Learning and Laughter 31 - Welcome a New WA Member
There has been a trend happening more frequently on WA that I had to address and naturally I am going to make fun of it because though part of it is a legitimate kind act, the other side of it is a total waste of time. I just smh (shake my head) sometimes after clicking on the link.
I am sure you have seen the blogs by many members asking for us to welcome a new member to WA. I do not remember anywhere in the training where it says we should send blogs out to other members to welcome new members, let alone invitees.
New members who engage within the community, by the natural order of engagement, will get people welcoming them and following them. If you want to show your love and have other WA members to acknowledge them, that is fine but make sure they are a REAL member first.
SHOULD I SAY SOMETHING?
When I first noticed this trend starting, I thought I would say something to the member that sent the blog but I said, others are not going to follow through on something that is an obvious waste of time. Well I was wrong because many of you participated.
Now like I said at the beginning of this post, this is a legitimate kind act. However if the member you are welcoming and some of you actually following (BIG TIME SMH), has not filled out their member profile or at least uploaded a picture, guess what? They are not a participating member!
LOOK AT THIS
If you are the member asking the rest of us to welcome a new member to the community and this new member profile looks like this, DO NOT ask us until this invitee has actually become a participating member. The only people that should be posting to this invitee profile are Kyle and Carson and the member who did the inviting.
In the image above there are 50 WA members following this non-participating member, technically 48 because Kyle and the inviting member should be the only ones following. So 48 WA members are following no one from a 7 day old inactive person. What does that say?
MAKE SURE THEY ARE A REAL MEMBER
I understand that some members get overjoyed when they receive an acceptance to their WA invitation and want to share the news. It is fine if you want to have WA members welcome and or follow your new invitee, but make sure they are an actual referral before asking us to respond. Trust me, you are going to get a lot of invitees that will not complete their profiles.
I have no problems welcoming a new WA member that is serious about making an effort to become a member of the community. But I am certainly not going to welcome and definitely not follow a no body. That serves no positive purpose.
When I see WA members welcoming and following an invitee that has not yet acknowledged the WA community by giving us an indication that they are a real person, it makes me think of this scene of Robin Williams from the Mork & Mindy TV Show.
https://youtu.be/Ct4Rl4VrMp8
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I can't take a member seriously if I can't see their face, or their cats face, but I prefer a human face. The thought of cats blogging just seems strange somehow.
I have to see an image and at least a couple of typed words to know that they are real and have at least some interest.
I am looking at the picture in which the tie-down strap is tied to the rim.
I recall an experience from 1970 in Jamaica. I was 14 at the time.
My grown up guardians-- used to be a part of this weird church system.. in which ..certain people (those of non-black) origins held their noses high and snobbed .
Not all were like that.
Over time, divisions and awakenings had woken some of them up to realize that without Jesus, they were nothing.
Anyway, one night, after a mid week bible meeting , one of the ladies had a dead car battery.
Now, my uncle (r.i.p), at the time, was a well established engineer..
well, he offered to help. He stood back to observe at first.
Well. I was watching too and was quite tech savvy even at that age.
One of the men, a well known business owner, who used to be one of the snobs in past years, stepped in to assist, assuming to be knowledgable of technical things..
He...attached ONLY ONE cable from his car to the other, and tried to start the car. not both as is normally needed to jump start.
I and my Uncle looked at each other,, said nothing, but just waited this fellow got the hint. We wanted to laugh so bad, but we held our composure long enough to step in and correct this man's error.
Oh...those were the days
LOL Now that is funny! He's lucky he didn't connect the wrong cable to he wrong terminal, could have blown the battery.
As always a valid point. I haven't done this but it was funny to read your post. I actually wanted but was embarrassed to ask what does it mean when people follow you? Do they get notification when you post something here? Or somehow improve their ratings?
When you follow someone you each get notified of any interactions within the community from each other.
Thanks for this enlightening post! i guess many of us are so eager to pay it forward and participate, we jump right in, or else we might thing we aren't being good neighbours. Some of us new folks here may be inclined to think that it helps generate activity and boosts their rankings as well.
As a general rule fo thumb, I try and introduce myself to anyone who I choose to follow or whom has followed me, so we actually touch base in a way.
Blessed Sunday Robert!
Dan
You are welcome Dan. Nothing wrong with being nice to another member but they need to be an actual member first to gain that good deed. A blank profile could very well be a bot.
I don't participate in this because I find it to be an unnatural request. If the new member engages with the community, they will naturally get follows and welcome messages.
Guilty as charged, Your Honor. I asked the community to welcome my first referral (who did not fill out his profile).
Since then I have only asked my friends to say hello to the first one who filled out his profile page and again for my first premium referral. After that I figured out that it was wasting people's precious time.
I think that new members could get overwhelmed by having so many people following them. So I just ignore the emails asking us to welcome a new member.
Good Mork & Mindy video, Robert. :)
Yes when I see many of my WA friends replying to faceless invitees I just shake my head. Plus I always think of that Mork & Mindy show. :)
I recall, maybe incorrectly, Kyle asked that we take time to welcome new members.
On another note the little devil on my shoulder says wait to see what happens. :)
Yes, this is true, but they are not really a member until they complete their account profile or interact within the community.
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Great observation Robert!
... made with a great humorous twist ;)
Dennis
Always with a humorous twist Dennis. :)