New Agatha Christie Group on Facebook

InspectorJapp

Hi everybody ! Like you, i'm a fan of Agatha ! I just started a group on facebook call: Les amateurs d'Agatha Christie / Fans of Agatha Christie. I hope this can be a little space for sharing our passion. We never have enough of Agatha. For now, it is a small group but feel free to join it just to see or to share stuff related. You are welcome ! I'm a french guy so...the group is in french but also a little english too 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lesamateurs.agathachristie/

Griselda

This sounds like it is going to be good, because the more opportunities to chat the better.

Madame_Doyle

@Griselda - be careful what groups you join on FB about Agatha Christie.  There is a group out there who will reel you in and you won't be able to get rid of them.  I had to open a case with FB because I was added to groups constantly, maybe 50 per week, and the same individuals haunt these groups.  Also, a minor (or underage) person poses as an adult and runs some of the pages, which makes me nervous, and so I left the groups because of the content and dubious ages of these people.

@InspectorJapp - I hope your group is successful and that you are very careful about the profiles accepted.  Agatha Christie could get a bad name from some of the people and content, and I half except to see a group emerge called Donald Trump Fans Love Agatha Christie!

That's the reason why I join with Griselda in requesting better moderation of this official group and a more quality place for fans to join for worthwhile discussion.  When these "grass roots" groups start forming clubs in tribute to someone, you never know what is really going on.  This forum should be a safe place, but unfortunately it's sadly neglected.

InspectorJapp

@Madame_Doyle Thanks for the advice ! i assure you that i am just a fan who wants to share his passion with others. For now, there's only 2 peoples in the group it's a small one ! i will take care to not accept those that can be wrong. I'm not on this forum to make marketing, but to chat about Agatha Christie! Have a nice day  

Madame_Doyle

I understand and wish you good luck with your FB page.  I just wanted to let you know that there are some troublemaking "fans" who are populating Agatha Christie pages on FB, so be on your guard that the profiles don't look fake.  I was able to report and have removed some of the fake profiles, but obviously these people just make new ones.  My concern is for the underage readers who join the groups, but it's out of my control.  

I am not suggesting that your group is of the same ilk as these others, but Agatha Christie groups seem to be targeted for trolls, so they are likely to find your group soon on their own.

The safest place in my opinion for Agatha Christie fans on FB is the official page there, but it's not well run and I suspect the same group is in charge of both it and this official website.  I came here hoping for a better experience, but it doesn't seem like this site is meeting the hopes or expectations of the readers.

ChristieFanForLife

Madame_Doyle said:

The safest place in my opinion for Agatha Christie fans on FB is the official page there, but it's not well run and I suspect the same group is in charge of both it and this official website.  I came here hoping for a better experience, but it doesn't seem like this site is meeting the hopes or expectations of the readers.

Do you plan on leaving? I thought about leaving but the fact that there are just a few members still contributing to the forum, that is what makes me stay. I too wish the forum ran better and it seems as if it's running on fumes, closing to fading out. I hope this isn't the case. 

InspectorJapp

First, sorry for the quality of my English There are not many groups on Facebook about Agatha, I think. The official group is good but I think we can go further and address other aspects. On differents angles and people personnal point of view. I'm curious about people experience, how they fell about . There's so much to say! I hope to speak adaptations, books, tv series, characters, films inspired by his work, games, exhibitions, etc. I am open to all!

Madame_Doyle

@ChristieFanForLife - no, I wasn't planning to quit visiting the site, but I agree with you that it's dying a natural death here.  The participation of the members is vital, but without a more structured discussion forum, to keep things going and suggest some leadership of the group, I can't see that the few regular posters are going to hang around.  I understand your feeling about helping to support the group, but when the people who run it don't seem to have enthusiasm about Agatha Christie, you are hardly obligated to hold up the group.

You and some other members such as @Griselda and @taliavishay-arbel for example (not to exclude the others who take the time) write exquisitely insightful posts that demonstrate a love for Agatha Christie and impressive familiarity with her works.  It's worth visiting here to read these posts.  It's a shame the moderators ignore them, but they also allow spam to stay up for weeks.

It's encouraging that readers like @InspectorJapp are willing to take the initiative to start their own groups.  One wishes that the moderators here showed the same spirit.  We get complaints about it being a juggled part-time job.  It shows!

InspectorJapp

Thanks for the encouragements @Madame_Doyle ! i appreciate it ! it will be a pleasure read your post and chat with you ! I just finished Black Coffee, i really enjoyed it  ! I post something on my group. I starting to think which of her book i'm gonna read next ! 

