Should You Give Good Advice?

Something’s got me thinking about this lately, should you really be giving good advice to competitors? It seems most of the time even when you do most don’t really get it, or take it personally and discount what you say. Personally I think with this group mentality it does make it ok, after all even with the truth staring most people in the face some will some never see it. I do take advice and lesson to some people and do lesson to a few things most people say, but again I have to count in my thinking, the quality of site/sites they run, why are they saying this “are they selling something” is this advice just really self-serving for the most part, are they following the group mentality with out really being able to think/know for themselves, their real experience in this area “someone that only makes AVS’s can not help much with members sites ECT.” Are they following their own advice, and last but not least just giving bad advice in hopes others will fail. What do you think about this?

A lot of really big names I know don't post anymore, or goto boards. I've been considering the same.

Perhaps the more you post the more people try to find fault with you?

Though you really want to contribute to the Gay webmaster community it seems there are an extremely large number of lurkers that don't contribute.

When you give advice on the boards and disseminate information even people you would NEVER work with benefit from it. :pimp:

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Originally Posted by Squirt

A lot of really big names I know don't post anymore, or goto boards. I've been considering the same.

Perhaps the more you post the more people try to find fault with you?

Though you really want to contribute to the Gay webmaster community it seems there are an extremely large number of lurkers that don't contribute.

When you give advice on the boards and disseminate information even people you would NEVER work with benefit from it. :pimp:

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Ya in a way I have been thinking the same thing man, its nice to talk to other “Real” webmasters but not many around never really has been as far as I know. I do appreciate the help I get from a few people like Bass, but for the most part its very little help and just a PR/newbie game. Not really sure if the lurkers are really taking much to heart, but it might be a good idea to be taking more of this chat in private. I have seen you do not say very much allot of times I guess that is why hu man :fugly:

The best advice I get is from guys bitching about something about my site. As a link list operator, many of the topics here are much different than what I confront on a daily basis, therefore, it may appear to some degree I am a lurker at times. I have enough drama and therefore do not place on the armor and enter the fray. I have no problem providing constructive advice to competitors because I have benefited over the years from advice from them.

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Originally Posted by hunkhunter

The best advice I get is from guys bitching about something about my site. As a link list operator, many of the topics here are much different than what I confront on a daily basis, therefore, it may appear to some degree I am a lurker at times. I have enough drama and therefore do not place on the armor and enter the fray. I have no problem providing constructive advice to competitors because I have benefited over the years from advice from them.

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That is very true man and I am the first to say thing about a problem if I see it “not that I think your site need any of my help” but most people do not look at it like that and give nothing back at all. If they even post at all, it is more like regurgitating on me what they heard someone else say than anything else. I don’t know seem like it might be best to lie to people say ya sure that site look supper, no problems their. :jerkoff:

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Originally Posted by hunkhunter

The best advice I get is from guys bitching about something about my site. As a link list operator, many of the topics here are much different than what I confront on a daily basis, therefore, it may appear to some degree I am a lurker at times. I have enough drama and therefore do not place on the armor and enter the fray. I have no problem providing constructive advice to competitors because I have benefited over the years from advice from them.

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I have no problem giving fellow competitors advice as well. My mentality is that there's enough to go around, but if you know there are dodgy people out there you'd never do business with, and they lurk on the boards, do you really want to help those particular people out?

In an attempt to stay part of the community but protect themselves from the hazards of posting most of the big names are not posting on boards any longer, their reps are.

Is it possible our real online Gay webmaster community has changed to a land of promotion, reps and luke warm advice? :rip:

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Originally Posted by Squirt

I have no problem giving fellow competitors advice as well. My mentality is that there's enough to go around, but if you know there are dodgy people out there you'd never do business with, and they lurk on the boards, do you really want to help those particular people out?

In an attempt to stay part of the community but protect themselves from the hazards of posting most of the big names are not posting on boards any longer, their reps are.

Is it possible our real online Gay webmaster community has changed to a land of promotion, reps and luke warm advice? :rip:

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I think you are so right about that man, and I am so bad at PR stuff you don’t even know “well you might :)” Every time I get to a place I am always like 5-10 years to late to see the real “good times”

I always try to give good advice, I figure that being a good person means good karma and it all comes back to you in a positive way in the end.

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Originally Posted by Chilihost

I always try to give good advice, I figure that being a good person means good karma and it all comes back to you in a positive way in the end.

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Good advice is almost never positive though, most positive advice is just PR. I would much rather have one problem pointed out to me than have 10 nice things said about me. Real and good advice is very rare (I guess now days) only very few webmasters that do it, “not talking about me” and like many before me I am starting to see why. :bullcrap:

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Originally Posted by Chilihost

I always try to give good advice, I figure that being a good person means good karma and it all comes back to you in a positive way in the end.

