To Those That Participate on FB Duck Hunting Groups

Hey Eric & All!
I agree with you on many aspects and honestly have taken some steps away from FB as I found it's taken so much of my time not to mention the (Slight) addiction to purchasing duck boats / related material on Marketplace....lol but unfortunately so much has become commercialized within the hunting industry. I see it on both sides within my field and it's disappointing to see. For instance... open up a copy of Wildfowl you will see the major brands throughout with some simple, some complex, come catchy advertising that costs thousands then look towards the back where the "Mom & Pop's" shops once were... you'll find only 4/5 maybe... if that where there was 15-20+ just a few years ago.
Look at the shows... Easton, Maryland vendor rates went up 200%.... $2,000 for an outside space where it once was affordable to those who I feel understood the traditions, heritage and sport way more than 3-5 teens selling products that that are a "trend" or the "best of the best".. times have changed and hunting is just another industry for the $$.
In regards to Facebook groups, I manage about 23 groups in total.. 23 and I can tell you the spam messages, the AI influence has dramatically brought that down with Admin power but the actual valuable connection is nowhere near the connection I feel when I visit this site.
As a "youngster" myself >35 I see the shift here everyone's glued to the phones but that's the way society is transforming towards.. I just finished up a meeting today about virtual headsets for drone deliveries... it's a crazy world out there but one day they will look back at today's present as unrecognizable.
 
Anthony Babich said:
Hey Eric & All!
I agree with you on many aspects and honestly have taken some steps away from FB as I found it's taken so much of my time not to mention the (Slight) addiction to purchasing duck boats / related material on Marketplace....lol but unfortunately so much has become commercialized within the hunting industry. I see it on both sides within my field and it's disappointing to see. For instance... open up a copy of Wildfowl you will see the major brands throughout with some simple, some complex, come catchy advertising that costs thousands then look towards the back where the "Mom & Pop's" shops once were... you'll find only 4/5 maybe... if that where there was 15-20+ just a few years ago.
Look at the shows... Easton, Maryland vendor rates went up 200%.... $2,000 for an outside space where it once was affordable to those who I feel understood the traditions, heritage and sport way more than 3-5 teens selling products that that are a "trend" or the "best of the best".. times have changed and hunting is just another industry for the $$.
In regards to Facebook groups, I manage about 23 groups in total.. 23 and I can tell you the spam messages, the AI influence has dramatically brought that down with Admin power but the actual valuable connection is nowhere near the connection I feel when I visit this site.
As a "youngster" myself >35 I see the shift here everyone's glued to the phones but that's the way society is transforming towards.. I just finished up a meeting today about virtual headsets for drone deliveries... it's a crazy world out there but one day they will look back at today's present as unrecognizable.
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Anthony,

I wasn't aware of the vendor rate changes. The Waterfowl show felt like there were less vendors and visitors this year.
 
Richard Lathrop said:
Anthony,

I wasn't aware of the vendor rate changes. The Waterfowl show felt like there were less vendors and visitors this year.
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I was disappointed in the Waterfowl festival this yr. I had not been since Covid, but found it focused too much on drinking, and all the venues were changed and the cataloge was worthless to figure out where things were being displayed. The basement of the Elks Lodge was food, the Armory had flat art. I struggled to find festival merch and what I found was over priced and limited. Guess I need to spend a couple days to learn the new locations.
 
@Anthony Babich & @Dave Diefenderfer

A few years back I took a 90s Wildfowl magazine and started comparing the number of product endorsements and advertisements per page to a recent issue. I got tired of counting, but the difference was huge. Tell me something, at the shows is the merchandise stuff guys make out of their homes/shops or has it become a place for the well-known national vendors to set up booths?
 
Dave Diefenderfer said:
I was disappointed in the Waterfowl festival this yr. I had not been since Covid, but found it focused too much on drinking, and all the venues were changed and the cataloge was worthless to figure out where things were being displayed. The basement of the Elks Lodge was food, the Armory had flat art. I struggled to find festival merch and what I found was over priced and limited. Guess I need to spend a couple days to learn the new locations.
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Dave,

I agree, for years Dave Clark was at the Elks lodge. This year he was out at the Country Day School. There were less sculpture vendors this year and the photography was moved to downtown across from Albrights. I get the feeling that Waterfowl wants to be more about socializing and art then hunting.

