Know-How Exchange : Our Forum

I like this question. Its allowed me to think back and get a good chuckle.

It's a toss up as to which of these two examples is my "favorite." I'm not sure they are technically against the rules, but they do make me think some people are their own worst enemies.

#1 - There was a recent example where the individual was applying for a very senior role in an organization and needed to have an answer for a very basic question that even most newbies would know. I can only hope his prospective employer was not a member of this forum.

#2 - There have been a number of posts from people who have a project due imminently and want the members to give them the information they need. Like the "homework helpers" questions, they can be very specific about what they need and in what format.

The ones I like the best are the ones from young marketers who are eager to learn and not afraid to ask questions. These guys make me wish I could start all over again with all the tools and resources they have on this forum.

Melissa

Dear Michael

For my money, it's not so much the blatant KHE infractions that bother me, but the people who appear to be most able yet who appear to be the least willing to help themselves.

Who might this group be?

People who cannot—for whatever reason—do a simple long-tailed keyword search in Google. How difficult can it be to type "How can I find ABs for an XYZ?"

I've read and answered an alarming number of questions from students doing MBAs in marketing, many of whom cannot make
a decision on a thesis topic, and several of whom appear to be ignorant of basic research techniques.

This leads me to wonder what these people are being taught, and by whom. The downside is that once these people get out into the big, bad world, they're actually a hindrance to themselves and potentially dangerous to their employers and clients.

Yet their MBAs give many of them the impression that their education entitles them to near Biblical reverence.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

I don't visit this forum as often as I'd like but when I do, it's things like Melissa mentioned in her #1 example that just blow my mind. Seriously, if you can't answer such a basic question when applying to such as senior role, what are you going to do if you somehow get the job? Post questions on here all day? LOL

I'd say my other chuckle are those who ask to "name my product/business etc" with one sentence like "I sell cats! Help me name my company!" Really that's all you can tell us about the business you hope will make you rich?

So while these aren't rule breakers, they are still entertaining!

you might check with the moderators, and ask if you can transfer this question to the "about our forum" category. This will keep your question on the first page.

I believe some of the biggest problems are related to e-mail sent directly to marketing profs members.

For example, just the other day, I received an e-mail apparently from a student who wanted to help. This should have been posted as a question.

I read a recent response from someone (sorry, I have been unable to find that response) in which the member asking the question said that they had a number of responses to their question, but apparently they have a great many more e-mails offering help sent directly to them. How often does this happen?

Also, it seems to me that some people save their best comments for communications directly to the person asking the question, bypassing the forum. This limits the information and advice available to us all.

How can we measure this, and how can we get a handle on this? One way could be to set up a special marketing profs e-mail address to be posted on a person's profile. For example, it would probably not be hard to use each member's username to create a special e-mail address. This makes it possible to have a window on communications direct to members, bypassing the forum.

This might also make it possible to determine if people are capturing e-mail addresses from profiles to build e-mail marketing lists.

People who have been given a rules violation warning, and continue to break them anyhow. One person had a vision for change, wanted to enlist people to help them make the change, and often responded inquiries with a lecture, not a conversation. Warned many times, they were asked to leave, only to return with another username.