This is one of the most concise and well referenced concerns about Invictus I have EVER seen posted....
well done solaaire
This one really hits home. And it appears that everyone agrees, yes?
You guys, PLEASE, take these concerns to heart.
We all believe your ideas and talents hold SO much potential, but so far your public relations have been borderline disasterous I believe IT IS a testament to the strength and forgiveness of this community that some of your blunders have not resulted in greater calamity. I am not even talking about missed deadlines (The reasons for the delays have largely been justifiable, and most of us, even if we don't agree with every developmental decision you've made, are trusting of your ability to soundly execute your plans.) What I am referring to is a OPENLY apparent lack of Public Relations management.
I am not looking to place blame, because I am not privy to the inner workings of your crew. But you MUST find a solution! And for heavens sake, many, many companies have great PR. You guys CAN DO THIS. But first, you must RECOGNIZE that is your weakness!
Bytemaster, you mentioned in last Saturdays mumble chat that you are aware of a personal need to improve your interpersonal relationship skills. That is totally fine! Many of us have weaknesses far more embarrassing or shameful! But your company WILL SUFFER if you do not figure out a way to begin solving this problem immediately. And I think I speak for the majority when I say that IF you DO find a solution to this weakness, we may all be sitting on an Absolute GOLDMINE, both personally and collectively, that could unlock the potential for an ENTIRELY NEW ECONOMY!
Step up, and figure this out! Nobody doubts that you are capable!
We are actively working on that and we have recognized it for a long time. Finding the right people is the biggest challenge as there isn't exactly a supermarket around where we can just throw them on the cart. Even hiring a professional PR firm is a challenge because defining what we are is a huge challenge.
I can define what I am and what I do, but we have many different components that each need to be uniquely defined:
bitshares.org - organization of members + companies.
I3 LTD, .P2P, etc... each DAC has its own branding issues.
I have stepped back from the PR job and have tasked Gregory, Brian, Stan, Arlen to focus entirely on how to improve that.
I have sympathy, because of the transparent and semi-permeable nature of your operation, for your challenge around creating definitions and setting boundaries.
Bytemaster, you are clearly a great architect. The mind of an architect will formulate, refine, and re-define the boundaries and definitions within a field of focus until an adequate model for the channeling of the "strong force" within that particular domain. For a building designer, the force is gravity. For a software engineer, mathematics as expressed through a programming language. I would suggest that, to some extent, social outreach can be usefully contemplated through using a similar rubric. People's expectations must be channeled.
A model is needed. By utilizing open-forum type discussions, WITHOUT a framework of clearly defined operational parameters, you leave yourselves vulnerable to unanticipated "attack vectors". This is simply the "strong force" of the prevailing social milieu going all wonky and amok because it does not have the proper outlet. While it is true that most people are to some extent irrational, it could perhaps be equally true that most people crave logic, order, and the "appearance" of success, and will gravitate toward these things.
The process of manifestation, from idea to realization, is often riddled with the outward appearance of indecision, loss, failure, hesitation, etc., along the way. Many times these things may "appear-to-be-true", when in REALITY the process
IS in fact "on the right track" and will eventually lead to success. Unnecessarily exposing the community, and by extension the public, to the wrong parts of the process seems to cause mostly confusion, fear, and doubt.
Maybe a good place to start would be to decide which parts of your creative process you will bring before the community, and which parts you will withhold for further gestation, refinement, and tempering. This can be extremely empowering, as you will In fact
BE more confident when approaching the community because you have taken the time to "noodle it over" before running excitedly to the peanut gallery with "this amazing new idea" you have . I don't mean to be crass, but I suppose the aforementioned suggestion is a reflection upon Stan's PTS announcements, etc.
(the specific topic of this thread)
I have heard many, MANY, times from members of this community the desire for more
organization within the forums and website. Obviously doing things like making important announcements at the bottom of weeks old forums is patently absurd. Rather than assuming that the people you are trying to reach are willing to make a huge effort to keep up with the program, it might be wiser to assume that most people want a simple and direct way to review their confidence in their investment. I have heard the expression that "a strong product sells itself". This may be true in a world where you have exclusive and patented rights to a product, but in the world of open source you must have a strong and organized PR. You clearly know
a great deal about organization when it comes to your particular field, so perhaps simply applying that skill to the field of PR might be a huge step.
Topic: We desperately need better Public Relations: The Call Out (Read 4978 times)
