Social Networking Sanity

This was at a Neighborhood Council meeting way back when I was doing NC websites. It was my first, unpleasant eye-opener to how detached and fearful NC representatives had become of and to the needs of those they represented.

Among the many rules when attending them, we, the people -

- could not look them in the eye.
- could not address them directly (i.e., by name).
- were not provided time to hear their replies to our 2-minute, shotgunned dissertation of our concerns for our neighborhoods.

You could tell they were not really listening to what we, the people had to say. It was, "Okay, your two minutes starts...NOW!", and as soon as you went over even five seconds, they shut you down.

Once I left that world of doing neighborhood council websites, it was a relief to not support such a frustrating system. I realized how lucky I was. Why? Because -

- I look my customers in the eye when they express their needs and concerns.
- I address them with respect and LISTEN TO THEM.
- we usually take at least TWO HOURS initially to flesh out a balanced plan of their wants, my suggestions and their budget.

I am not a gutless coward hiding behind bureaucratic rules designed to protect me from angry clients who are frustrated because we didn't talk things out in the first place. NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.

NOT ON MY WATCH.

NOT AS LONG AS I'M ABOVE GROUND.