eGrouping with Common Interests

A few years back I created a group in FB open to those who have the same interests in a certain hobby. I put the brand of a machine and a noun on an emotion that will attract and bind us all online.

I have three (3) membership questions and if the interested netizen does not answer all, I do not approve the membership. Those questions include their reason/s of joining my social media group and the rest two (2) are answerable by a simple 'yes' or 'no' -- that he agrees there will be no commercial advertisement posting and that he understands that not all posts can be approved nor be replied to immediately by me as an administrator or by any member because I am not in any way connected to the company of the brand of machine I wrote in the group name. I send a private message if I do not approve so they can answer the questions properly and completely.

As of now it has 3,000 +/- members with 300+ pending membership approvals. The number grew organically. I did not promote it.

The members learn some techniques and tips on buying and using the machines and accessories properly. They share experiences which are interesting to know. I post some stories related to the brand, and yes, it is great to know them.

One of the annoying experiences I had was when a member privately sent me rude messages as he wanted some answers to his questions immediately as if I were an online support staff of the company.

Another was when a member started sending some messages to others soliciting donations which I strictly prohibited from the very start so I blocked and deleted him and warned the group that I do not allow that.

Then there were those who were promoting their businesses despite my membership question to which they answered 'yes' and a reminder not to post commercial advertisements.

Many members asked me through a private message that they wanted to buy the machine so I just told them to Google-search the store locations near them as I am not an employee/promoter of the company.

An experience I could not forget was when a young European man messaged me that her mother could not get approval for the membership as they had a question for a machine they bought recently and that he called many stores but could determine the brand properly. I do not allow posting of machines with brands different than what our group common interest is. So I gave him some few hours to be of help to him and his mother.

I told him to send me a photo of the machine. Thanks to artificial intelligence I was able to determine the brand and model thru www.tineye.com! He was very, very thankful as he told me that he contacted many people already to find the right answer. I felt such happiness thrice of what he felt. Was very happy to help, indeed.

Not everyone can be online to monitor a specific social media group 24/7 but like in writing a story or novel where I can feel that the characters play among themselves when I do not write, it makes me smile when I see threads of conversations, mostly sharing solutions to a member's posted problem on his/her machine.

Really, as Kim Garst said,

Conversations are happening whether you are there or not.

What makes me happy? They are not pointless nor useless conversations which save them a trip to a machine repair shop. They are not gossips nor non-sense talks that destroy any human being's reputation. We respect each other despite differences in skin colors and being strangers to all.

I visualize that in the future I will do something related to it. It is just a gut feeling by now. I have to do something I love to do that perhaps in the years to come I can clearly define and passionately make it happen. It is not just about the biography of a respected woman who impacted my mother and my lives I am writing, but it goes far beyond, in His and my time.

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Photo credits:  Pixabay