by Erin Hanafin Berg, Field Representative
December 2, 2009
Note: You need to be a member of Facebook to view some of these links!

As someone who is solidly in the “35-44” age bracket, I will admit to a certain fascination with Facebook. (Have you read “Why Facebook is for Old Fogies?” The author took the yet-unformed words right out of my mouth.) Aside from checking out pictures of my friends’ adorable children, and finding out more than I ever thought I’d want to know about my high school classmates’ adult lives, I’ve found Facebook to be a valuable tool for preservation advocacy. While our own attempts to build a social network have been only moderately successful (we’re still newbies at this, and we’re busy), other groups have done a great job building a constituency of people who care about particular historic resources.

Not surprisingly, one of the most successful recent preservation-minded groups has a large contingency of youngsters. (The word “youngsters,” in and of itself, identifies me as middle-aged, doesn’t it?) The Rock Island Bridge Coalition, which started as “Save the Rock Island Swing Bridge,” has 528 members, many of whom are somehow affiliated with the group of Simley High School students who kicked off advocacy and fundraising efforts last spring. Keith Joyce, the group’s creator and a member of the Inver Grove Heights Park and Recreation Commission (and of my age demographic) posts regularly about news, events, and other happenings related to the preservation and rehabilitation of this bridge, which was one of the Alliance’s 10 Most Endangered sites in 2009.

Another 10 Most site that immediately received its own Facebook fan page was the Big Fish in Bena. Another whopper of a group (at least as far as local preservation efforts are concerned), Fans of the Big Fish – Bena, Minnesota has almost 500 members. The recent restoration of the Fish was funded by a private donation by Bell Mortgage, so the Facebook page has been used largely for posting stories and photos—including a recent fan pic of the Fish in holiday attire.

Two potentially endangered sites in Saint Paul also have their own Facebook pages. “Save the Victoria Theater” was created in October 2009, when a neighboring business signed a purchase agreement to buy the theater and demolish it for parking. The Facebook page has been an impressive vehicle for spreading information about the historic significance of the building, which was previously unknown to preservationists, and has 378 members at present.

The “Save 3M Building 21” Facebook page was created to raise awareness about the Saint Paul Port Authority’s redevelopment plans for the 3M Main Plant site on the East Side of Saint Paul. Although the site only a few dozen fans (so far), it is chock full of great photographs and the Notes section of the page includes excerpts from the various historical and architectural publications, information that will be critical in making a case for the site’s preservation.

I hope I am not the only one who is somewhat flummoxed by Facebook’s organization, though. Some pages are set up as Groups, others as Pages, still others as People that can be “friended,” as opposed to “fanned,” and there are Cause pages, too. I wonder if the success or viability of Facebook as a networking and advocacy tool depends somewhat on how easy it is to find the various pages/groups/sites. For example, Historic Augusta, a local non-profit preservation organization in Georgia, is set up as a Person (first name, Historic; last name, Augusta) and has almost 2,500 friends. This in contrast to the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (first name, PAM; last name—not needed, since we’re in the same realm of Cher and Madonna) which is set up as a Group and has 409 fans. Even the National Trust for Historic Preservation (emphasis on “national”) has a mere 8,800 fans on Facebook. The Michigan Historic Preservation Network, which is set up as a Cause page so that it can take online donations, has 475 members (and has raised $375). What gives?

I suspect it has something to do with the level of interaction, and maybe these other groups are very savvy in their outreach. As I said, we’re busy, but not too busy to respond to comments on our Wall or to send out interesting bits and blurbs from time to time. Please become a fan of ours, if you aren’t already. Friend/fan/join these other groups, too. And if you know of other grass-roots preservation efforts that are using Facebook, please let me know about them so I can, at the very least, see what makes them tick: PAMfieldnotes@gmail.com Thanks!