Mad and Hurt
Hello Friends,
Let me begin by saying that this is going to be a lengthy post. I have things to say, things that need to be said, so I am using this forum to do just that.
This is about me, Teddy Bear, my success, my job, WA, Kyle, and people who want to hurt others. I totally expect this post to be taken down very quickly, but maybe some of my words will be seen and heard. If not, I'll do it again until my voice is heard. If not here, you can check it out on my website, mycoolaffiliate.com or over at my job. But I will be heard!
It's been a while since I posted anything here at WA. There's a reason for that and I am going to tell you why. I am PISSED and I am HURT!!!
I read your blogs and I comment about your success and your happiness, well not so much anymore. I guess that I have been taking my anger and pain out on all the wrong people. The ones that are responsible for my absence, are the owners, well, one owner in particular.
Let me explain...
I read every day about your successes, your pain, your ups and downs, your questions, your happiness and your life in general. And that is all good, I used to enjoy it very much. But that has changed. Now, I find myself dreading the time that I will sit down and start reading. I no longer feel that I do this as a privilege, but as something that needs to be done.
I am getting in front of myself, let me restart.
As most of you know, I am now working with Chris Scott, a.k.a. The Teddy Bear at WM 101. I have become very successful in this line of work. Bear has taught me sooo much, I can hardly believe that I am where I am now. He has taught us all a lot, and many of you have walked on his goodness and kindheartedness. Shame on you!!
Just about a week ago, I received a PM from Kyle that accused me of spamming and promoting another platform here within WA, a platform that I was 'involved' with. It was also stated that this kind of action would, or could, cost me my posting privileges. I do not recall promoting anything!!! I was only talking about my SUCCESS, and my good FORTUNE. This hurt me very deeply at the time and confused me as well. So much so, that I was unable to respond to this PM. I am never at a loss for words. Then, I got mad, really mad!!!
It's OK if I write a blog about my success with Amazon, Share-A-Sale, etc. But it is not okay if I write about my success with Teddy Bear and the money that I make there and the Mentoring that I get from working hand-in-hand with Bear and our company. I am not promoting or selling you anything. I am simply making a comment about how great my life has become since joining WA, and consequently meeting Bear and becoming involved with his, our company and becoming very successful!!
I was under the impression that we are encouraged to write about these things and to share our good fortune with others, and be happy for our friends as they become successful as well. I guess maybe I am wrong, but were you not under the same impression?!?! Is that not what a "SUCCESS POST" or comments are all about? Again, I am confused.
I left WA for a short period of time not too long ago before all this crap started. I didn't have the time that I used to have to be a part of the community and to do the training like I did before. So, I thought that I would take a break and come back at a later time. That did not last long. When Chris, 'Teddy Bear' found out that I had chosen to leave, he instantly insisted that I come back immediately! He was adamant that I should be here honing my skills and following the training. Hell, he has even offered to pay my membership, not for just a month, but for a year!! It was that important to him that I not leave. His main concern is for me, my well-being and my success. He wants my website to be just as successful and monetized as his, ours is. Therefore, I should be a part of WA as well as 101.
Now that I am on the subject, Bear is getting a pretty rotten deal here at WA as well. After all this crap started, and after he created the 7 Membership Training's, he has been blocked from WA. Yep, it's true. Those training's, which have been activated and deactivated, up and down, like a Jack-in-the-Box, were created to teach YOU how to build a Membership site that would bring in revenue for YOU. Not me, not him, not anyone except YOU!! What happened?? All the training was taken down and no one benefited. Hopefully, they will be activated again and left where they belong. It took a lot of time and effort to create all of that and put here at WA for YOUR benefit. I know, because I was a part of that operation too. But, there were a few that saw it as spam or promotion and it was taken down. It would really be nice if certain people would tend to their own business and stay out of others. And NOT to start vicious rumors and lies. You know who you are.
Bear has only tried to give you the tools that you needed to make yourself a more successful person than you already are. To help you along with the training that you get here at WA. And that is the thanks that he gets for trying to do good for others. It sucks!!! I work daily with Bear, and he never tries to take anything or anybody away from WA. If anything, he tries to get people to be a part of the platform here at WA. Kyle does a wonderful job teaching here at WA, and Bear does a wonderful job Mentoring. He has only tried to give and make things better for everyone! Because of all this, Bear will not be a staple here at WA anymore. Do you blame him? His feelings are hurt by all of this too.
