90p Admin

We've also discussed a "Water Cooler" or "Blatant Self Promotion" community or other alternatives allowing members to self promote.

The best self promotion as said above is to be helpful.

It looks like we have a consensus.  I prefer to restrict this to consultant members as Affiliates have their own space. My preference limit it to products that are already developed as opposed to 'would you buy this if I built it.'   The naming of the community will make all the difference in perception.  Suggest this will be a moderated community. Finally, this is a member only space not a place to tout someone elses products.   

 HL has a feature, "best answer," and it can be used for consumers of this community to understand how to vote their 'top choice'.  (and only replies to the original post are available to be marked as best answers within the thread, per HL)   

 My take - this will cut into Affiliate revenue.  Also, we'll need to think about the Master Developer community proposed by Alnoor.  IMHO members value those that build a reputation through generously helping with questions/issues.

I'll let you know the feedback from the membership committee tomorrow.

We've concluded our membership meeting.  The original post in this thread was presented, in summary.  The boards consensus was shared (anonymously) in summary.  All in all, it was a lively discussion and interesting membership meeting.

All members of membership committee are strongly opposed to having a place for non-affiliate members to advertise/self-promote.

Some highlights:
"Affiliates pay to promote, why would you give that away, you'd loose affiliates, all of them."
"A consultant member can join as both, an affiliate and consultant, if they want to advertise."
"It's the membership committees responsibility to determine the type of membership - we should go back to the 'hybrid' members and make them affiliates if that's what they are"
"Send out a simple FAQ to explain self-promotion vs. referral and open discussions"
As Wayne said, we should decide what membership class a new application falls into, not the applicant.
The cheaper consultant members is too

My take – We made it clear to the affiliates they pay more for exclusive rights to advertise.  Majority of consultant members know that affiliates paid to advertise.  If we take away this exclusion, we will impact revenue.

Some ideas:
Label the members by type using 'ribbon badge' - it would show on their profile.
Send a 'complementary' member directory to members if requested (we may have some Calif Privacy and GDPR issue to review)
Highlight 2 different member firms each week with a quick 'blog' on the 'main page' this is their 'ad' for the year.  Make it visable with and without a login.
Post the directory of members and label their member types (this is part of the website update anyway)
Update the membership materials and explain the different categories and rules and why.
Publish an FAQ on what is self-promotion vs. ads, vs. referrals.

It looks like we have a consensus.  I prefer to restrict this to consultant members as Affiliates have their own space. My preference limit it to products that are already developed as opposed to 'would you buy this if I built it.'   The naming of the community will make all the difference in perception.  Suggest this will be a moderated community. Finally, this is a member only space not a place to tout someone elses products.   

 HL has a feature, "best answer," and it can be used for consumers of this community to understand how to vote their 'top choice'.  (and only replies to the original post are available to be marked as best answers within the thread, per HL)   

 My take - this will cut into Affiliate revenue.  Also, we'll need to think about the Master Developer community proposed by Alnoor.  IMHO members value those that build a reputation through generously helping with questions/issues.

I'll let you know the feedback from the membership committee tomorrow.

We've concluded our membership meeting.  The original post in this thread was presented, in summary.  The boards consensus was shared (anonymously) in summary.  All in all, it was a lively discussion and interesting membership meeting.

All members of membership committee are strongly opposed to having a place for non-affiliate members to advertise/self-promote.

Some highlights:
"Affiliates pay to promote, why would you give that away, you'd loose affiliates, all of them."
"A consultant member can join as both, an affiliate and consultant, if they want to advertise."
"It's the membership committees responsibility to determine the type of membership - we should go back to the 'hybrid' members and make them affiliates if that's what they are"
"Send out a simple FAQ to explain self-promotion vs. referral and open discussions"
As Wayne said, we should decide what membership class a new application falls into, not the applicant.
The cheaper consultant members is too

My take – We made it clear to the affiliates they pay more for exclusive rights to advertise.  Majority of consultant members know that affiliates paid to advertise.  If we take away this exclusion, we will impact revenue.

Some ideas:
Label the members by type using 'ribbon badge' - it would show on their profile.
Send a 'complementary' member directory to members if requested (we may have some Calif Privacy and GDPR issue to review)
Highlight 2 different member firms each week with a quick 'blog' on the 'main page' this is their 'ad' for the year.  Make it visable with and without a login.
Post the directory of members and label their member types (this is part of the website update anyway)
Update the membership materials and explain the different categories and rules and why.
Publish an FAQ on what is self-promotion vs. ads, vs. referrals.

It looks like we have a consensus.  I prefer to restrict this to consultant members as Affiliates have their own space. My preference limit it to products that are already developed as opposed to 'would you buy this if I built it.'   The naming of the community will make all the difference in perception.  Suggest this will be a moderated community. Finally, this is a member only space not a place to tout someone elses products.   

 HL has a feature, "best answer," and it can be used for consumers of this community to understand how to vote their 'top choice'.  (and only replies to the original post are available to be marked as best answers within the thread, per HL)   

 My take - this will cut into Affiliate revenue.  Also, we'll need to think about the Master Developer community proposed by Alnoor.  IMHO members value those that build a reputation through generously helping with questions/issues.

I'll let you know the feedback from the membership committee tomorrow.

We've concluded our membership meeting.  The original post in this thread was presented, in summary.  The boards consensus was shared (anonymously) in summary.  All in all, it was a lively discussion and interesting membership meeting.

All members of membership committee are strongly opposed to having a place for non-affiliate members to advertise/self-promote.

Some highlights:
"Affiliates pay to promote, why would you give that away, you'd loose affiliates, all of them."
"A consultant member can join as both, an affiliate and consultant, if they want to advertise."
"It's the membership committees responsibility to determine the type of membership - we should go back to the 'hybrid' members and make them affiliates if that's what they are"
"Send out a simple FAQ to explain self-promotion vs. referral and open discussions"
As Wayne said, we should decide what membership class a new application falls into, not the applicant.
The cheaper consultant members is too

My take – We made it clear to the affiliates they pay more for exclusive rights to advertise.  Majority of consultant members know that affiliates paid to advertise.  If we take away this exclusion, we will impact revenue.

Some ideas:
Label the members by type using 'ribbon badge' - it would show on their profile.
Send a 'complementary' member directory to members if requested (we may have some Calif Privacy and GDPR issue to review)
Highlight 2 different member firms each week with a quick 'blog' on the 'main page' this is their 'ad' for the year.  Make it visable with and without a login.
Post the directory of members and label their member types (this is part of the website update anyway)
Update the membership materials and explain the different categories and rules and why.
Publish an FAQ on what is self-promotion vs. ads, vs. referrals.

It looks like we have a consensus.  I prefer to restrict this to consultant members as Affiliates have their own space. My preference limit it to products that are already developed as opposed to 'would you buy this if I built it.'   The naming of the community will make all the difference in perception.  Suggest this will be a moderated community. Finally, this is a member only space not a place to tout someone elses products.   

 HL has a feature, "best answer," and it can be used for consumers of this community to understand how to vote their 'top choice'.  (and only replies to the original post are available to be marked as best answers within the thread, per HL)   

 My take - this will cut into Affiliate revenue.  Also, we'll need to think about the Master Developer community proposed by Alnoor.  IMHO members value those that build a reputation through generously helping with questions/issues.

I'll let you know the feedback from the membership committee tomorrow.