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FlightGear on Facebook!

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FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby curt » Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:21 pm

I just wanted to let everyone here know that I set up an "official" FlightGear page on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/FlightGea ... 7110679558

If you are a facebook user, please take a look at the FlightGear page linked above and "like" it. The "pro flight sim" page has 370 likes right now and we need to blow them out of the water!!!
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby skyop » Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:58 pm

Wow! It's been less than 2 hours and we have nearly 150 likes! :D
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby Omega » Tue Dec 07, 2010 5:06 pm

curt wrote:The "pro flight sim" page has 370 likes right now and we need to blow them out of the water!!!

Absolutely! "The flight simulators facebook war is coming soon" :mrgreen:
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby curt » Wed Dec 08, 2010 3:13 pm

For what it's worth I was able to get the FlightGear alias for our page. The old link should continue to work just fine, but the new easier link is:

http://www.facebook.com/FlightGear

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby nickyivyca » Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:21 am

Interesting that on their page, they say "Download Legal Pro Flight Simulator" and then some link that looks like a link to an ad (clickbank.com seems like an ad). Meanwhile, we actually have something real on our page.

I'm on the main FG page now. Glad to see that we have the regular page instead of the old group.
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby curt » Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:23 pm

I've been trying to respond positively to this whole proflightsim thing, but one of the proflightsim pages on facebook right now has postings from several people (all with the same broken english style ... so obviously fake users all setup by the same vendor) calling us, FlightGear, spammers, saying we stole proflightsim from them and are pirates illegally giving it away for free, they say our site and our version of the software is full of viruses, and on and on. That's very frustrating to me since FlightGear has been my passion for the last ... well going on 15 years.

What's even more frustrating (I can live with people saying mean things about me and the FlighGear project) is that even though a lot of people see through the crap, and spot the scam in time, there are enough people that buy into the sales pitch hook line and sinker and are losing $128 (yes that's what they are charging) for no good reason ...

So on the positive side, we just cleared 250 fans on the official FlightGear facebook page. That's not exactly "going viral" but so far it looks like we are seeing roughly linear growth. We are about on a rate to get 10,000 fans in a year ... that will take patience, but will be a great milestone when we get there.

I was talking to a professor at Texas A&M University who is running his own facebook ad with his own money to advertise flightgear ... that's way above and beyond the call of duty!

So even though I'm really frustrated about all this today, please, let's keep things positive. I still think the best we can do is get out our positive message as far and as wide as we can. We can't correct every false statement on the internet or preempt every slimy individual out there from taking advantage of other people ... but we can continue to spread the word (positively) about FlightGear and what we offer and that it's 100% free ... and totally awesome!
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby Tuxklok » Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:55 pm

curt wrote:I've been trying to respond positively to this whole proflightsim thing, but one of the proflightsim pages on facebook right now has postings from several people (all with the same broken english style ... so obviously fake users all setup by the same vendor) calling us, FlightGear, spammers, saying we stole proflightsim from them and are pirates illegally giving it away for free, they say our site and our version of the software is full of viruses, and on and on. That's very frustrating to me since FlightGear has been my passion for the last ... well going on 15 years.


I can live with someone reusing and selling the software, even if in slimy underhanded way, as the gpl allows it and these kind of people come and go and in the end mean nothing and just aren't worth stressing. To actually attack the flightgear project and spread lies about it is a new low for them though.

On a slightly positive note though, the fact they are resorting to such tactics probably means the various spread the truth about proflightsim campaigns people have been on must be starting to hurt their sales.
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby D-79 » Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:37 am

curt wrote:just cleared 250 fans on the official FlightGear facebook page. That's not exactly "going viral" but so far it looks like we are seeing roughly linear growth. We are about on a rate to get 10,000 fans in a year ...

I am afraid that the growth rate is not linear, but will slow down very soon, due to one simple effect: At the beginning, everyone who knows FligtGear finds out about the page, but once every active person has subscribed, only new users will hook onto it. BUT there is growth and right now it's 260, so the number is obviously still growing.

Two days ago, I set up a facebook account only for the purpose to become a friend.

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby D-79 » Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:56 am

curt wrote:obviously fake users all setup by the same vendor

I just checked some of those guys who "like" the FG rip-off. some of them are no fake, but most of them are, for example this guy: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php? ... 1601217925

There is a simple way to report fake identities on facebook, which may be found using this link http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.ph ... ke_profile or by searching for "report fake profile" in the help section. Maybe several of us could report them? That might help.

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby Farmboy » Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:06 pm

Every person I clicked on in the "127 people like this" have the exact same likes (FPSim and Penny stocks), no profile, and no wall posts. Obviously fake as you stated.

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby durk » Fri Dec 10, 2010 6:59 pm

Farmboy wrote:Every person I clicked on in the "127 people like this" have the exact same likes (FPSim and Penny stocks), no profile, and no wall posts. Obviously fake as you stated.



I just went to one of the persons who liked this page (a Mr. "Tom Gates") and reported all the FlightProSim pages that this"person" liked as being "Spam & Scam" (more precisely Spam en Zwendel on the Dutch facebook). Not sure whether it helps, but I very strongly share Curt's sentiment about the false accusations being voiced that some of these pages.

Like D-79, I specifically signed up for Facebook, just so that I could like FlightGear. :-)

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby Algernon » Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:16 pm

I agree that this kind of desperation indicates our (clean and above board) truth campaign is working. Facebook, if it has any sense, will crack down on this defamatory use of its service, which is almost certainly against its Ts & Cs. I presume the best way to make them take notice is for as many people as possible to report each appearance of a baseless lie connected to FGFS on Facebook...
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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby curt » Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:47 pm

Ok, as of Monday morning we have 370 likes on the FlightGear facebook page. This was my original goal ... to meet or exceed the number on the biggest flight pro sim page (which I can't find any more so maybe it got yanked.)

In addition, our users are real and unique people, unlike the sim pro flight pages which are 98% phony accounts set up just to boost their numbers mixed with an occasional real user who hasn't done enough research yet.

So far, growth remains pretty linear with about 30 new likes per day ... I guess we'll have to see how long we can keep that rate going. :-)

Great work everyone, let's keep spreading the word!

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby Farmboy » Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:08 pm

That's the marketing beauty of social networks. It's self-advertising by association, and it's working for FG just as it has for many others. FG may find a new user influx overwhelming, but that's not a bad thing.

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Re: FlightGear on Facebook!

Postby Groucho » Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:09 pm

D-79 wrote:
curt wrote:obviously fake users all setup by the same vendor

I just checked some of those guys who "like" the FG rip-off. some of them are no fake, but most of them are, for example this guy: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php? ... 1601217925


Well, I am not on FaceBook, not even for the sake of FlightGear.
But the guy you mentioned seems to like only FlightSimPro and its variants:
* ProFlightSimulator
* ProFlightSimulator Flight Sim Game
* Pro Flight Simulator
* Airplane Flight Simulator
* Pro Flight Simulator

So chances are going towards 100% that it´s a fake sales droid. Propably more profiles of that sort are hidden and easily identifiable.
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