Being Social

The Rocky Mountaineer in Kamloops, BC

Hi, just a quick update on my social networking scene. In general I am active on Facebook and Instagram, somewhat active on Google+, barely active on Twitter and I have a pulse on Flickr. I used to be a lot more active on G+ but I've found the interaction has diminished there somewhat. Facebook is great for railfan groups.

I'm really enjoying the train photos on Instagram. My post on Instagram for railfans is one of the most popular posts ever on my blog, amazingly enough!

I think Facebook has really taken over from the railfan mailing lists of yore. The RailsNB mailing list was deleted a few months ago because the Facebook group has become so popular.

Here are my statistics:

• Facebook page: 196 followers (hoping for 200 by the end of the month! Like me! :)
• Instagram: 328 followers (read more about Instagram)
• Google+: 21,759 followers (not a true measure of active followers)
• Twitter: 175 followers
• Flickr: 158 followers (go follow George Pitarys!)

I have a tumblr account as well but I'm not on there very much at all.

Here's a little secret. I'm not on Flickr or tumblr much but I post there all the time. How? I use the IFTTT service. This is a great service that basically allows you to create actions based on other actions you take. I have recipes there that repost my Instagram photos onto Flickr and tumblr, so they get updated with new photos with no additional effort on my part. Magic!

I suppose I also have accounts on tsū and ello but I hardly ever look at them, to be honest. Those social networks haven't really taken off.

So... where are you social? Comment below!

PS - notice the photo in this post, a sneak peek of upcoming content!

PPS - want to know how to get Instagram followers, ethically?

Facebook Groups to Watch

Several years ago, the best way to keep informed of rail happenings was to subscribe to email lists. Those lists are still around, but a lot of the traffic has moved to Facebook groups. I think there are a few reasons for this:

1. More people are on Facebook now, especially older railfans
2. You can share photos easily
3. Mobile access to Facebook is easy so you're informed quickly
4. They are very interactive and anyone can post

I'm a member of a number of Facebook rail-related groups and I wanted to share those with you.

• RailsNB covers New Brunswick and is very active with almost 500 members.
• RailsMBSK covers the Manitoba-Saskatchewan scene and has become very useful to me and other Prairie railfans.
• RailsAB for the Alberta scene was recently created and is growing quickly.
• AtlanticRails (covering the Atlantic provinces) is not quite as active but sees pretty good traffic.
• Vanishing Sentinels covers the Canadian grain elevator scene and has some great 'vator photos. The dean of Canadian elevators, Jim A Pearson, is frequently present and in fact this group was originally to support his web site.
• The Canadian HO Yard Sale is a great venue to buy/sell model train equipment in Canada.

These are the ones I follow. There are many, many others that are on Facebook that you could follow. I tend to prefer the more focused groups over generic groups like "All Railroad Photos" but your tastes may vary.

Anyone can start a Facebook group. I started RailsMBSK and cofounded RailsAB.

I hope these groups (or others) prove useful to you. If you like other Facebook rail groups that I haven't listed, please comment and link to them so I and others can have a look at them!

PS - I'd be remiss if I didn't plug my own Facebook site, Traingeek Images. It's up to 130 subscribers and growing. I post a photo a day and sometimes a couple. Please consider "liking" it. Thanks!