Question on Private Facebook Pages

I have been tasked with figuring out how to register our youth for upcoming youth conference. Our stake is really spread out and we have struggled in the past getting good documentation on signups when doing paper signups alone. We thought about setting up a private facebook account where we could let anyone in the stake request access to the facebook page, and on the page we would have the files to fill out and then email into us, along with other information and announcements on the youth conference.

I know from the handbook this type of thing is discouraged, but I don't see how doing this is possible using the LDS.org site. Are there any suggestions on what we might do to reach more people and get a quicker, faster response on who will and will not be attending? Thanks.

The handbook was changed a few months ago. (The most current version is online and there is not a printed revision.) Under the new terms, I think that what you're proposing is probably okay, as long as you carefully manage it to protect privacy and avoid unwanted content.

Additional guidance based on the most recent handbook revision is available at http://internet.lds.org/

kgrigio wrote:and on the page we would have the files to fill out and then email into us, along with other information and announcements on the youth conference.

I'd look into the features of the newsletter system. The PDF size limits are rather small, but if you keep it to simple text and dispense with fancy graphics, it should work. It would be far less work and all stake members would have access automatically.

You mention a Facebook account, a Facebook page, and the fact that you want it to be private. What you want is a Facebook group. Someone who is helping organize the event should go to the left side of the Facebook homepage, and click the "Create Group" link.

You want the group to be either Closed, or Secret. If you choose Secret, youth will need to be manually added to the group by members of the group. Instead, I would probably choose Closed, so youth can search for the group.

For convenience, you can also go into Group Settings and set a custom URL for the group, so it can be something like facebook.com/groups/1stStakeYouth instead of facebook.com/groups/[string_of_random_numbers]

The church really needs to create an event registration solution.

johnshaw wrote:The church really needs to create an event registration solution.

Especially since not everyone has, or is willing to get, a Facebook account (nor should they have to, or even feel pressured to).

Liz

lmcguire wrote:

johnshaw wrote:The church really needs to create an event registration solution.

Especially since not everyone has, or is willing to get, a Facebook account (nor should they have to, or even feel pressured to).

I spoke with three members this weekend who just cancelled their Facebook accounts.

The best, and easiest option, is to create a google Form that automatically populates an excel spreadsheet... but personal information.... might be a way to get what you need anyway

Meanwhile, what ever happened to email*, telephone calls*, face-to-face, and letters (if you're that far apart and don't want technology)? Just sayin'... Sometimes we act like communication is difficult...

*My choice of provider and your choice of provider don't have the be the same; and both are common.

Liz

in this case, with all that is technically required for a youth conference (stake, at least) that is a lot of paperwork that can get lost. If you've ever seen a member of the church lose it over not having the right size t-shirt for her daughter, you've truly had a window opened into eternal burnings...

my wife did a stake camp for several years... it is difficult, at time consuming. Add that 14 wards/branches and 5 hour drive from one side of the stake to another, and yes, I would've loved to have the time back that my wife spent just tracking down a piece of paper lost in the shuffle, never collected, or turned in by a ward leader, knowingly passing the buck to the stake.