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  1. #1
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    Default Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    Give it up. Where are naturals hanging out on line now? There have GOT to be educated forum/picture album options for sharing somewhere.

    My thoughts (warning brain dump)
    YT -attracts all kinds, not really feeling that audience make up. I don't trust posters-lack of truthful follow up and easy to mix up an old video with a mistake in the past. Next thing you know, millions are making old mistakes new. Can be too time consuming to sort out.
    IG-I don't care for the indiscriminate image dump into my psyche when I roll through my home feed. I"m crazy selective about who I follow. But I don't like the rockstar feel of posting an image. I might just have a tip-but my face streaming for eternity, nah...
    FB-Tricky sharing 'hair' with my mixed audience. I've tried separating my feeds for solo hair folk, but it just is not the high level of sharing I"m looking for. I"m not trying to have my face blast through feeds. But I like the concept of forums/topics and those with interest joining in-not the 'rockstar' effect of FB. FB hair groups are disorganized compared to succinct categories that we can choose to participate in like here.
    TWITTAH' - Nah, too messy
    SnapChat - Not historical enough
    Pinterest-Engagement is iffy and new formatting has caused a plethora of losses and technical glitches. But, most of all, engagement is not consistent-only spotty sharing, likes/loves...not really looking for that. Looking to share
    Blogger-Would love too, but very low traffic leads to low ROI.Once I write a blog-crickets for years.
    Fotki-They've banned/suspended about everyone that doesn't pay. It's economical, but if you pay, well, no one is over there either bc they are banned or suspended, lol...vicious cycle

    I miss the conversations, debates, engagement of the hair community we had on Nappturality. Is that going on anywhere anymore? We were galvanized once; now, we are disengaged and definitely not united anymore. I think I'm beginning to accept that it's over. Are we really back to pre Nappturality board days?

    I thought I'd ask the few that come back here to ck in just in case....

    KA

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  3. #2
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    Afrika-Amerika :)
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    Too funny...I visited Fotki today for the first time in years just to see if I could find one of my hair (routine) inspirations and found out they charge now. Actually it said something about "this person has not paid and so her account has been suspended"...ouch...

    I can only do one social media platform at a time and 95 percent of the time it's FB. I almost never discuss hair there. I have a Pinterest account but I only use it when I think of it -- though it was somewhat helpful when I was looking for pics of the haircut I ended up getting. I also have a LinkedIn account that I should use more but don't...and I'm guessing unless you're a stylist you aren't going there for hair discussions...

    The only hair blog I spend any real time on is Black Girl Long Hair (BGLH) and in the last few months they've departed from hair articles and gone into celebrity and popular culture, neither of which I'm super interested in.

    I do still visit YouTube fairly regularly, mainly to get tips if I'm trying to do something different (like today; I put in flat twists for a twistout). I use it for more than hair though...

    When it comes to the kinds of hair conversations you're describing...honestly, I have no idea where those are happening or if they're happening. Part of me believes that this was going to happen eventually...that discussions and descriptions of natural hair and its care would eventually become common enough to reach a saturation point. Part of me is glad in a way because I've always wanted us as black women to accept our hair in all its versatility.

    NP is the only hair forum I belong to on which I've spent significant amounts of keyboard work. If I do a cursory search I know there are other hair forums that are still around but I don't know if they too are experiencing decreased traffic.
    Hello, 2021. Glad to see you. Hope you're bringing us goodness and light this year!

  4. #3
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    Yeh, thanks for your always thorough response, lady! I agree. I have floated around and there's not much engagement anywhere anymore unless it's live/interactive (video/periscope etc..).

    Oh, I am on Periscope. I'll watch sometimes not do them. I use LI for my Healthcare Profession-but not hair stuff .

    Perhaps the saturation line has been reached. it has been a few years. But, like I said...I thought I'd try before I just checked out . I find when I engage on line, it's no longer bidirectional.

