MSC&R survey of information sharing channels – March 2020

At present we have three different methods or tools for seeking and sharing information between members and other interested parties, namely the Model Interest Groups, the online forum and a FaceBook group.  The last of these is not managed by the club but by a member.  It is not restricted to club members but has the support of the management team.  In the beginning 2020 a survey of members about the participation in ad value of these was carried out.
There was an excellent response from nearly 35% of the membership.  Of these 80% said that they were members of one or more Model Interest groups, not far off the actual 70% of all members.  The forum and FaceBook memberships were 50% and 30% of respondents respectively.
Reponses show that use is still greatest in the forum, although for frequent browsing FaceBook comes a close second. This may be a sign of a general drift from the forum towards Facebook.  Our more conservative members appear to make regular reference to both online resources but generally participate in neither.  Responses to the question about much each platform is valued by members indicate that the MIGs and the forum come out well ahead of the FaceBook group and it is the forum that would be most missed were it discontinued.
The two things that stand out from the comments section are the need to continue support for those who do not use social media and the more general point that multiple channels are a good thing, whether an individual has a preference for a particular one or uses all and likes to choose the best for a particular purpose.  Not surprisingly that conclusion is also supported by the responses to the specific questions about participation and value.
Another theme is some scepticism about the quality of advice found on any social media platform.  This is true of any open form of communication and needs to be borne in mind when interpreting the content thereof.  Some have commented on the need for a coherent source of technical information.  The Club is currently looking at ways to bring the best of such information and advice as is available together into an easily accessible format.

If you would like to see the full results of the survey, please click here