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Bad people send bad karma and there's nothing we can do about that but move forward unaffected.

You are a hosting solution posting on webmaster boards. Quite a different scenario.

That's like me being an adult webmaster posting on porn surfer boards with a banner in my sig for my porn site $0.02

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Originally Posted by maxpower

Good advice is almost never positive though, most positive advice is just PR. I would much rather have one problem pointed out to me than have 10 nice things said about me. Real and good advice is very rare (I guess now days) only very few webmasters that do it, “not talking about me” and like many before me I am starting to see why. :bullcrap:

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Advice can be unfavorable, but still constructive.

I agree with the rest of what you said. A lot of what you see by others is PR BS and advice is Lukewarm at best and nothing substantial.

Really thinking about it the best advice I've gotten has been off the boards in private phone conversations, but sometimes with a contact I initially made online. I think this is why there are so many lurkers who see a post and only private someone to make a contact, and don't contribute to the community.

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Originally Posted by Squirt

Is it possible our real online Gay webmaster community has changed to a land of promotion, reps and luke warm advice? :rip:

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Id say it is more than possible myself as will others and not just in the gay webmaster community.

We have actively made the decision to cut our show attendance back to maybe 1 show per year for that very reason (as have a lot of the company owners we talk to) because at every show, we same the same people, trying to sell us the same crap that they tried to sell us at the last show.

Shows and a lot of webmaster forums have become nothing more than a tool for marketing people to get their messages across to affiliates however, the problem is, these marketing people are pitching their products to other marketers to the point that it all just becomes 'noise'.

I do more business in two hours on the phone with people than i do in a week posting on the boards or a whole weekend at the shows.. Thats the harsh reality of what the industry has turned in to.

Why would anyone in their right mind spend upwards of $3000 to attend a show and see the same people they saw at the last show and, the show before that and, the show before that, ad infinitum..

The same is true for some webmaster boards, GFY springs to mind immediately, ive pretty much stopped posting over there for the simple reason that nobody is interested in actually doing business, just selling (sig whores, program reps, etc) their businesses to others... Myself included when i do post there and again, whats the point in posting if the people you are chatting to, are just 'reps' and dont have any authority to 'make deals'?

GWW, to my knowledge, is one of a handfull of boards where 'actual' business related topics far outweighs the 'fluff' sure there are others out there but, they dont have the longevity or, the collective knowledge to continually maintain a high ratio of business to fluff when it comes to the threads and posts being made on a daily basis, you only have to view the top 10 boards on Board Tracker to see that almost every single one of them are high in fluff and low on information.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, should we be giving good advice to one another? Absolutely because despite those lurkers that do take the advice without giving anything back to the collective community, if we all stopped sharing our insights and knowledge in the industry, nobody would actually make any money and we'd all end up flipping Mc Burgers.

What makes a community is the search for knowledge from the members making up that community, if all that gets posted on a board is 'fluff' what use is it... To anyone, including the boards owner?

Regards,

Lee

i don't think of other webmasters as competitors. most surfers join more than one paysite during the course of their time online, so a guy who joins my site one day may join Squirt's or max's in a few months and then lee's at the beginning of next year.

it costs me nothing to give advice and may help someone who really needs a leg up. and of course, since i work as a paysite consultant, people who read what i say and like what they read sometimes offer me work due to my posts. so it's good karma that is repaid.

not only that, it may help other people who read the thread later. contrary to what people say, some larger people have helped me personally. what's more, on gfy shap and thedoc have posted infuckingcredible posts showing actual numbers - stats, dates, you name it - that changed the way others perceive paysites and how they make money. lee recently posted his figures regarding different prices and retention that was also very helpful.

the bottom line is i have some pieces of knowledge other webmasters don't have, and i'm happy to share it. and my questions never go unanswered so it appears others are just as happy to share with me :)

isn't that what a community is all about?




after re-reading my post, i realize all that's left after what i said is for us all to hold hands in a circle and sing kumbaya *LOLOL*

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after re-reading my post, i realize all that's left after what i said is for us all to hold hands in a circle and sing kumbaya *LOLOL*

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... I'll bring the marshmallows ;)

Well said Patti. I know I've gotten a wealth of help from so many webmasters over the years, and I can't imagine NOT returning the favor if I happen to have some info or a link that can help out the next guy in line.

This is supposed to be a Gay wemaster community, not a community of reps and service people.

I want to know what RandyBlue thinks. I want to know what John Marsh thinks at fratmen. I want to know what Doug and Jay think at Amateurstraightguys. I want to know what Sean Cody thinks. I know if I call them on the phone I'll get their opinions but why not post on webmaster boards? Most of you have already told me on the phone and I think I've already stated the answer for most of you, but just post it publicly so others know. Maybe the communities can change so you'll come back and contribute.

I'm glad HunkHunter has posted in this thread. :thumbsup: