Business Promotion on the Ning
Hi all--
As a community manager for the NECC Ning, I've been contacted several times over the past few weeks and months about individual members signing up and then subsequently spamming other members with messages promoting their products or special projects. While we have some guidelines about what should be shared, (see the Community Guidelines), we've tried to keep this an open forum with general guidelines, rather than a whole set of very detailed rules. It's clear that some people find value in some of these postings, while others are turned off by messages from posters promoting a product if they have a financial stake in the product's success.
If a person is obviously spamming (pharmaceutical ads, fake profiles, etc.), we ban the user outright, but there is more of a gray area when it comes to one Ning user contacting another to tell him or her about a product that may be of value. What are your thoughts about whether we should adopt stronger rules about this type of solicitation? I'd love to hear from the community before progressing.
Thanks!
Jennifer
As a community manager for the NECC Ning, I've been contacted several times over the past few weeks and months about individual members signing up and then subsequently spamming other members with messages promoting their products or special projects. While we have some guidelines about what should be shared, (see the Community Guidelines), we've tried to keep this an open forum with general guidelines, rather than a whole set of very detailed rules. It's clear that some people find value in some of these postings, while others are turned off by messages from posters promoting a product if they have a financial stake in the product's success.
If a person is obviously spamming (pharmaceutical ads, fake profiles, etc.), we ban the user outright, but there is more of a gray area when it comes to one Ning user contacting another to tell him or her about a product that may be of value. What are your thoughts about whether we should adopt stronger rules about this type of solicitation? I'd love to hear from the community before progressing.
Thanks!
Jennifer
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Corbett on -
I think that if a persons agenda is to "sell sell sell" then they don't add anything to our experience and should be banded. If that person so happens to be associated with an amazing new product and wants to discuss the impact it can have on education, that is another story.
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Permalink Reply by Ana Balboa-Guenthner on -
Hmmm, I just got spammed twice to work for a hotel in London, UK. in my inbox. LOL. Wonder how that fits in my learning process with ed tech...
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Permalink Reply by TeacherTec on -
I would agree wih Joseph: if a member has an amazing product that would actually improve the learning process, then they should be treated differently from a person who is trying to sell something totally unrelated to education. Also, I would add that in the former case the member should thread carefully, as there is a fine line between putting out your great new product and outright spamming other users with endless promotions. If a product is great, it will catch up.
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Permalink Reply by Darci Lindgren on -
Now there are posts on the blog for vacation sites...
http://www.neccning.org/profile/Michaelsmith
Should these be removed?
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Permalink Reply by Joni Smith on -
I think I fall into the "gray area" I am setting up a small home based business. I use promotional products to get customers, but when I mention this on forums, I usually get banned. I am trying to tell people of a technique I used successfully that allowed me to get my business going without and clientele.
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