  5. #4
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    Hi NA, I've been away from NP for a good while dealing with life. I think a lot of forums of different subjects are having the same issue. There are so may different social media platforms these days, twitter and such. Many of the formats don't encourage or require two way communication, just people shouting out to the ether and maybe get a response.

    As far as I'm aware they're not hanging out anywhere else in particular, just dotted around different medias with no cohesion. Other none hair boards I've visited say the same, so I think it's just a trend thing. In some ways I wonder if forum boards will become more popular again when the novelty of one way communication wears off.

    DeBe

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  7. #5
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    DB-spot on as usual!! I've noticed that too-there are NO discussions anymore. Only platforms to scream your point of view and delete/block others. Interesting analysis from over the pond ....point well noted!

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  9. #6
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    Youtube just attracts the worst kind of audience doesnt it? I've disabled the comments on it using a chrome extension because i couldnt bear reading through them. The stupid arguments in the comment section would ruin the videos for me.

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  11. #7
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    It's been at least 10 years since I started posting on NP... wow! I miss the cohesion of the community, too.
    I really felt like I was part of a community here, and while I have tried other forums, there isn't one that compares to what NP used to be. A pro-black women community that served to uplift without putting others down? I was about 15 or 16 when I joined; I'm really thankful that I grew up on a forum like this, where I could get my daily fix of culture in a (relatively) positive environment.
    I enjoy sharing ideas and hearing what people think about different topics, even if I strongly disagree with an argument. Maybe I just like seeing drama. There's plenty of that on the internet, but like DeBe mentioned here, there isn't that two-way communication street.
    To bring the topic back to hair, I originally had to step back from NP because I had to focus on school, and it was hard regulating how much time I spent on here. I was also getting to a point where I was figuring out what worked for my hair, and natural hair was my "normal" to the point where I didn't think about it as much as I used to.

    What sort of hair-related discussions would we be having now on NP?

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  13. #8
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    Wow Hadasah! You've been here for over a decade! I never knew this community existed for so long. I am a very new member on here actually!

  14. #9
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    We're all noticing the same thing. I was an active member of another forum that was on a completely different set of topics mostly about life and relationships, and it's pretty much the same.

    I'm glad NP is still around, and I still pay for the privilege of being "pink". However, with the upsurge of social sites, things have changed. In a way, I don't mind. Now I'm engaging online more with acquaintances, friends, and family because this stuff is mainstream now.

    Regarding info on natural hair, I come back here and usually find what I need here. Honestly? I'm not really doing anything new. I just co-wash, twist and keep those in for as long as possible, wear a twist out, and repeat. I popped back in today because, after two to three years of being back in the job market, I've been laid off and have the time to do an Aphogee treatment. I stopped in to reread that epic Aphogee thread to refresh my memory on how to do it.

    I know that sites like CurlyNikki have FB pages. Those are very much part of this broadcast culture that you mention. Not the same for sure. But it's nice to see the updates, and sometimes I even learn something. However, what gets clicks are the more pop culture-focused stuff.

    FB groups are probably the closest things I see regarding community discussions. You can make them completely open (usually a bad idea if you want to have a focused community), closed (people can find it, but they have to be approved or invited to join), and secret (which means no one sees it and people have to be invited by a friend.) You have to cultivate the community and hope you find them and they find you. One big issue though is, for better or for worse, the natural hair discussion is much more diluted. I think a good idea is a FB group and then you use Pinterest or Instagram for pictures and cross-link. The natural hair discussion is inherently visual. You can pin documents in a FB group, and people can run searches.
    "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." - Chinese Proverb

    "Fall seven times a day, stand up eight." - Japanese Proverb

    “All truth is good, but not all truth is good to say.” - African Proverb

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  16. #10
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    Default Re: Quite Frustrated With Disjointed Natural Hair Communications Online Today

    I guess everything has a cycle in which it goes through. For me, life happened which is why I haven't visited nearly as often as in the past. I'll continue to support NP financially, as I see the value.









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