My website, Renagades Music took on a life of it's own, moving from just a page to find out where I am at, to a site that is devoted to helping Independent Musicians get heard. Starting with two great artists, Monk and Damien Cripps
, Renagade's Music now has around 12 great musicians and bands from all over the world.This all came about through these wonderful people trusting in me and my reputation. Which brings me to my first rant of the year.
HOW IS YOUR REPUTATION
?What kind of image and brand are you building for yourself? And HOW are you building it?
I follow several key words in Google Alerts, everything from the sites I sell on to the artists I support on Renagade's Music. This can keep me on top of who is saying what about what and whom online. This does give you the good, the bad and sometimes the down right ugly.
One thing way too many people forget is other people DO see and read what you post on the web. And people will judge you by your words. Far too often, people think if they post a blog, leave a comment, send a tweet, that only their buddies are going to see it. And they think that that is where the words will stay....right where they put them. WRONG!
For example:
1.XXXX SUCKS!! Here's a copy & paste of what a XXXX user thinks.
Posted by XXXX, Location omitted by Renagade. 1,754 total posts
Posted about 3 hours ago
I came down here so I can SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!. I try to be careful what I post in a public forum but I’m really losing patience with this site issue. I don’t care what the stats say, i.e., less than 1% having problems. No one knows that!! We don’t have a clue how many buyers and sellers
are being affected. Some don’t bother to report, others are giving up, and many don’t know yet because this is a holiday weekend. (XXX Added by Renagade) - (Via Yahoo answers )2. Note to sellers: If you want me to even look at what you're selling, do NOT put "as seen on Oprah"
anywhere in the description. (via @Brenner57 - twitter)3. If you check the bonanzle education series category in my booth, you will find some recordings and such, Also check www.bonanlzeboardroom.com for how to videos etc. Phaedra (via attheboutique - Bonanzle Forums)
4. Still here? There are important people out there posting important stuff.
Instead of being here, you could be educating yourself on the hot topics of the day: How well endowed is Tiger? Will Octomom have more kids? What did Jon and Kate have for breakfast? And the most burning question of all: Will Woofer get his own reality show? (Via 2woofers- Words of Wit and Wisdom )5. A stunning vintage Pell signed Amber rhinestone Broach. 2" diameter (via Gypsy Byways - description of item)
6. I have a bunch of items I deleted a while ago at XXX and still showing in Google Products
under XXX and I moved them elsewhere. Long story short am double listed and am annoyed since XXX owners won't disable my feeds or delete my storefront after numerous attempts to contact them. ( via www.powersellersunite.com forum - XXX added and posters name removed by me)This is just what I could do quickly and on the fly. What does that tell you not only about how easily and quickly the words can be redone, but also about the people who posted them? And about the subject they are posting about? Now remember - I have XXX out some names and omited some, but fill those blanks in with YOURS and the site you sell on. Is this what you want your image to be tied to? Is this what you are building your reputation on? And do you SEE how easy it is to spread it all over the web even if you personally are not spreading it?
Some people feel that even bad publicity is good publicity. I disagree. Sure, it may bring you more traffic for a while, but repeated negative posts can and will take its toll, no matter HOW good you are or a site is.
Now the question is....How are YOU building your reputation? How is YOUR Brand
? What kind of crumbs are YOU leaving? I hope they don't leave a bad tatse in anyones mouth.Later..........Renagade
PS MY personal 'take' on the above posts:
1. This poster had no clue that the words would 'travel' off the site. And the post leaves me wondering....why are they selling on a site they are obviously frustrated with?
2. Brenner is not an Oprah fan and does not like the marketing techniques of some.
3. Phaedra is someone who knows so much about Bonanzle, she has developed educational tools for Bonanzle users.
4. Woofers has a good sense of humor and a unique ability to even poke fun at himself.
5. Gypsy Byways has at least one Vintage jewelry item, possibly more. She know enough about vintage to look for marks and where to find them ( and she needs to fix the word broach to brooch )
6. This poster moved off a site that they were not happy with. And are still not happy with. Site seems to be lacking support for sellers.
PS - Bonanzle is now know as Bonanza - www.bonanza.com
Posts
5 comments:
Great Post Ren...and so very true.
I would hope that everyone tries to remain professional at all times, and walks away from their keyboard when they can't hold their tongue...
I would much rather read something inspirational then despirational (Is that a word? guess it si now? LOL~)
Another great blog beauty! This is so true.
True professionals make it a habit to be just that - a true profesisonal.
It is so very important to make certain that your words are crafted carefully. Even is one is passionate about something, there is always a way to get your point across directly and maintain professionalism.
Thought provoking post, Ren. Oh, I love your website by the way.
Awesome post Ren~ I get these google alerts all the time also, and see things I often wonder about a persons credibility, a sites credibility, and a blogs credibility. I see I spelled brooch wrong(was that in an alert?)LOL... great. Anyway, I agree. I have copied an pasted people's headlines before from myspace, or facebook, because I thought they were meaningfull or fun or cute. People really need to pay attention to content and quality before they put it out there for the world to see.
I can't believe you used my tweet about Miss O, but what you say is true. I'm no fan of Oprah, plus I have found that most everything she promotes on her show comes with a ridiculous, over-inflated price tag. Not a great marketing strategy, especially in this economy,IMHO. Unfortunately, 140 characters is not enough room to explain all this, so I supposed someone who is a fan of Oprah could possibly take offense.
I have been surprised more than once that something I tweeted or posted ended in up in the most bizarre and unexpected places. I'm not a seller, but I do try to watch what I say, because we often don't have the opportunity to explain ourselves online, and you will be judged, rightly or wrongly, based on your words.
Good job, Ren!
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