Griselda

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience Madame Doyle. The pit falls you warn against are the very kind I would wish to avoid. I wish your group success, InspectorJapp, and I think that with somebody such as yourself directing discussions, the kind of involvement and steering will be there which are lacking on this forum. You also might have good success drawing attention to articles about Agatha Christie, and articles about plans for making films of her work, and your comments and reflections will be interesting because you are an enthusiast. 

InspectorJapp

Thank you very much @Griselda for the encouragements! It's very kind of you. Yes ! I'm an Agatha enthusiast ! ...since a couple of years already. Time goes fast...It's more difficult than i first thought to start a facebook group, i mean, to attrack people to share their knowledge or just for curiosity. But it give me the opportunity to transform my passion into something concrete. It's will be a pleasure to chat with you on this forum ! Have a nice day and feel free to join if you want   ! 

Madame_Doyle

@InspectorJapp - the pleasure you get out of running your own group is its own reward, but of course it still requires others for the interaction.  The best way to go about it is to participate here as much as you can, for two reasons:  it will give people an idea of what your group has to offer in terms of the type of discussions and then you will also have the potential audience of people here who might decide to join.  Have you gone to the generic book forums on FB to post the link?  

It will take some time, but keep posting on your FB page anyway so that when people go there, it will attract them to join.  If you can avoid letting people post innocuous posts with just emoticons and stupid pictures of Agatha Christie wearing pink sunshades (the one that shows up on all the groups routinely), you will most likely find that you are getting join requests trickling in.  That will require the group to be public for a while, but that is just an unfortunate fact.  Maybe you could advertise that once you reach a certain number of members, you will make the group private.

I'm sure you will make a success of it!  I'm just offering some friendly advice to you. 

InspectorJapp

Hi ! @Madame_Doyle this is good leads that i will follow ! Thanks again ! To answer your question, no i didn't go or interact on the generic book forums on fb yet. I open a twitter account too but i will concentrate ont the group. Have a good day ! It's always a pleasure ! 

Dr.Sheppard

@InspectorJapp can I suggest that you set up your group as a 'Closed' group, that way you will be able to manage who has access. It may take time to build up a membership but you can guarantee it will run as you intend. Alternatively, I can suggest a couple of groups that may be of interest rather than start up something new, particularly as there are so many out there.

Griselda

@Inspectorjapp I think you should go ahead with your group. You seem to be a frank and open person who is laying out your intentions fairly and squarely, and that is good. I'd urge you to get a couple of academics on board - people who could express the history of interest in and literary criticism of Christie in a formal way.

InspectorJapp

Hi @Dr.Sheppard and @Griselda ! i was on holiday ! thanks. I follow your advice to set up the group as a closed group. I think it's a good suggestion. I hope that people could join eventualy to sneak peak or share what they love about Agatha ! It's a humble group but authentic . It could also be very interesting, as suggest @Griselda, to discuss more about academics and concentrate more on her writings than others aspects. We will see how it evolve. Sorry again for my English, my french is better ! 

Griselda

What I suggest, @InspectorJapp, is let your personality shine through. Don't be timid about stamping your mark on your website. Give your comments. As long as you come across as genuinely interested in your members's views, then that will be ok. I'd love to see a new a website which is driven character and passion. Good on you, as they say, or used to say, in Christie's times, in 'Blighty'.

Do write some articles yourself. Don't be shy. I'm sure you'd be very good. My dad was a Francophile. We spent many family holidays in France. He did his PhD there - on Flaubert. He always used to say that the French are very logical. What do you think? Do you see some characteristic French reasoning coming through in Poirot's approach to crime solving? Perhaps you could write something about the French metier. For me, a nation which gives us 'le petit mort' for the 'death' of the end of a love affair is a nation which understands and is not afraid to discuss the emotions. I think Poirot understands human emotions. Your take would be interesting. 

Madame_Doyle

@InspectorJapp - I agree with @Griselda.  What's needed is the energy to inspire momentum.  This forum is pretty much dead, but your enthusiasm sounds contagious.  How many group members do you have already?  Is there a discussion going?

shana

Hello, everyone! After a couple of months I am participating again precisely for the reasons mentioned in this thread. It really seems that there is no interest in making this website evolve despite all the suggestions being made. I do follow the discussions and visit the website mostly because of the information about AC and her work (titles and synopsis) that's easily accessible on this website.
As for the new Fb-group @InspectorJapp, a nice initiative, have fun with it. 

