Comments on: The Outreach and Communications Amateur Hour http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/ Alan Gutierrez blogs on software, social networks, and himself. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:44:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Schroeder http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3607 Schroeder Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:51:31 +0000 http://blogometer.com/2006/08/12/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3607 I've been so busy lately, this one was totally off the radar (any surprise). I'm know I'm just a stupid blogger (who gets 500 hits a day), and I host a measly community affairs program. Who would it serve to try to contact me about these things? But hey, when the "outreach" is a reach around, it'd get a little messy to have too many people involved, and when their "bottoms up" process is a moon presented to the actual neighborhood processes, anyone who spent much time studying it would go blind (hmm ... that was pretty clever -- I'll have to use that). Thinking about vaporware and Concordia ... you know, I once quit a job one day after walking in the door. It was a fairly prominent local tech firm -- a slap-crap-together-at-the-last-minute sweatshop. As I was talking to the owner about why I was quitting, there sitting on a desk devoid of any paper or other signs of work was a single book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446520942/103-2817224-4653434?v=glance&n=283155" rel="nofollow">Selling the Invisible</a>. The principle behind the book is that companies shouldn't sell the steak -- they should sell the sizzle. Companies should first emphasize a relationship with the consumer, rather than, necessarily, an actual product or proven results. That seems to be Concordia's approach. Fuck up, apologize, fuck up again, apologize some more, fuck up really badly, apologize profusely. Concordia and Steven Bingler should be fired before it's too late! I’ve been so busy lately, this one was totally off the radar (any surprise). I’m know I’m just a stupid blogger (who gets 500 hits a day), and I host a measly community affairs program. Who would it serve to try to contact me about these things? But hey, when the “outreach” is a reach around, it’d get a little messy to have too many people involved, and when their “bottoms up” process is a moon presented to the actual neighborhood processes, anyone who spent much time studying it would go blind (hmm … that was pretty clever — I’ll have to use that).

Thinking about vaporware and Concordia … you know, I once quit a job one day after walking in the door. It was a fairly prominent local tech firm — a slap-crap-together-at-the-last-minute sweatshop. As I was talking to the owner about why I was quitting, there sitting on a desk devoid of any paper or other signs of work was a single book: Selling the Invisible.

The principle behind the book is that companies shouldn’t sell the steak — they should sell the sizzle. Companies should first emphasize a relationship with the consumer, rather than, necessarily, an actual product or proven results.

That seems to be Concordia’s approach. Fuck up, apologize, fuck up again, apologize some more, fuck up really badly, apologize profusely.

Concordia and Steven Bingler should be fired before it’s too late!

]]> By: Alan Gutierrez http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3502 Alan Gutierrez Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:24:56 +0000 http://blogometer.com/2006/08/12/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3502 Grassroots? All I ever hear about is their magical web site. Everything is going to be on the web site. You can watch 15 12 minute videos, in your web browser, and from that make a choice of planners. This is not how decisions are made. This isn't Star Search. Grassroots? All I ever hear about is their magical web site. Everything is going to be on the web site. You can watch 15 12 minute videos, in your web browser, and from that make a choice of planners. This is not how decisions are made.

This isn’t Star Search.

]]> By: Karen http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3500 Karen Sun, 13 Aug 2006 12:33:27 +0000 http://blogometer.com/2006/08/12/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3500 It would seem that the first and most important part of Outreach and Communications would be just that. Outreach. Perhaps they should get in touch with Neighborhood Organizations and really make this a "Neighborhood driven" effort as they are fond of saying. There are a lot of buzz words being tossed out. Bottoms up, inclusive, diaspora, grassroots, but so far it seems to ring hollow. It would seem that the first and most important part of Outreach and Communications would be just that. Outreach. Perhaps they should get in touch with Neighborhood Organizations and really make this a “Neighborhood driven” effort as they are fond of saying. There are a lot of buzz words being tossed out. Bottoms up, inclusive, diaspora, grassroots, but so far it seems to ring hollow.

]]> By: Alan Gutierrez http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3491 Alan Gutierrez Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:00:50 +0000 http://blogometer.com/2006/08/12/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3491 There were plenty of people that showed up, but a lot of them filed out before it was over. Myself included. There were people from Catholic Charities , the LRA, and ACORN. I'm sure they didn't attend the meeting for the soft drinks. I'm sure that people really to want to succeed at outreach. Which makes the process all the more stunning, in that it isn't as if the neighborhoods and nonprofits were not interested in outreach. Quite the opposite. There were plenty of people that showed up, but a lot of them filed out before it was over. Myself included. There were people from Catholic Charities , the LRA, and ACORN. I’m sure they didn’t attend the meeting for the soft drinks. I’m sure that people really to want to succeed at outreach.

Which makes the process all the more stunning, in that it isn’t as if the neighborhoods and nonprofits were not interested in outreach. Quite the opposite.

]]> By: GentillyGirl http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3490 GentillyGirl Sat, 12 Aug 2006 23:53:39 +0000 http://blogometer.com/2006/08/12/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3490 This is another reason that reconstruction of the city MUST be in local hands. It's our city, we'll rebuild it, and we won't require photo ops for our advertisy campaign. This is another reason that reconstruction of the city MUST be in local hands. It’s our city, we’ll rebuild it, and we won’t require photo ops for our advertisy campaign.

]]> By: Think New Orleans » Outreach and Communications http://blogometer.com/post/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3487 Think New Orleans » Outreach and Communications Sat, 12 Aug 2006 22:51:04 +0000 http://blogometer.com/2006/08/12/the-outreach-and-communications-amateur-hour/#comment-3487 [...] After attending a very distrubing meeting on Communications and Outreach, Forest Bradley-Wright wrote up a communications and outreach document that nobody can deny. He wrote it in Word. He emailed it to a long list of people. He invited them to ammend the document and return it to him. [...] [...] After attending a very distrubing meeting on Communications and Outreach, Forest Bradley-Wright wrote up a communications and outreach document that nobody can deny. He wrote it in Word. He emailed it to a long list of people. He invited them to ammend the document and return it to him. [...]

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