"Send". Cool, that's done. "Send" Whoops! "Send" Whoops!
I guess it's hard to slow down from press release sending mode lol ;) Welcome to the community, it will be interesting to see if that fine line between commercial and community can be reached in the long run, I hope so, and I think lists like this can go a long way to helping members of all locations connect with each other and create a cross the board community atmosphere. On 9/27/07, My Day Office <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Okay so I hear everyone loud and clear now. And in fact I respect the > fact that you are so protective of your community. I am a mobile > worker myself, based out of Las Vegas and have been working with > Shauna on getting My Day Office open in Seattle. She asked me to post > about the opening and I obviously went way too commercial with it. I > have press release on the brain. > > We do feel as though our space is rooted in the spirit of coworking. > However, your right, we made the decision to brand our website and > company material. When you open up a 5000 sq ft space in a retail > location the last thing you want to do is be open for a month and have > the doors close because no one knows who you are. Therefore we made a > conscious decision to brand, to be commercial in an effort for > longevity. So perhaps we have morphed into something of a hybrid, I > don't know. > > We want the space to speak for itself. We want the people that work > there to create the community that will become My Day Office. The > walls are up and the doors are open but we are hoping that coworking > community in Seattle will create the substance. > > You know I didnt leave my name either because believe it or not, I > feel like My Day Office. We have been working on this project for the > past 10 months and we have been living, breathing, eating My Day > Office. I am sure you can relate to an endeavor like that that > consumes you. > > We are taking pictures of the space and I will be posting them soon. > And if you are in the Seattle area, please come see it for yourself. > > Thanks to everyone who posted, I really got schooled! > > Domonique Jackson > > On Sep 25, 11:34 pm, "Chris Messina" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Erica, > > > > Thanks for this. I'm glad that you understand where I'm coming from > > and can relate to the difficult task of running mailing lists. > > > > I accept that I was harsh and more dismissive than I might otherwise > > have been; it is true that I've been battling a lot of spam and abuse > > elsewhere and I've become a lot more sensitive and reactive when I see > > it. So for that, I apologize; if anything I should have taken it off > > list and then, as has been suggested, responded publicly with a more > > dispassionate list of guidelines to encourage the kind of > > participation that we're looking for here. > > > > That said, I think it's worth understanding my process in evaluating > > this message in the interest of transparency and peer review. > > > > 1. the original message was unsigned; since there was no signature on > > the message, there was no individual attached and no responsibility > > for the email. This is a strong indicator of unsolicited email. > > 2. The tone was, as Tara said, more promotional and instantly > > "selling" than conversational. Most real spam that I get has the exact > > same ring to it. > > 3. I didn't recognize the sender and, even though Shauna pointed out > > that they have posted to this list before (once, on Aug 10 [1]) I > > didn't recall "My Day Office" as an in-process coworking space, or as > > a space that registered as being a regular contributor to this list. > > 4. The website seemed incomplete, and it wasn't obvious whether or not > > it was reputable. I think when I looked at it, I had a hard time > > figuring who was behind it or where it was located, and, given the > > tone of the email, didn't help me figure out whether it was a human > > sending out the message. > > 5. I did a search on the sender of the email ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > within this Coworking mailing list and found no previous messages; on > > top of that, the sender had joined the list moments before sending the > > email, and in the past, spammers have joined the list, sent off their > > missive and run off, never to be heard from again. Since this message > > followed that pattern, I was therefore convinced that it was a spammer > > and I don't tolerate spammers abusing communities that I'm involved > > with. > > > > Now, what's interesting to me and what I'm gaining from this > > experience is that spam filters, both digital and human, are fallible. > > It's never my intention to chastise someone who merely makes a mistake > > and as I mentioned, I should have taken this off list first. On the > > other hand, I think that posting some guidelines for expectations > > (Tara's list) somewhere public to help educate folks on what kind of > > communication we're looking for on this list would also be prudent and > > might have avoided this cases where Shauna and Dominique were > > apparently not aware of kind of messages we look for from members of > > the community. > > > > So, I do apologize for coming across harshly. It wasn't something that > > was done off hand or out of spite, but because, based on the the > > process I outlined above, I really did think that your message a > > commercial abuse of the community based on the lack of context and my > > lack of prior knowledge of your post to the list. > > > > I would ask that you guys make yourselves more regular members of this > > list and to be transparent about your experiences and things you're > > learning as you get going. > > > > Coworking only works insomuch as folks are willing to share of > > themselves and of their