Anyway, because of all the unfounded negativity, accusations, unfairness and skepticism of the past few weeks, I have become disenchanted with WA. I no longer post, comment, get involved, or talk with my friends here. That is just really sad. I thought this was a community of people who cared for one another and what happened in our lives. I find that not to be the case. My rank is falling, my writing is suffering, my site is looking very sloppy, I am feeling very foolish, and I have stopped my training. This is all because of the jealousy of a few who know no better. I feel sorry for those who are in this category. Why can't everyone just play nice and get along?? Why do those few bad apples have to ruin the whole basket for those like me? And yes, I am not the only one that feels this way. I get PM's everyday on this subject. Let's just say that the past few weeks have taught me a lot and have opened my eyes to some facts that are not flattering.
So, with all that has happened, you probably won't be seeing me around as much as you used too. I have to step back and take stock of everything that has happened and re-evaluate my reasons for being a part of this 'great community', It's not looking so good right now. That makes me sad. I really loved it here at WA, but it seems that a lot of things have changed. Not necessarily for the good.
Before I go, I want to say, because I see the wheels turning, that nobody asked, encouraged, or expected me to write this post. This is all of my own doing. I know of one person that will probably be very upset with me...Bear. I am sure that if this had been discussed between the two of us, he would have told me not to do it. But, I seem to do what I want to do, and this needed to be done.
My shoulders feel a bit lighter now, my world seems to be back in focus. Maybe I will feel different after I sleep on this for a few hours. I certainly hope so. I don't like being upset and confused over things that are not what they seem to be. I just hope that this has brought a bit of clarity to the surface. It may very well cost me a high price. I hope that it has not been in vain.
I hope that I will see you all soon. I guess time will tell if this comes down or if I get banned for a while. I will deal with whatever the consequences.
Thanks for reading...
G'Night,
Tammi
As always, your likes, dislikes, and comments are welcome below...
Recent Comments
64
I'm going to jump in and make a comment.
To be honest, I don't understand your 'pissed' and 'hurt' reaction. No matter how well meant the training that both you and Bear put together for the benefit of the WA community, you're using the WA platform to promote, perhaps unintentionally, another business that you and Bear are invovled with, that is separate from WA, and is your baby.
As an illustration, I can't imagine promoting American Airlines to potential customers when I work for another airline, no matter if American Airlines flights to certain destinations are cheaper than the ailrine I work for. I would be going against the very policies of the airline I work for. Perhaps not the best example but the first that I could think of ;)
WA is Kyle's and Carson's baby that they have borne, nutured and developed over the years. From what I understand from your post above, Bear and you have created and are developing an awesome platform teaching people and giving them the tools to build a membership site. That's really wonderful that you and he can work together but your online business needs to be kept separate from WA. Your success story should be about your accomplishments in the online world, period.
I've been here about year, active for about 4 months in total. I want to learn and be equipped with the right training and tools to biuld MY online business. I'm not interested in building a membership site, so I don't really want training about that. Maybe one day I will be ready for that, but not now and not yet. Others may well want to know about what you're offering but they should look for that information outside of WA.
If other people on here considered your training material as spam that's their prerogative, and I think it's uncalled for that you would lable them and accuse them of spreading 'vicious rumors and lies.'
You admit that you have learned a lot from WA, without which you wouldn't be where you are today, so personally, I don't think your post above should have been made public. You received a pm from Kyle; you should have had the courtesy to acknowledge his message and responded to him rather than turning this into a public rant. I don't think that's fair to Kyle or to anyone else on here.
To end, I would like to say...perhaps you can take in a deep breath, take a step back and look at this whole matter objectively, and weigh in the pros and the cons, and see if WA is still a community you want to be a part of or not.
All the best in all of your endeavours!
Judi
Hi Judi,
Thanks for your comment.
But I have to stand firm on the ground that I was not spamming or promoting. I was only eluding to my job and what a wonderful experience that I was having here at WA and at my job. I don't see any harm in that, it's what we all do.
As for Bear, everything he does here at WA is for the enrichment of others. He has not tried to lure anyone away from WA or take any monies that would otherwise benefit WA. But it was not viewed that way.
