Forum Moderators: rogerd
I find that the members turn to me for personal advice and support; that's great for the most part, but there are always those ^#$%*!%$&! who demand special treatment such as deletion of anyone who does not reply to their emails, or those who email me twenty times a week wanting to chat about their love-lorn problems, as they think of the admin as some kind of Big Momma. I'm sure it's much worse on a dating site than on the less personal type of forum it seems that most of you have, but I was wondering, have any of you had this problem?
I am torn between the proven fact that most people prefer to know that there is a real person they're dealing with, and wanting to put a face with the name, and my feeling that it will be easier to deal with problems when I am not all "out there"..... and that is another thing: I am determined to make my site a success without purchasing a list of members gathered from who-knows-where by a list broker, even if that means it will take months longer before it is of a size where I can charge a fee, because it is a niche site and I want it to be of the highest quality with everyone there because they share the commonality, not just to fill a role-call.
Would me being out there with my photo and profile up too and participating on my forum and in chats, be a big help in attracting members, as opposed to the 98% of dating sites which are completely detatched and usually owned by a corporation which owns twenty other niche sites, the name of the site being the only difference?
Any ideas on how to be authoritative as admin of a site dealing with matters of the heart, while still maintaining the warm community feeling?
Here's my suggestion: take a blended approach. Rather than being the anonymous "admin" who steps in to discipline unruly members and talk about system upgrades, use a friendly-sounding screen name that doesn't reveal your personal identity. Be personable, participate in the discussions, talk about your hopes and objectives for the site, but don't publish so much info that you'll be getting calls at midnight from psychos who had dates that didn't meet their expectations.
I think you can create the environment you want without putting your sanity or security in jeopardy.
LOL Rogerd you must have been tapping my phone!
Seriously though, that's a good suggestion, that way I can give 'em my best without giving them my sanity :-P
Thanks!
The significant idea for your situation is the idea of voice. To briefly quote:
Every Web page we see has a person behind it. Sometimes their individual decisions are eroded and digested by being passed through a corporate colon of editors, gatekeepers and other factota, but there are clear signposts to individual care and concern on much of todayís Web.
Overall, you can agree or disagree with the cluetrain guys, but it's worth reading their discussion and considering their ideas. There's obviously no one-size-fits-all, but it may help reinforce the idea that it's important for "admin" to have an authentic voice.
For things like company policies, mission, and general pronouncements, the royal (or corporate) "we" usually sounds more professional.
You all seem to have the same general idea, so I'll try that approach, and I will check out those two suggested sites
:-) Thanks much!