Annika

I wonder if the trend isn't heading more towards blogging? I just started blogging a few months ago and one of the first things I did after I got on Instagram and Twitter (hadn't been on them before) was seek out fellow Agatha fans. That is how I found the Year of Agatha project blog and the Maidens of Murder both of whom offer book discussions and are easy to interact with.

I haven't narrowed my focus yet on my blog because I am still determining which areas I enjoy writing about the most. However, I will say the most fun and interactive experiences I have had so far because of my blog are related to book reviews - specifically Agatha Christie because I am sharing the joy with fellow fans.

I check here weekly for new, interesting posts and I do notice a lot of views but not a lot of commenting by people. I try to comment as much as I can but only if I am contributing something unique.

I joined Facebook recently as well because I felt as a blogger I should have a page. So far I haven't felt it is anything special especially when trying to interact with other fans.

Thoughts?
Annika

Griselda

This is really useful thank you, Annika. Please keep us posted on how it is going. Let us know how to access the blog. There might be others like me who aren't good with technology and not up to speed with social media.

Annika

@Griselda Glad I could be somewhat helpful. My blog is http://theseasonahead.com. The Year of Agatha project is at: http://theyearofagatha.blogspot.com I think the Maidens of Murder are only on Instagram @maidensofmurder ;They might be on Twitter too. If so, I am sure it is the same tag as Instagram. Are you on Facebook or part of any Agatha groups on there? That is something I would join as long as they are legit.

Griselda

I'm not on Facebook. I'm thinking of going on, though.

Madame_Doyle

I agree that blogs are getting to be a very effective means of starting discussions, and since the blogger is very much invested in controlling the quality, there seems to be more care and attention paid to the whole endeavor.  There is also more of a sense of community somehow than what you will find on Facebook or official sites.  The Year of Agatha project is well worth looking at, and it's difficult to resist opening an account and getting in the discussions once you have checked out several of their reviews.  I'm sure that the regular posters here who vanish are actually defecting to these forums because they are just more fun all around.  They are also visually more appealing than this site.

Some of the people here have mentioned starting a blog on Agatha Christie, and I have had it in mind to do the same thing.  It would be a book a week format with spoilers allowed.  I have already written essays on all of the books anyway, since that is a hobby of mine.

I still find Yahoo groups to be a pretty decent forum for discussions although it seems to be seldom used anymore for new groups.  Also, the reviews on Amazon are a good way to find thoughtful opinions with the opportunity to comment.  

@Annika and @Griselda - Facebook doesn't really provide a good format for a discussion forum, but if you find a decent group there eventually, please post the link. I feel like a Facebook group with a companion Yahoo discussion forum might be a good match until something better comes along.

ChristieFanForLife

@Madame_Doyle: I would love to see your essays on the books. Posting them up here would hopefully bring more discussion to the forum

Griselda

Thank you Madame Doyle for the valuable information. I also have sensed that former posters must have surely defected elsewhere. I hope we can, between us, establish which are the good forums to go to. So there is Year of Agatha project, and others? I can't wait for when you start your blog. I would love to respond. I would also love to read your essays.

Madame_Doyle

Thank you for your interest and I will let you know when I start my blog.  I have many years' worth of journals and essays about reading Agatha Christie as a hobby, and I have been wanting to share them with people to promote her work and interact with other fans.  I do not believe that this "official" site is the right place, as I am not convinced that it represents her very favorably, nor would I have the same control over the endeavor as I would publishing my own blog.  I would rather provide a space that is both a tribute to her and to the readers, and I will very much appreciate the participation of the people who post.

shana

@Annika, on Facebook search for the account named Agatha Christie (Author(not visible)) connected to http://www.agathachristie.com/. That is the Fb-account connected to this official website.  I receive posts regularly and it was trough this website I connected. The profile photo is currently one with AC's signature in black against a background of several of her novels. 

InspectorJapp

@Griselda Yes ! French is very logical ! It's harder for me to express myself in english but i practice ! I was on holliday and more active on the Facebook and Twitter. I will take time to read and write in this forum ! ...and Ph.D ...on Flaubert ! wow ! I like that ! 

InspectorJapp

@Madame_Doyle To answer your question, things didn't turn exactly the way i want  At this time, i have more success in twitter than facebook. i try to post on a regular basis. I have 4 members on facebook...so there is no discussion yet but i hope to have others members soon ! I have 17 on twitter ! and ...it's more in English  I try to do my best ah ah ! 

InspectorJapp

@Annika I thought about having a blog too...facebook and twitter, is more for short posts or spontaneous discussions. A blog is more personnal and complete. Sometime, i wonder if i should put my efforts into this. I think you have more visibility too and is easier to reach people.