . They mentor other members, participate on the wall and in discussion areas, and serve more like junior administrators than just people who can breed horses all day.
While the group was originally founded by Astrid Shenck from The Netherlands, it's clear that the lead administrator for this group is a man called John Brown. John's a busy man, running several Facebook groups and pages in addition to his own blog with an expected topic of, you guessed it, FarmVille.
I was able to chat with John briefly, and he was quick to point out that he was not THE Farmer Brown (a/k/a Anthony Parfait who seems to have all but completely quit the game), but that most members still refer to him as simply Farmer or Farmer Brown. Given Parfait's abandonment of his farm and gameplay, this man may very well be Farmer Brown now.
Brown's knowledge of the game and strategy was impressive, and his blog posts (located at http://fauxfarmer.blogspot.com) are part education, part rant. It's sometimes hard to tell if Brown likes FarmVille or hates it, but he did make one memorable point to me:
"It's not about the game. The game is so buggy and full of glitches, and attracted so many bot-farmers that the actual gameplay itself is almost painfully slow and repetitive at times. The appeal of FarmVille is the community itself, the people."
This recurring theme was apparent in the way Brown approaches his group. "It's like any other large collection of people -- you must manage their expectations at every turn so they know what they're getting with every single wall post.", Brown muses.
In August, Brown suffered a heart attack while blogging. He came back to an outpouring of well wishes in his group and on his wall, and while he's often alluded to that fateful entry, he's yet to post it. "It's on my list, honest.", he says.
Nearing the magic 5,000 mark in his Facebook friends' list, nearly all of whom are FarmVille players, Brown's list may never get shorter than it is now. The same team who manages Sharing Foals and Calves so efficiently has branched off into another venture, a quietly-held group which goes by the moniker 'Farmers Unlimited' or F.U. - a rather cheeky name by a cheeky bunch.
"The name of the group was actually inspired by a former Group Breeder who came up with several phrases she'd post without actually saying the 'F' word. In this group we share absolutely everything and anything FarmVille related, but it's based upon the apparently complex notion that if someone posts something and you take it, you thank them for it.", Brown confided.
Asked to have a peek inside, Brown simply chuckled and said that those admitted to this exclusive group have earned their FarmVille 'bones' many times over, and that I'd have to do the same to be granted entry.
"We've branched out further in the Foal sharing concept and created 'Sharing Foals and Calves II', which is a smaller group where our most active sharing members can place their posts. Every member admitted there is one who actually shares back with the group on a regular basis, as opposed to those who join simply to complete their Foal collections.", Brown added.
Despite not being able to see inside either of these two new ventures, if the groups are run with the same smooth, member-focused efficiency that is 'Sharing Foals and Calves', Brown and his team will soon have another hit on their hands.
Whether you're looking for a place to share your foals and calves, or just collect a few to complete your collection, one thing is clear:
Sharing Foals and Calves is THE Gold Standard in FarmVille Link Sharing!
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