Subject:
|
Re: Let's be realistc (WasRe:MoreVenomAnyone? (WasRe:Givethemabreak (was:Hey,like,isanyonethere?)))
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.general
|
Date:
|
Sat, 10 Feb 2001 13:37:16 GMT
|
Highlighted:
|
(details)
|
Viewed:
|
599 times
|
| |
|
|
In lugnet.general, Suzanne D. Rich writes:
> I'll tell you a story:
> -----------
> Once I was finally "inside" TLC, it didn't take long for me to be crushed.
> emotionally that is. Simply seeing the company do company-like things was
> painful when I had unconsciously assumed TLC was so much better than that. I
> lived in this fantasy of believing that TLC would always do the "right" thing.
> the "good" thing. the quality thing. Now I see that I had childish views. But
> heck!, I was a FAN.
>
> Today I'm just an enthusiast of the brick. It's a calmer way of life I guess.
> So it's not "secret facts" that I allude to in my posts. It's more like
> this: I see my friends standing in the street about to be hit by a
> truck, but they're stone still and smiling because they see that it's an
> ice cream truck.
> I've been watching LD's sweet performances as they're strategically carried
> out. Some AFOLs fall for them -- hook, line and sinker. I don't. They
> indicate to me that TLC and LD are no more interested in our community
> than they ever were. I believe we're being used -- just as any smart company
> would use their enthusiasts. I'd just prefer it without the sugar coating.
(Some portions of the above post were snipped.)
I agree completely.
My own experience was much the same. A couple months ago I posted about my
disappointment with the mindstorms tour and how "fan" involvement might
improve it. Sure enough I was contact by someone from TLC. I don't want to
go into all the sordid details but eventually I realized I was little more
than a "corporate tool" and that there was more politics going on than I
ever wanted to get involved with. As a matter of fact I was so
disillusioned that I bowed out of one of the events I set up (sorry guys).
In the end I ended up with nothing other than my disillusionment, although I
think other people who I helped get involved had a good time and got a free
vision command system, so hopefully there was some good that came out of it.
I didn't think I took this personally (since I work daily in a huge
corporation where nothing surprises me) until after Christmas at the local
Target my wife pointed out a bunch of Mindstorm sets at 1/2 off. I looked
at the DDK (which I really liked), put it back down and decided that I just
wasn't into mindstorms any more. It wasn't until that moment that I
realized that I haven't bought any mindstorms since the tour events came up
and I think I packed those up a week after I canceled on the event. So I
guess in the grand scheme of things, it affected me more than I thought.
My 2 points are:
AFOLS: Approach things like this realistically and cautiously and have
realistic expectations. This will be almost impossible. Don't feel bad
when things go wrong. Been there.
TLC: Your listening, I know. Do no harm. They are words that stand the
test of time. Hold yourselves to very high standards when you communicate
with us. Set up someone inside to track all communication directly with
fans and then check back inside and outside the organization and get
everyone's real opinions. Let this person(s) act as your conscience. Make
sure that people inside your organization aren't abusing their use of
"fans", it will happen, there are good and bad people in any organization.
Mostly though there will be mistakes that will cause bad feelings on both
sides. That's why it's important to build expertise in this area, "winging
it" might not be working as well as you think.
In any case I hope this will make both sides "open" their eyes and be
realistic with themselves.
Matt
|
|
Message is in Reply To:
19 Messages in This Thread:
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
