rv9av8tr

rv9av8tr

Well Known Member
I haven't found any discussion here about Van's discontinuing "The RVator", effective with this last issue.

Replacing it with Facebook???? Are you kidding me??? I know LOTS of RV pilots who don't use Facebook and DON'T want to use Facebook.

I always love the pictures and articles in RVator, more so than Kitplanes and Sport Aviation. I think it's a big mistake............

What say you????????
 
I try to avoid those "social networking" sites as much as possible since my virus software seems to start working overtime dealing with the various "stuff" trying to make its way into my machine. I'm a long-time "computer professional", but I also find Facebook, et al, to be confusing. This, I'll admit, might be more of a "generational" thing for me.

All that being said, I am not all that perturbed by the RVator no longer being published on Van's regular site. It seems to be mostly about the RV12 now anyway. I do recommend the "27 Years of the RVator" CD as a great resource for building info. It provides some great tips and explains several issues that were important to the RV community at the time they were originally published.

There is now so much information and practically instant assistance available on VAF that the RVator, in whatever format, may not be as important a resource as it once was.

My $.02 worth.

(Now, having a VAF# is truly a distinguishing feature of RV life! I will leave mine in my signature even though they are no longer being issued. :D)
 
Don't knock it...

rv9av8tr said:
I haven't found any discussion here about Van's discontinuing "The RVator", effective with this last issue.

Replacing it with Facebook???? Are you kidding me??? I know LOTS of RV pilots who don't use Facebook and DON'T want to use Facebook.

I always love the pictures and articles in RVator, more so than Kitplanes and Sport Aviation. I think it's a big mistake............

What say you????????
Click to expand...

Mike, since you asked,

I'm one of those who had to be dragged, kicking and screaming all the way, into the online world of facebook. I hated the idea of myspace, facebook, et al. But I logged on to facebook one day just to keep track of what my kids were up to and stay in touch with them. It turned out to be one of the greatest decisions I've made. Facebook is terrific. I'm staying better in touch with family, friends, and reconnecting with people I haven't seen or heard from in years. Decades, in some cases. Heck, if a kid can learn it, any person intelligent enough to operate a flying machine should have no trouble. I realized all I needed was a little bit of willlingness to try something new. That's not always easy for us older guys. But trust me. Just try it. You just might like it! (hint... it really helps if the mind stays open. Ask me how I know.)

I enjoyed the RVator as much as anyone, but I'm already enjoying the spur-of-the-moment articles, pictures, comments from readers, and so on that only an online presence can allow. It's time we face it. Paper magazines are fast becoming obsolete. Can you imagine Doug trying to run VAF on paper? With a monthly mailing? If you like VAF and appreciate what Doug is doing for us all, it's not a stretch to consider what an online presence like facebook will do for Vans Aircraft. Just give it a fair shake.
 
I agree with Bruce completly. I'm an old f**t and saw no need or use for Facebook. I'd rather pick up the phone than send an e mail.

I joined Facebook to keep up with Van's and all of a sudden the I've changed my tune. If you have not tried Facebook, don't knock it. It may not be to everyone's liking, but to my great surprise, I find it useful. My daughter came to visit and gave me a 30 minute tutorial, set up my privacy settings and showed me how to navigate the site.

I suggest you try Facebook. I have been pleasantly surprised, and hopefully you will be too.
 
I Hate Facebook

It is the on-going joke in my house with my wife and son. Had a Facebook page awhile back that I used for my P.I. side business. Decided to get rid of it but couldn't! Then my page kept getting hijacked and sending emails out to my address book selling misc products. I would cancel and a few weeks later would get a "welcome back" message. Oh, don't try to call anyone there, impossible. I finally found a "law enforcement only" (Im a retired cop) message and fax line. I sent threatening messages there and they finally deactivated my account. Did I say I hate Facebook? Oh, yea, I already did...... :D
 
The medium is the message...

...as much now as back when The Network was made, and that is the concern I mentioned in the previous thread.

I enjoy hitting Vans facebook page for updates; it seems to be much like checking the Bulletin Board at work. But one of the best elements of the RVator, for me, was the 'reflection' content by folks like Van and the two Kens. These were longer-term perspectives e.g. on the broader significance of the an RV LSA product, how the perspectives of mfgrs and FAA types varied, and how these pieces influenced one another. I don't see Facebook (or any other social networking service), with its natural emphasis on news of the moment, inviting those 'big picture' ruminations. And so far, my impression is that's how it's working out at Van's Facebook page. Being new to all things RV, I used the RVator, several years worth all read within a week or so, to help me get an education on not just RV planes but the 'RV culture' and the people involved in it. Some of those longer-term personal reflections were a big help to me, and so far it's not apparent to me how the next decade's newbies will be offered this kind of content. I doubt Facebook will provide it.

Jack
 
I agree with Bruce, dont knock it before you try it. It has its purpose and can be very useful.

That being said, if you do venture into the world of Facebook, I recommend against playing any of the silly games or getting dragged into trivia questions or basically any applications that bounce around on FB. If your friends/family send them to you, just ignore/delete them. You can actually filter them out so you never see 'em. They are created to mine data from your site and cause you headaches in general. I really am surprised more people arent aware of this.

And, even though I embrace new technology...I will miss the RVator...and magazines...and newspapers...and printed books...times are a changing.

BSwayze said:
Mike, since you asked,

I'm one of those who had to be dragged, kicking and screaming all the way, into the online world of facebook. I hated the idea of myspace, facebook, et al. But I logged on to facebook one day just to keep track of what my kids were up to and stay in touch with them. It turned out to be one of the greatest decisions I've made. Facebook is terrific. I'm staying better in touch with family, friends, and reconnecting with people I haven't seen or heard from in years. Decades, in some cases. Heck, if a kid can learn it, any person intelligent enough to operate a flying machine should have no trouble. I realized all I needed was a little bit of willlingness to try something new. That's not always easy for us older guys. But trust me. Just try it. You just might like it! (hint... it really helps if the mind stays open. Ask me how I know.)

