Toasting the birth of a notion on March 20th, 2020. The author is at an undisclosed location with Ginny Murray and Big Daddy. Photo credit: Tim Donnely
On this day, two years ago, we published the first post on the Cape May Live Facebook group. Stuff was shutting down, and doors were closing. The COVID-19 pandemic started to rage in our area, and we were about to head into uncharted territory.
Wow, today Cape May live turns two years old. Cape May, we felt, needed a place to connect, vent, and share updates about life. We were right, and over 8000 of you agreed and joined, and countless others contributed.
My friend and co-administrator Ginny Murray maintain the page with little moderation. Our first post read:
Welcoming the Cool, Cooler, the Salty, the homeowners and the visitors to a new group called Cape May Live.
Post your concerts virtual and otherwise. Post your business updates and advertising. Post about your events. Post news. But not drama. Our belief is posts live as long as there is interest.
Facebook algorithms, in a simplified explanation, work by popularity. The more comments or discussions a topic gets, the higher in rank it appears. In other words, commenting on an annoying (to you ) post keeps that thread alive longer.
The pandemic saw the birth and growth of many other virtual groups, from restaurant recommendations to help-wanted sites. Cape May Live was modeled after a tourism group I belong to, What’s Going St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.
Social Media For Good
The biggest threat to a public Facebook group is spammers and politics. We try to monitor both. No, don’t post about duct cleaning, and we prefer you keep your political views to yourself. Ask tourism questions—post about your events and activities.
Occasionally the Cape May Live group is used for local activism. Recently the decision to abolish the three-day beach tag and modify the weekly tag drew the ire of many members. Members shared their views and agreed to voice their concerns. Some group members vociferously emailed members of Cape May City Council. For now, we stopped the ordinance.
If you are one of the 8,400 members of Cape May Live, thanks for being here; if not, consider joining and participating. Keep an eye out, and an ear opens for exciting future announcements on this blog and Cape May Live.
John,
You are the best. We will be down the 2nd week of August (8/6- 8/13). Hope to see you. Thanks, Mark (Pittsburgh)
Well done 👏 👏 👏!
Congratulations John and that beautiful co-administer Ginny. 8400 is quite a number. Very impressive. Keep going; the site is obviously enjoyed by many. 👍
And what a two years it has been!!!
Congratulations…
I don’t know why your group is blocking me now . I have opinions like everyone else on this page yet my posts are being declined. As a local, I should be able to comment on good and bad aspects of our town.
Author
Adele,
Profiles without a profile photo are restricted by Facebook, not us.
John