Hi everyone,

Firstly, this email is a bit of a departure from the usual, but I hope it isn't off-topic and this discussion will be useful for others!

This is mainly targetted at those who run social media accounts for Wiki events.

Using Wikimania as an example, I notice that Wikimania has multiple presences on Facebook - pages, groups, events. I assume we are all broadly familiar with the technical differences, but for those who are involved with these at a practical level - how is it working out?

I notice each year has a new "page"; as well (this year and last year) an associated "event" page: https://www.facebook.com/wikimania2013 / (no event) https://www.facebook.com/Wikimania2014 / https://www.facebook.com/events/569375129849190 https://www.facebook.com/wikimania2015 / https://www.facebook.com/events/367859576719817

I was surprised that there was a new page set up each year - losing valuable followers. I guess bid teams want to set up their own page to promote their bid before it is confirmed (as well as promote it in the period prior to the event before theirs). It seems the URL https://www.facebook.com/wikimania is taken by a profile of someone completely unrelated. Was this an influence in going down the "annual new page" route?

Other questions: Has anyone found downsides to this page/event paired arrangement? Unneeded duplication? Would you recommend running it as an "event" page only in future? Pages offer features such as analytics, etc - but is a separate page worthwhile for a one off event?

Any insights greatly appreciated :)

Regards,

Charles / User:Chuq Wikimedia Australia