experiences with the larger community. Now > > that I know that there's real people behind My Day Office, I'm eager > > to hear how you're putting the coworking principles into practice. > > > > Chris > > > > [1]http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/browse_thread/thread/3334ebe... > > > > On 9/25/07, Erica Douglass <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > > Good thread, and I agree with most of the comments made. Chris, I > > > understand why some would take your response as harsh, but as the > > > moderator of 3 other community-focused mailing lists, I also > > > understand the tendency to pick up on anything promotional as "spam." > > > It undermines the value of the list to other people to have spammers > > > on it, and I get why you responded the way you did. > > > > > My thought on this is that there are a lot of people out there who > > > simply do not know or understand how to interact properly with a > > > community, particularly in a written space. Too often, especially when > > > sending out a mass email, it's easy to say "me me me, promote promote > > > promote" and hard to express genuine emotions or feelings about a > > > subject. I think many of us in these sorts of written communities > > > (forums, mailing lists, bulletin boards) have only learned the proper > > > way to communicate via a series of trials and errors. It is really > > > hard not to just go in and promote. With that said, I think the > > > primary directive of this mailing list -- and one that prevents spam > > > -- would be simply to: > > > > > Listen (and ask questions) FIRST, and promote LATER. > > > > > A lot of forums I'm on require some sort of time spent on the forum > > > before self-promotion is allowed. This is to help develop an > > > awareness. This isn't as easy on a mailing list. Having said that, > > > those who are obviously trying to get into the coworking spirit should > > > be allowed to do so. I think this email was an honest one. > > > > > I also agree with Tara that rules should be posted clearly, and > > > perhaps sent to the list on a monthly basis. (Mailman mailing list > > > software lets you do that automatically, and put it in an email when > > > new members sign up...I'd recommend both of those options if available > > > in Google Groups.) > > > > > -Erica > > > > > On 9/24/07, Chris Messina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > Coworking spaces don't spam their members or use bulk email to promote > > > > themselves. > > > > > > If you're interesting in participating and contributing to the > > > > community, we're more than welcome to hear from you; drive-by postings > > > > to this list will be considered spam. > > > > > > I look forward to your feedback, and ask that you, in the future, you > > > > refrain from posting self-promotional emails to the list without > > > > balancing your correspondence with positive contributions to the > > > > larger coworking community. > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > Chris > > > > > > On 9/24/07, My Day Office <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > My Day Office is now open in downtown Seattle. Tired of meeting with > > > > > clients in coffee shops? Worn out running between the copy center, > > > > > mailbox and notary? Finally a workplace that has it all in one > > > > > place! From virtual offices to physical offices, My Day Office is > > > > > where work happens. My Day Office offers meeting solutions with open > > > > > work areas, private offices, and conference rooms; mailbox rentals; > > > > > shipping services; fax, copy and printing; and full secretarial > > > > > support with wifi and state of the art technology. Patrons may > > > > > become members and enjoy substantially discounted fees on rentals and > > > > > services. Costs are much lower than executive suites or other retail > > > > > mailbox or copy centers. For more information on the products and > > > > > services or to reserve a private office or conference room visit > > > > >www.MyDayOffice.com. > > > > > > > What makes us different? > > > > > > > My Day office is a spacious and modern business center with expansive > > > > > windows that provide plenty of ambient light and a contemporary decor > > > > > with rich brown an blue tones. > > > > > > > Our friendly staff can assist you with your paperwork, business plans, > > > > > answering phone calls and shipping. > > > > > > > A hot-house for up and coming entrepreneurs and great business minds, > > > > > My Day Office offers a series of business workshops and networking > > > > > events to give you the tools you need to take your business to the > > > > > next level. My Day Office is conveniently located at Elliott & Broad > > > > > across from the Spaghetti Factory and overlooks the Olympic Sculpture > > > > > Park. > > > > > > -- > > > > Chris Messina > > > > Citizen Provocateur & > > > > Open Source Advocate-at-Large > > > > Work:http://citizenagency.com > > > > Blog:http://factoryjoe.com/blog > > > > Cell: 412 225-1051 > > > > IM: factoryjoe > > > > This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private > > > > -- > > Chris Messina > > Citizen Provocateur & > > Open Source Advocate-at-Large > > Work:http://citizenagency.com > > Blog:http://factoryjoe.com/blog > > Cell: 412 225-1051 > > IM: factoryjoe > > This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private- Hide quoted > > text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > > > -- Steve Purkiss http://opennetworkers.pbwiki.com - open networker? add your name to the list! http://open4.org - the network that pays you to participate http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevepurkiss - join my 500+ LinkedIn network! http://www.open4.org/bio/steve-purkiss --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