As for Kyle, we had a difference of opinion. That happens, but I had to get this out in the open.
As you can see from the comments, over half are in line with what I said about not being at fault. Everyone has the right to express their opinion, as I was doing.
I think that Kyle has a wonderful idea with The Market Place. This would be good for everyone concerned. It would be beneficial to all.
I respect your comment and only ask that you pay me the same respect.
Comments and opinions make the world go 'round!!
T
U can't do that. We need u!!! Ur are my cheerleader. I was down for two months and u and a select few kept me from quitting. U have a whole team of ppl who love u and care for u. When ur at the top things come at you. So don't be discouraged my dear friend. Rejoice because when ur doing right, No 1 can wrong u. Look up my friend, don't mention what they accused u of just 2 keep peace. Bless u, Hang in there my friend! !!!!!
Hey girl, how are you doing?!?!
I think in this case, YOU are my cheerleader. You have made me feel much better.
I will get over this and move on. It just took me completely by surprise!!
I won't leave you hanging, I need you in my corner!!
I'm looking up!!
T
Hey Tammi,
I am at work on Monday morning, and my internet was down Sunday. So, I want get to save this unless it is still on when I get home.
I sent you a pm a bit ago. Will you please help me with it. I would certainly be dead in the water on my membership site without bear's help.
Really sorry you have experienced the wrath of WA. It can, however, serve as a valuable lesson to us all. I didn't see the membership site as a threat to WA. Rather, I saw it as an opportunity for another stream of income. After all, when my site is done, I'll still be promoting WA. I'll also need another website. I have one waiting in my cart.
Again, sorry you are hurt and mad. Hurt is worse than mad. I can get over mad, but it takes a while to forget hurt. Blessings from your friend.
I have this saved in more than one place!!
We will be more than happy to help you out. It's all for the good of everyone.
Thanks for your kind words. The 'mad' is subsiding, but the hurt will remain for some time. I feel better just getting it off my chest!!
T
I'm sorry that your feelings have been hurt despite all that you have tried to do for the community.
I don't want to further upset you, but from an objective standpoint, I think the leadership at WA tries their best to keep the focus here on Affiliate marketing.
The challenges come up because the principles they teach us are applicable to other types of online businesses also such as Membership sites, online stores etc.... it is hard to not want to share those successes also.
I hope your week gets better.
Thank you, Sondra. There are many ways to look at this, but I just want to be able to blog about my experiences without fear of consequences.
The leadership here is wonderful, I am not questioning that, only some of the practices.
T
I'm very sorry to hear this Tammi, you are a true soul and I admire your strength, candor, and that you are a survivor. Unfortunately the reality is there are injustices that occur here, even toward those who did not commit any wrongdoing. As you know, I know this firsthand as I was banned for one month.
There are a few miserable folks here who don't want to see you succeed,and they will attempt anything to try to see you fail.
However, no matter what they throw at you, always remember they can never conquer you. You define you own personal success path and the money you make with the original content you create, how you market yourself and your work, and how you choose to use this platform to gain from. As a paying member, use the platform and get whatever you can from it.
You are a survivor and an inspiration, and this is merely a "blip" on the screen. Stay true to you.
My dear Kaju, your words warm me. You are a friend that I can always depend on to set my head straight and put me back on a forward course.
I will get over this, in time, but it just really burned up!!
As you say, and I agree, this is a platform that I pay for and I am going to use it to my benefit.
Thanks for your kind words, encouragement, and most of all, your friendship!
T
I am sorry that you feel how you do Tammi, and I have a lot of respect for Teddy Bear.
Having said that .. maybe you crossed the fine line by speaking about the specifics of Mentoring and the business name etc you were going under. I mentor too, in a different arena but I never mention it here on WA, other than in general terms, meaning no one would have any idea of what type of mentoring it is and therefore would never approach me about it and I can never be accused of self promoting here. And sure, all posts are a form of "self promotion" but that would be an extreme interpretation in this context.
When people speak here about their success with Amazon etc they are referring to a third party supplier and they have no direct interest in another member signing with Amazon or not.
In your case, in my thinking, the line is much more blurred, it is not a third party supplier.
When I end in situations such as you have I always review what my part in the situation was and how I contributed to the issue.
People will be people and when one is close to a fine line one must be very careful.
I am just saying.
Stay Focused, Move Forward.
Cheers, William.
You make a good point William. I just didn't see where I was promoting or redirecting.
I suppose that it could be interpreted in many ways and by many different people.
Thanks for your frankness.
T
Hi Tammi, I would REALLY miss you if you left! Please don't leave! Take the good, ignore the bad and move on. I think there is value you can get out of being here still and you certainly help and encourage others...like me.
I agree with you 100% about the mean spirited people. They are busybodies just looking for an excuse to ban people! In the past these people have again and again shown their true colors.
I do have to agree with William also. We are not supposed to promote anything. If we post and put our website link in it, it can be marked as spam. We aren't even supposed to request comments in with a link to our sites here, only in the comment thread or Site Comments. Many new members make that mistake and ask for feedback by putting their website link in a post but they are warned and if it continues their posts are taken down. Writing about success is fine as long as we don't mention our site name/link directly. Then it is seen as sharing our experience not promoting our site.
I am very sorry to hear Bear is gone. I hope he will come back!!!!!!! WA would be losing out to have you both gone!
I really love hearing from you!
Jessica
Hey Jessica,
Thanks for the kind words. You make me feel better. It's friends like you that I would miss too much if I left. I will probably stick around for awhile. I just need to get over all this petty *@%&!!
I really did not think that I was promoting, I was just talking about my life experience. I guess just mentioning the name was spamming.
As for the busybody's, I am afraid that they are here to stay. You just can't do anything with those kinds of people. Go figure!!
Bear will probably come back as well. He is really hurt over all this too. He tries so hard to help others and it blows up in his face. I hope you can understand his side as well.
I will talk to you soon,
Tammi
Please tell him I hope he comes back!
We all get told not to promote our sites and not put our site links in our posts so please don't take it personally even though there are some here who would make it personal and make a big deal about it...you know whom I mean! Unfortunately you are caught between WA policy on one hand, excitement and wanting to share what is working for you on the other and some mean spirited people who like to wield the mighty spam button!
Hugs! Come back soon!
Jessica
Thank you, my dear friend. I will be back, it will just be a bit. At least I now know what I can and can't say. That makes it much easier!!
(((((((((((())))))))))))
Tammi
Sounds like there was a lot you had to get off your chest. I understand how you feel and but now that is in the past. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Bear but from what you described, he is very noble and humble and to me those are traits that are desirable in any community, especially WA.
It's a shame he has been banned especially for all he offered to the community. Perhaps the powers that be will reinstate his membership after some time, I donno because I don't know the whole story. Either way, I hope you can move past this and remain part of the community as you were before.
I did notice your absence a couple days ago because you had not posted in some time, it would be nice to have you back. Or if you need a break, that's fine too so long as you promise to come back.
Thank you for the post and I wish you the best!
Hi Tammi and thanks for having the courage and taking the time to post these concerns.
I must admit I have not seen any of the negative stuff you have majored on in the post but I suppose, with such a massive membership, there is bound to be some rotten wood in the pile; I just haven't seen the evidence in my circle of followers until now.
I hope you can find it in you to stay with the forum; we need you and people like Chris and Paul to keep the momentum going.
I am devastated to see that Chris has been banned - his series of videos on Membership Sites is awesome and, if he does not get back on here, there should be some way for thousands of us to petition Kyle to reverse this unfortunate decision.
I think your very frank post has opened a few eyes - mine certainly - on how a seemingly wonderful forum can very quickly become tainted and there should be some form of policing by the owners to ensure that we all get a fair deal. There must be sufficient membership funds in the coffers to have a Customer Experience/Satisfaction department set up to ensure that people don't get banned or suspended for the wrong reasons.
I would be very interested to see what Kyle has to say on this subject.
Finally, if the videos from Chris remain suspended, I would hope there is a way for him to share these privately. (perhaps discuss this separately?
Thanks again for sharing. Tammi and PLEASE stay with the programme.
Terry
You've suggested a great idea...a customer experience/satisfaction department. Kinda like human resources.
It is so sad to see that this does happen in a community that is supposed to be all-for-one and one-for-all! I suppose it is just the way of certain ones to bring ill-will on others.
Hopefully, Bear will be back soon. He is very upset with all this. He is wondering exactly what went wrong and why.
