Walls will kill your community (assuming it’s alive in the first place)
Walls [noun]:
(a) rampart: an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
(b) an immaterial or intangible barrier, obstruction, etc.
(Just a refresher)
I’ve got to be honest and direct (maybe a little critical) about something that has been on my mind for a while. Something that I think deserves more attention, sadly enough.
The background:
About four months ago, I contacted the Advertising Federation of Minnesota (www.AdFed.org) regarding an invitation they had extended in search of guest bloggers/content providers for their website and it’s offshoot- “The Edge Online”. According to their site lit:
“Edge Online is the newest creative offspring of the Advertising Federation of Minnesota. Like most progeny, “it takes a village” to mold, form and guide it through the frivolity of youth to successful maturation. That’s where you come in. Edge Online is looking for intriguing, instructional and even inspiring articles for and about the Minnesota advertising community. We want our new publication to grow up to be something of which we can all be proud.”
Cool, sounds nice, simple & straightforward, I can dig it: I provide content in exchange for publicity, perhaps a link to my blog, bio, contact info, etc. It’s really a great concept from the AdFed perspective to seek guest bloggers to contribute for more of a community site-they’ve definitely got the right idea. So I proceeded to email the coordinator for the go-ahead and a details.
Then it hit me like a brick wall-literally.
Wall #1: Submission Guidelines (My comments in Italic).
“Query us with your ideas for articles including length. (Query? For what, your explicit approval? Who is “us” anyways and what are they basing “approval” on? This already has censorship and control written all over it, something the net hates) . Articles can run between 500-2000 words in length. (Are you saying a great 300 word piece can’t “run”?) We will consider previously published articles if you hold clear copyright and will give us written permission to reprint the material ( I’m glad they’re worthy of your consideration)
Your query should be 150-200 words describing your idea and how you plan to develop it. Include your CV or credentials along with examples of any relevant past work (Include a CV? Is this an interview? “Relevant past work”-it’s sure starting to sound like a hassle). Submit your query via email (no attachments please) (Yes, ma’am) to edgeonline@adfed.org. Be sure to include your name, phone number and email address and the best time and means to contact you. Edge Online retains first-serial rights to accepted pieces. Edge Online retains first-serial rights to accepted original pieces. (OK, I get it) Copyright reverts to the author after publication. (What’s with the rights anyways? People just want to blog about things they like- leave the legalese out of it-you’re starting to scare me).
We will respond to your query within 1-2 weeks. (So it’s not going to be a priority is what you’re saying?)
Am I being overly dramatic? Absolutely. But the point is clear: the words, tone and approach alone are a major turn-off. Call it what it is: Adspeak, corporate, rigid– it’s anything but human. How many people and how much time was spent on that little bit? Geez! I sure hope the board approved it. Getting over that, it’s clear that The Edge Online is looking for some fairly specific stuff, which is totally within their right considering it’s their site/space. That I get, but what I don’t get is this: if their objective is user contributed content, why are they setting up more hurdles and obstacles than necessary? Why put anything in between but a green light and a smile? It’s just not all that inviting and could definitely use a make-over by a human being with some humility and humor, even if the protocol/guidelines were exactly the same. In other words, get off the stage and come down to my level if you want to chat face to face.
Enter Wall #2: Writing your article-style and tone. (say what?)
Your tone should be professional, clear, honest and direct, as well as conversational with research to back up any opinion or idea. (Sure, I’ll play along, just tell me how you’re editors define: professional, clear, honest, direct, and conversational and I’ll fit right into that little box!) We recommend you follow the suggestions made by William Strunk in The Elements of Style: (LOL! The Elements of Style was penned in the year 1918; nearly a century ago. Welcome to the information age AdFed! My name is Jeff, and I come from the Net Generation. MIHYAP? AFAIC, YRYOCC! Hint: People my age and younger are literally re-defining the laws of language in our digital world and you want us to abide by writing rules so archaic they pre-date the invention of the television? GTFO!)
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Be specific, concrete, definite.
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Use the active rather than the passive voice.
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Put the statements in positive form.
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Write with nouns and verbs.
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Don’t overstate.
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Avoid the use of qualifiers.
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Don’t explain too much.
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Avoid fancy words.
- Be clear.
And finally, though it’s tempting, no shameless self-promotion. (Oh really- cause I thought that was the whole point? OK, I promise not to be shameless 
) Your article should illustrate your area of expertise, but not be used as an advertorial or ad to specifically promote your business or firm.
Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style as your guide for article style standards. (Just as soon as I finish The Elements of Style. You can anticipate my submission in 1-2 months, because now you’re a priority!)
Wall #3: Deadlines & Timelines
Submit your completed article via email MS Word doc attachment to edgeonline@adfed.org. Your first draft will be due around the 15th of the month (approximately two weeks from the time you receive the big thumbs up from our editorial staff.) (Due? I thought this was supposed to be voluntary? “Big thumbs up”? wow- I hope I pass! Editorial staff? This is worse than the newspaper!) We will edit your article (if in fact, edits are required) and send back to you promptly, requesting that you submit your final draft by the 15th of the following month. So for example, if your query is accepted for the March issue, we would like to see a first draft by January 15th and a final draft by February 15th. (Ok, so this is a month and a half process, more or less?)
Three walls and you’re out – unless you can come up with more reasons for those interested not to submit content to The Wire, in which case I’ll have to come up with a stupider slogan.
As I pointed out earlier, I truly do see a great concept from the AdFed perspective to seek guest bloggers to contribute for more of a community driven site-they’ve definitely got the right idea. And I’ll stick to that even after losing any interest whatsoever in personally contributing. They’ve got all the tools to create a great community of local professionals / aspiring amateurs alike and to encourage/foster conversation (and own the square) , but sorry to say, they are totally off the mark in their implementation, approach, and voice. I might hesitate to say that if there were more than 15 or so entries over the course of the past year…last one being June 3, 2008.
The moral of the story is this: Tear down the walls or face isolation. This applies to any and all attempts at conversational/social media, business big and small, profit or not.
If anyone from AdFed happens to stumble over these ramblings, I’d encourage you to reach out and say hi-don’t be a stranger. Come down to a human level and we can talk about how to do this thing right…that is, if you care enough to create something you can be proud of.
What’s the question-the answer is yes!
People generally hate being told no and paying customers hate to hear it even more. Why then, does it seem that so many companies and their representatives are so eager – almost proud at times – to say no?
From an enterprise perspective I see the cause as two fold:
(a) It’s a natural side effect of being too big as an organization, as it indicates a gap between the company and its customer(s). Somewhere in the hierarchy, someone hasn’t relinquished enough authority or instilled the confidence necessary for the representative (ie customer service) to say anything but no to any question or request that falls outside the scope of the norm. Understandable to a limited extent (corporations train us to initially think no), but considering that markets are dynamic and evolutionary, what is the norm? Hint: there isn’t one, so don’t fall into the thinking trap that a customers questions (needs, requests, expectations) are so unrealistic and unreasonable that they deserve a real-time rejection. Certainly don’t say no before the customer has voiced themselves and you’ve really thought about what it is their saying. Think about it for a second-do you even want to say yes or are you looking for any reason to say no?
It’s ingrained, imprinted, and accepted-not for much longer though, cause people are running out of patience in a world of options. Look for a reason to yes any chance you get, it may be your last.
(b) The say no mentality has everything to do with an organization hell-bent on trying to fit every person into their own mass market mold with their own fixed profit margin. In the era of mass production, people were transformed into consumers and consumers then are morphed into numbers. As these numbers were herded into markets they ultimately ended up as profits on financials. So it wasn’t long before some corporate stiff (in the inflexible sense) started to pigeon hole their end user (the customer) into a profit center with a pre-determined value to maintain. To say yes, would likely require resources (expenses) from outside the standard protocol: time, energy, maybe additional hard goods or soft services, etc. Therefor, from a short term financial perspective – to say yes is costly- as microscopic as it may seem. Keywords: short term.
People who are respected and appreciated are reasonable; they can understand that to say yes means an exception is being made and while the company on the other side doesn’t have to say yes, they want to say yes, because they value people, customers, and profit centers. Often times, they will pay a premium just because they can get what they want in every sense. With the concept of customer loyalty only diminishing, I can think of one way to keep customers coming back time after time: embrace the culture of yes! Deliver a brand that they know wants to say yes to them and they will always give you first stab at their business.
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Yes or no is more than a verbal response to a person or customers questions, requests, needs or expectations. Yes or no is more than an unexpected cost, an inconvenience, a deviation, or a risk to an organization.
Yes or no is an operating philosophy; it’s acceptance or rejection, it’s respect or hubris, it’s love or hate, black or white, make or break. In a world where everyone looks for reasons to say no, I’d bet on the business built around a burning desire to say yes time after time.