Rick
 
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Eric Patterson said:
@Anthony Babich & @Dave Diefenderfer

A few years back I took a 90s Wildfowl magazine and started comparing the number of product endorsements and advertisements per page to a recent issue. I got tired of counting, but the difference was huge. Tell me something, at the shows is the merchandise stuff guys make out of their homes/shops or has it become a place for the well-known national vendors to set up booths?
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Eric, I was unable to find the hunter/carvers this time. In the past, the middle school was the place for them, Veneasy, Smyzer, etc, would all be there and I always found a decoy to add to my spread. This year, they used the parking lot for parking and a bus stop but nothing else. I did pick up a GW teal at the tailgate at the Country School, and a silly deal on Keith Mueller's The Art of Making Decoys, signed Collector's Editions at the high school.... so silly I bought 4! I will go back, as it is close for me just 2.5 hrs away, and try to find where my interests have been relocated.
 
Eric Patterson said:
@Anthony Babich & @Dave Diefenderfer

A few years back I took a 90s Wildfowl magazine and started comparing the number of product endorsements and advertisements per page to a recent issue. I got tired of counting, but the difference was huge. Tell me something, at the shows is the merchandise stuff guys make out of their homes/shops or has it become a place for the well-known national vendors to set up booths?
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Eric, I would say 90% of the merchandise is factory made.. yes you will have some call makers actually make the entire product but many outsource clothing, calls, decoys and other products. The traditional root feel is long gone, in regards to Wildfowl on another note... the "Gear-Guide" issue where they showcase the BEST of the BEST products within the industry and recommend for public is all based on who gives the actual $$ there is no independent source, there's no true research its all about "ok this sponsor donated us xxx amount" lets put them in the gear guide. I've seen the contracts like WHAT! Like naming the top 10 players in the MLB but $$ is required to be mentioned lol! Years past it was never like that, manufacturers and other various product makers were excited to see if they were featured, it was something of a competition among the industry. The vendors I saw in Easton, MD even just 10 years ago no longer attend because they are 1. Too old lol and 2. feel that sense of authenticity to what really was the spark of this show is long gone. Where are the decoy carvers? Where are the call makers who are hand carving with their lathe? Where are the guys who have these new innovative ideas? Not someone on their phone standing behind a booth selling screen printed shirts for $40 lol. You'll find the last outlaw waterfowlers left at the high school parking lot otherwise stop by the show for some pale ales :LOL:
 
Easton Waterfowl Festival had record attendence this year. Our Retriever Demonstration was visited by hundreds of visitors on Saturday. But, there is no doubt that over the years it has become more of a Fall festival than a weekend dedicated to the interests of waterfowlers. Just witness the popularity of the Dock Dogs event.
 
I don’t believe I’ve actually posted here before, but honestly the constant marketing is a large part of why I dropped instagram (never really used Facebook) and mostly moved over to forums now.

I’ve only been to the Easton Festival twice, but I did think this year was smaller than the last one.
 
Big corporate has taken over and traditional waterfowlers / craftsmen are a dying breed. Duck hunters spend nearly $30 Billion annually on related "'stuff". It's sad to see corporate duck take over and folks prostitute waterfowl for profit. Guiding operations are the new market hunter.

I'll continue to pirogue hunt them until I can't hunt any more.
 
Eric Patterson said:
Scott

I have no doubt there are some good groups, especially ones that are actively moderated. I was just taken back by the amount of posts that were pure spam on several of the forums I surfed today. I'll be honest, I've never really liked FB and have always preferred communities run by individuals and not mega corporations so when I saw the spammy content I made the effort to point it out here where Carl and I don't allow that.

Early on after I joined FB I got scammed on a router attachment purchase that when it arrived it was made of cheap plastic and in a million parts with no instructions and not the nice machined aluminum tool in the picture and videos advertising it. Turns out the seller was overseas and would not refund my money. It was a scam plain and simple. I reported it to FB and nothing came of it. They got their ad money and I'm an insignificant voice amongst millions so it isn't worth their time to take any action. The only reason I haven't closed my account is I do use FB MP, which also sucks, for buying/selling used machinery and have some fraternity brothers and family members I keep in touch with. Other than that for the most part I think of FB as a net negative on society and take pot shots at them when the mood strikes.
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Most of those groups aren't worth a damn.

Spam like crazy and meaningless nonsense post.

I started a group about 10 years ago. "Crick life". It's not searchable, you have to be recommended by a friend.

It's just Hunting and Fishing. But largely based on waterfowl.

Myself in a good group of guys keep a tight reign on it. And thank goodness so far the AI bots have not found it yet. We try to keep the membership small and relevant.

Hopefully it can stay that way.
 
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