this has been suggested to me as an alternative to consider:

Tumblr is probably the way to go. It can be a locked blog, with lots of options. 

www.tumblr.com


Dan Herron
[log in to unmask]
Professor, Business Legal Studies
Miami University
Executive Secretary, Academy of Legal Studies in Business (www.alsb.org)
Director, Miami University Mock Trial Program (www.miamimocktrial.org)
________________________________________
From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael O'Hara [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2011 11:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: {spam?}  Re: Has anyone considered moving our ALSB discussions to a social network?

ALSBTALK:

All technology is net.  As with all technology, the net experience varies by user class characteristics with some classes being unquestionably net positive and other classes being unquestionably net negative.  In my humble opinion, Facebook, especially for faculty not engaging in distance education, generates a net negative.  In stark contrast, for a faculty member engaged in distance education Facebook creates many opportunities to capture values that result in a net positive.

Generically, the question all web technologies must first answer is:  how open will be the gated community?  ALSBTALK is closer to the open end of that continuum and Facebook is far closer to the closed end of that continuum.

How much effort is required to access ALSBTALK?

For a Facebook user much more.  A Facebook user must incur an additional transaction cost.  A Facebook user must leave the gated community.  This particular cost is emotionally expensive since it highlights as fictional the purported fine tailoring of the gated community.  Avoidance of this transaction cost encourages proselytizing by Facebook users.  And, for Facebook as a business enterprise, what is the profit margin on user initiated word-of-mouth advertising?

Profit is far more easily identifiable and capturable with a web tech that is gated community.  That is why Facebook is "free" like over-the-air TV is free.  You pay for Facebook, like you pay for over-the-air TV:  with ads.  However, since the recipient of ads provides detailed personal information to Facebook, Facebook is able to capture a greater percentage of an advertiser's ad budget.  Facebook is the new AOL.  AOL initially soared because AOL bundled internet access and gated community when the market for internet access was thin.  But AOL made the gate too high for those that lived behind the gate.  Since Facebook presumes internet access, Facebook avoided imposing that cost on those living behind the Facebook gate.  Accordingly, Facebook can sell for the price that always is a great attractor:  "free".

If ALSBTALK moves to Facebook, then ALSBTALK will lose this participant.

But, as noted at the outset, all is net   ;-)

Michael

Professor Michael J. O'Hara, J.D., Ph.D.
Finance, Banking, & Law Department
College of Business Administration
Mammel Hall 228
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6708 Pine Street
Omaha NE 68182-0048
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(402) 554 - 2823 voice fax (402) 554 - 2680
http://cba.unomaha.edu/faculty/mohara/web/ohara.htm