why profile post?

[dianeseattle]

out of curiosity I just clicked on the "profile posts" link at the top of my page and learned a whole lot of news from regular members that didn't post to the group. Why not share with everyone? What is the point of a profile post? Personally, I think it would be great to use the feature to say "welcome" or "thank you" instead of posting just one or two words to the entire group. I think it would be more personal, but I still don't understand why people post important news about their lives in a profile post instead of a regular post. One of our members has had an amazing weight loss and she never mentioned it here. If I hadn't idly clicked, I never would have known.

seriously, why? and yes, I do feel left out by this practice. What is a profile post supposed to be used for?

i'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Brenda2010]

out of curiosity I just clicked on the "profile posts" link at the top of my page and learned a whole lot of news from regular members that didn't post to the group. Why not share with everyone? What is the point of a profile post? Personally, I think it would be great to use the feature to say "welcome" or "thank you" instead of posting just one or two words to the entire group. I think it would be more personal, but I still don't understand why people post important news about their lives in a profile post instead of a regular post. One of our members has had an amazing weight loss and she never mentioned it here. If I hadn't idly clicked, I never would have known.

seriously, why? and yes, I do feel left out by this practice. What is a profile post supposed to be used for?

i'd love to hear your thoughts.

Personally, I use the profile post just to provide little check ins for anyone who follows me, things that may not necessarily be news worthy. I think if someone follows you, they get pinged that you posted something there.

 

[Badgy]

Same. And for me it's almost documentation of my journey thus far. So someday when I look back I can see how far I've come.

 

[dianeseattle]

I think if someone follows you, they get pinged that you posted something there.

No, they don't. I just stumbled onto them, and it seemed to me all the posts would have been good for the whole group.

I had no idea and in one case I'd been wondering about a member who'd stopped posting to the group.

I think a profile post might be good for posting opinions that would be contentious and shouldn't be aired where members could feel conflicted. But the group is about supporting each other publicly in the forum, hanging together.

I have used profile posting to share deeply personal news that doesn't belong in any of the subforums. If something is too personal i use private messaging.

Since anyone can easily access every one of his/her postings from the profile page, profile postings announcing progress but not sharing with the group seem antithetical to the group's mission.

And like I said, I had no idea these posts were there even though I've been here a year. So... does it make sense to use that feature instead of sharing with the entire group? We have categories for virtually every topic.

IMO, it's redundant at best and clique-ish at worst. It seems to mirror the exact way we can feel excluded by the detractors we are subject to in daily life. If you're not notified or invited, you miss out on the experiences of others.

 

[mmitti]

Duh. I can't find anything at the top of the page that says "profile posts."

 

[mmitti]

Never mind. I found it.

 

[Brenda2010]

No, they don't. I just stumbled onto them, and it seemed to me all the posts would have been good for the whole group.

I had no idea and in one case I'd been wondering about a member who'd stopped posting to the group.

I think a profile post might be good for posting opinions that would be contentious and shouldn't be aired where members could feel conflicted. But the group is about supporting each other publicly in the forum, hanging together.

I have used profile posting to share deeply personal news that doesn't belong in any of the subforums. If something is too personal i use private messaging.

Since anyone can easily access every one of his/her postings from the profile page, profile postings announcing progress but not sharing with the group seem antithetical to the group's mission.

And like I said, I had no idea these posts were there even though I've been here a year. So... does it make sense to use that feature instead of sharing with the entire group? We have categories for virtually every topic.

IMO, it's redundant at best and clique-ish at worst. It seems to mirror the exact way we can feel excluded by the detractors we are subject to in daily life. If you're not notified or invited, you miss out on the experiences of others.

I certainly don't use them in any way to be private or exclude anyone, since everyone can read them. When I started seeing others post on their own profiles months back, I noticed they were a good way to provide quick little status updates on your life when perhaps the masses won't get much out of it. There's also a part of me who is still insecure about talking about myself and sometimes feels like others may be thinking "enough already".