Social Media, friend or? (semi boating related)

[HB Vic]

I mentioned a little about this last night. Watching my FB and IG feed blow up the past several days over the Lucas drags in Chandler got me thinking. Why FB & IG?

So I scoured the other regional sites thinking maybe these people are just not posting on Hotboat. Not the case. For the most part they are not posting anywhere but FB & IG. Again, why?

I am no media mogul and to be honest, I'm a FB & IG rookie. Hotboat.com has accounts on both sites. Initially I thought it would be a good idea to have a presence there. After some time my thought changed as the effort was being drawn away from the site. Of course I have my reasons, just as any other site operator, as to why I want the activity here. And they are selfish reasons, I won't lie. However, just as I have my reasons, the racers, promoters, and others who depend on crowds, attendance and followers, also have their reasons.

In the past I've heard people say things like "We want to stay neutral, so we don't post on this site or that site". That honestly makes no sense to me. I'm not saying we're channel 7, we're more like channel 34 with snow, but if channel 34 rolled up to your event, wouldn't you be happy? If you had a chance to make a post on channel 7's feed, wouldn't you take advantage of it? If you could play to an audience of thousands vs hundreds wouldn't you do it?

And to be fair, I'm not picking only on boat racing. Many of the other boat shows and events are doing the same thing. And I'm not saying social media is a dead end. But I am saying its limited. Its limited to primarily the people who are already engaged in that sport or activity. Or "friends and family". I would certainly want to play to the largest audience I could possibly play to if my sport or activity relied on attracting fans, customers, or the public.

Just a little food for thought. We will still post on FB & IG. And I'll still certainly view and support those who also post there.

But I will also continue to scratch my head at the same time