Swallow Yachts Association on Facebook

Rob Johnstone · 23 Jul 2020, 17:15

About 20 years ago (no, it's nearer 30) I was an active hang glider pilot. I recently found the British Hang gliding FB group. I asked to join, was vetted ( I assume by the moderator (some guys still remembered me - gosh) granted posting rights. So far, I've not noticed any spam or Russian ladies, nor has any contributor been "flamed" so I assume the vetting process works well. The postings have varied between videos of exploits aloft, pleas for help on flying the things, technical discussion about various gliders and (as pilots were grounded during lockdown) some interesting period photographs and a long discussion about how much science there is and was applied to the design of HGs.

Any Swallow FB group would be a closed group (one would hope) that any one could find via search and view. But only members of the group would post. Yes, the postings would be ephemeral, but I suspect users would see and hear interesting exploits of daring do's in and of Swallow Yachts. Yes, it might make us the stealth marketing department for Swallow Yachts - is that such a bad thing?

It seems that we have a willing volunteer to at least start the thing off (albeit asking for some assistance) but, as I said in an earlier post Bring it on - let's see how it works.

Jonathan Stuart · 24 Jul 2020, 11:20

I have created the Facebook group, here's the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/swallowyachtsassociation

Julian has agreed to be an admin / moderator.

All member requests and post must be approved. The group's description and rules set out, among other things, that posts must augment / support this website & forum.

I don't expect a massive amount of activity because we're a much smaller community than, say, the Drascombes but it will be interesting to see what develops.

Martijn · 24 Jul 2020, 15:10

Thanks Jonathan.

Is it setup so you can at least view the posts without an account? At the moment it seems you need to login to view any content.
I would love to be able to view any posts but would rather not create a facebook account.

Julian Merson · 24 Jul 2020, 20:12

You have to join Facebook to view anything on there. But, that doesn't need to involve giving away all of your personal details.

Martijn · 24 Jul 2020, 20:36

The "Drascombe public group" on facebook can be viewed without a facebook account. Obviously you'll need one to either like a post or to comment.
I would welcome a similar setup for the swallow yacht page.

Jonathan Stuart · 24 Jul 2020, 22:11

The Swallow group is setup as Public and appears to be setup in the same way as the Drascombe Group. But I've also found that Swallow can't be viewed without a FB account whereas the Drascombe group can be. I can't see any settings in Facebook that would affect this so I am at a loss as to why there is this difference. I will keep looking for an answer.

Martijn · 25 Jul 2020, 08:49

Thanks Jonathan, much appreciated.

Julian Merson · 13 Aug 2020, 12:53

Just reporting back to the forum on the first (almost) three weeks of the new FB group which now consists of 50 members. So far, there have been a healthy number of posts, consisting almost entirely of pictures of Swallows in various locations around the UK and beyond.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this venture - looking forward to seeing more posts as people continue their summer sailing activities.

Martijn · 13 Aug 2020, 14:24

Thanks for reporting back Julian.
I'd love to be able to follow the facebook group but unfortunately without a facebook account you cannot view any of the posts.
Without this restriction the potential audience should be bigger, which would be better for the promotion of Swallow boats and sailing in general.

BobT · 21 Aug 2020, 08:37

Wasn't sure about about a Facebook page for many of the reasons made previously but have really enjoyed the posts and photos of what others are up to in their boats. Good idea.

Jonathan Stuart · 21 Aug 2020, 09:35

Thanks Bob. I'm really pleased to see that the Facebook groupd already has 79 members and most of the names aren't ones I recognise from the forum, so we are reaching a new community. And the posts haven't overlapped with the sort we see on the forum. It's a good start.

Graham W · 09 Oct 2020, 11:47

I see that it is no longer necessary to roll up the right trouser leg in order to look at the association's Facebook page. It is now visible to all, like the Drascombe one. Unlike the Drascombe one, it has so far avoided becoming a chaotic free-for-all.

Jonathan Stuart · 09 Oct 2020, 15:14

Thanks Graham. I hadn't realised the public view had started working so that is good news. Julian and I continue to pre-approve all posts and will control the content, although so far there hasn't been anything inappropriate submitted.

Julian Merson · 09 Oct 2020, 18:49

Just to follow up on this, it's really good to report that the Facebook group now has 157 members! I'm really enjoying the content - lots of fantastic pictures and reports of Swallows in action.
Keep posting!

oceanluvr30 · 08 Dec 2020, 13:28

Long time lurker, and soon to be new BR20 owner, with the deposit already made. As for Facebook, sorry gents but in my opinion it is a cesspool and time waster. Not to mention YOU are the product. I just wonder why this forum is not enough of a medium to share info, photos and general knowledge?