Ask HN: Which should I use: Yahoo Groups, Facebook Groups or Google Groups? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Which should I use: Yahoo Groups, Facebook Groups or Google Groups?

I am trying to create an online community (not social network)for Nigerian Internet Entrepreneurs (Globally) and I am wondering what I should use.

I am am looking for something we can use to discuss issues, collaborate, share news, stories, ideas etc. I am familiar with Google Groups via Lean Startup Circle but is seems a bit boring. Facebook Groups require people to join FB not including the additional distractions from logging in. I have not used Yahoo Groups in a long while so I do not know the state.

Are there other options asides the one I mentioned? Of course it would need the special moderating features, and the ability to be invite only etc.

I would really appreciate your feedback.

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Out of those 3 options, I'd stick with Google Groups. It's easy to moderate/manage and search through content. Facebook Groups seem very distracting to me and until they fine tune the notifications part, its a wee bit gimmicky. Yahoo groups, well I haven't used that in a while but it certainly was susceptible to spamming a lot more than google groups I've run.

LinkedIn is another option.

In terms of 'boring', what should be interesting is the content, not the presentation. HN itself, is pretty 'boring', isn't it?

I am a fan of Wordpress in combination with buddypress. There are tons of plugins to tailor the community to what you like, from Chatmodules, groups, extended profiles, etc. And it is very easy to set up a few pages about the community, rules, etc. All you need is some virtual server to install wordpress. Mine is about 8,95 € per month...

I would say really do some analysis on your audience. I found these questions helps: What is going interesting or engaging about my content / group to other people? E.g. is it going to get them funding, network contacts, ideas for their business, problem solving

Also consider that their maybe already be some good groups for this content on Linked-in, Meetups etc.

If you have some form of this already What about my content / group are or willl be people responding to? How can I use that to get more attention?

Then do some analysis of the pro's and cons of each group based on your analysis and requirements e.g. I was reading that Yahoo groups has the largest number of people currently, Facebook groups is new and ideally suited if you want primarily have friends on Facebook contributing.

I also like the idea of linked in groups if you want this to primarily be a professional focused network

Starting next month, regular files will need to be stored in Google Docs in order to be accessible -- inconvenient, but better organized.

"Starting in November 2010, Groups will no longer allow the creation or editing of files and pages; the content will only be available for viewing, and only existing files will be able to be downloaded. If you would like to keep the content currently on the pages and files sections of your group, we highly encourage you to export and migrate it to another product. In February 2011, we will turn off the pages and files features, and you will no longer be able to access that content."

http://groups-announcements.blogspot.com/2010/09/notice-abou...

Like @rakkhi said I think it really depends on your target audience. I've setup Google Groups, Yahoo Groups and Facebook Groups before. If you're targeting a more tech-savvy group, then Google Groups is it (non-techy people tend to think it is). For non tech-savvy groups, Yahoo Groups does just fine.

Facebook Groups in my opinion are a no-no even if all your group members are on Facebook and my reason for this is that it doesn't encourage active discussions. You always have to check with the group to know what's going on.

HTH

If you have your own hosting, you can try BuddyPress. It's simple and easy to setup and use.

Other option: self hosted groupware, please specify?

I wouldn't want to host anything extra. I want wamothing people can join with only an email addy. LinkedIn and Facebook require a lot(filling profile) as basic.

GroupSpaces

From my understanding GroupSpaces is ideal for hierarchically structured groups e.g oExecutive to members. This is more like a flattened distributed groups where person to person interaction is the way.

We're working on improving this - in particular reply-all listserv in the pipeline ;) -- Andy @ GroupSpaces

You could setup your own NNTP server: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_News_Transfer_Protocol

Nobody has access to NNTP anymore. You could complement it with a web gateway perhaps - what are good open source ones?

NNTP is alive and strong. Google groups includes most usenet groups for example. Yeah, most ISPs don't give out free access any more but just google for "news server access".

I have tried for a while in Germany, but eventually just gave up. Maybe you have it better in the US.

So what would be a free news server everybody can access? You should be able to name one, the one you are using for instance?

Google Groups - true, but Google doesn't have a free NNTP server, or do they? I admit I forgot that Google Groups are backed by NNTP.

I'm in the UK. I use nntp.aioe.org, a quick google brought up www.teranews.com .. hope at least one works out for you.

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