I enjoyed the RVator as much as anyone, but I'm already enjoying the spur-of-the-moment articles, pictures, comments from readers, and so on that only an online presence can allow. It's time we face it. Paper magazines are fast becoming obsolete. Can you imagine Doug trying to run VAF on paper? With a monthly mailing? If you like VAF and appreciate what Doug is doing for us all, it's not a stretch to consider what an online presence like facebook will do for Vans Aircraft. Just give it a fair shake.
Click to expand...
 
My problem is I'm afraid of joining Facebook.
You keep hearing bad stories about once you put any info on there you can never get it off, such Glenn's experience.
To me it seems like an irrevocable step into the unknown, an unknown where there are plenty of horror stories.
So for me it's a no to Facebook.
 
rjtjrt said:
My problem is I'm afraid of joining Facebook.
You keep hearing bad stories about once you put any info on there you can never get it off, such Glenn's experience.
To me it seems like an irrevocable step into the unknown, an unknown where there are plenty of horror stories.
So for me it's a no to Facebook.
Click to expand...

I guess what no one seems to have mentioned is that you don't have to join Facebook to read everything that van's puts on their Facebook site (at last that is how I understand it. Much to the amusement of my own family, I have not joined FB yet either, and don't really see a need at this point - but I have so far been able to follow the "Near Real time RVator". Time will tell on the content....

Paul
 
I don't know anything about facebook, but my kids tell me I would need to have some friends in order to be on it. Is that right?
 
No Facebook for me.
I prefer the "under the radar" as much as possible in the cyber world.
Oh BTW, I'm a system's developer and well aware of how information is shared.
 
No articles?

So far there seem to be no real articles, only short announcements/company news. No doubt this is useful, but its not very satisfying for someone (like me) who looked to the RVator for deeper perspectives on building, flying, etc. Hopefully more in-depth pieces are planned?
 
After trying to follow Van's updates on Facebook for a few weeks, I realized I was missing important updates as they scrolled by amongst all the other Facebook noise. And since I'm a big fan of RSS, I found myself wishing I could just subscribe to Van's news feed in Google Reader, which is where I manage all my other RSS feeds. Luckily I found a tutorial on how to do this, so now I can use my RSS reader to see the Van's news. If you're an RSS junkie like me, just paste this feed link into your favorite RSS aggregator, and you should be all set... no more Facebook!

mcb
 
mburch said:
After trying to follow Van's updates on Facebook for a few weeks, I realized I was missing important updates as they scrolled by amongst all the other Facebook noise. And since I'm a big fan of RSS, I found myself wishing I could just subscribe to Van's news feed in Google Reader, which is where I manage all my other RSS feeds. Luckily I found a tutorial on how to do this, so now I can use my RSS reader to see the Van's news. If you're an RSS junkie like me, just paste this feed link into your favorite RSS aggregator, and you should be all set... no more Facebook!

mcb
Click to expand...

RSS is definitely the way to go. I use News Rack for getting my Google Reader feeds on the iPhone. You can find it in the App Store. It is newsfeed-iPhone nirvana. I even use it for stalking mBurch's blog. He has a feed link at the bottom. :D

Caveat emptor--I do have black helicopters circling me wherever I go; so unless you're into that, I wouldn't recommend it.:rolleyes:
 
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using"Reader" App to follow Vans on Facebook

I'm now happily using the above mentioned feed option to follow Vans Aircraft's page on Facebook. I use the Reader App (yes, it's simply call "Reader"). I like it because it integrates the "Readability" formatting and supports InstantPaper and ReadLater.
 
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A blog would work better? :cool:

Facebook Stats said:
More than 500 million active users
50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
More than 70 translations available on the site
About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
There are more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
Click to expand...
 
LeeM_2000 said:
A blog would work better? :cool:
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on your definition. I don't like facebook for what Van's is using it for. I'm probably one of the only teenagers that doesn't have a facebook account. Maybe Van's could do both though. A facebook page for those who like facebook and a blog for those who don't.
 
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drycreek said:
I guess it depends on your definition. I don't like facebook for what Van's is using it for. I'm probably one of the only teenagers that doesn't have a facebook account. Maybe Van's could do both though. A facebook page for those who like facebook and a blog for those who don't.
Click to expand...

You don't need an account to look at the page. I really don't understand what the fuss is about, or how some folks regard a FB page as being more evil/scary/whatever than a blog or a forum like this one.
 
LeeM_2000 said:
You don't need an account to look at the page. I really don't understand what the fuss is about, or how some folks regard a FB page as being more evil/scary/whatever than a blog or a forum like this one.
Click to expand...

I am aware of that. I just don't like how the information is presented. I find a blog much more organized looking than a FB page.
 
In case the Vans people are reading this, I also want to register my disquiet about Vans utilising facebook.

Why can't they say anything they have to on their own website? This is what most other companies do.

Why couldn't they come to an arrangement to use this website for more dynamic updates?

I've looked at their facebook page a couple of times; it's confusing, and I just plain don't like it.

Don't forget there are some of us that will just stay away from facebook as a matter of principal.

There seems to be a lot of other options other than facebook.

Overall, I just don't get it....
 
Short answer

I'm not one of "Van's people," and cannot speak for them, but I think that they have found that Facebook is fast, simple, and free for everyone. It makes sense to me that the folks at "The Mother Ship" would use this service.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAA FAAST Team Member
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
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