You have a wonderful idea, Terry!! I wonder who we approach to question if this can be done or not. This is really a great idea for a Customer Service platform. Maybe we can get this implemented.
Thanks for your kind words and understanding.
Feel free to PM me anytime and we can discuss things further!
T
Hi Tammi
I have been through EXACTLY the same just before the summer and so I said to Heck with this and walked away for a couple of months because I could not believe how narrow minded some people are and it really got to me
I had no interested in anything so concentrated on my garden I went sick my wife went sick and it was a very hard couple of months I can tell you
I have not posted on my site for five weeks and everything as like stopping - no interest no sales etc
But about three weeks ago I suddenly got a bit if inspiration and said what the heck I just have to get my act together so I started to write again at WA and it was so good to hear for the good people I know and then I started doing things on my site and improved it so much. and last night was inspired to write a blog for my site!
So now I am back again and it a way I am back better now with more hope and more passion to make this work and in a way it was good to have the break@!!
paul
Thanks for the kind reply Paul, it makes me feel better.
Hopefully, I can get past this and get back to WA and do the things that I did before.
Maybe I just need a break too!
T
See more comments
This has nothing to do with you, this has nothing to do with Chris or your character, how helpful you are, etc. It is our POLICY here and always has been that you cannot use WA as a vehicle to promote other programs and services, no matter how "subtly" this is done.
There are no exceptions to this and over the years we have saved people a lot of grief and expenditures by having a no spam policies in place here at WA. And keeps this place as a safe haven from everything else that is out there that is pushy and where with any communication the only motive tends to be selling something.
So if you are interested in promoting your new program/websites/services, there are many facilities in which you can do that and you can absolutely leverage your website for this. Wealthy Affiliate is not the medium.
And we have nothing against creating membership sites or the many avenues in which you can build a business online. There are lots and we cover lots within the platform here and support all ideas and directions.
We just do not support implicit or explicit promotions as the underpinning reason for engagement here.
One thing that we are considering is more facility here within the community that would serve as a sort of marketplace. So your not too off topic in terms of a direction that we may be heading, but please refrain from using WA as a recruitment platform to promote external services to others.
That is all we ask and these have been our policies since day 1.
I like the marketplace idea. Many new members have asked about that as they want to know what other members have to offer.
We actually used to have something of this nature, it was called "WA Jobs". The problem is that it had zero regulation and it was a free for all (and people subsequently were getting taken advantage of).
I think you will find that if we integrate anything of this nature it will have controls and processes in place to ensure quality, accountability and reliability of any such "marketplace" type venture.
That makes sense.
My take...
First of all, I also like the idea of a marketplace and yet I do understand the reluctance to implement such a system here.
We certainly don't want a Warrior Forum type of site where there are pitfalls aplenty with marketers that promise the world but do not deliver or worse...
To Tammi:
Posting on Wealthy Affiliate
It is a gray area in some cases when it comes to what is okay to post, but the rules are there for a reason and based on experience(s) from the earlier days of WA, it sounds like...
The best route to take if there is any question in your mind as to whether it is appropriate/permissible to post something or not is to ask?
It doesn't take that long to get an answer and, depending on the subject, other members can often answer the question...
I have not looked at the training on membership sites that is in question, as I have no need for this type of training at the moment...I have enough irons in the fire, no need for more...
Also...If you DO want to promote/let people know what you may be doing outside the WA platform...
There is an area for that on our profile page, and this works for most people I think and this is a fair compromise...
Again, not having followed this particular controversy, in general, I can say that I support Kyle and Carson and what they have built and continue to build here for us all...
They do not make decisions or take action with malice intended, but truly want to keep this a place where we can all come to so we can learn in a non-threatening environment from the training, commiserate with other online marketers, and trade tips, ideas, and address professional or even personal problems (at times)...
Perhaps there are some emotions here in play that, if you step back from them just a little, would allow an objective analysis and an amicable solution for your peace of mind...
In the big picture, there are so many ways to promote a particular product or service you may be part of or a member of, outside of the Wealthy Affiliate platform.
In fact, I would say that if you focus only on this platform, you are missing out on the huge audience that is out there across the internet...
My Suggestion:
Think outside of the box and look for solutions that accommodate the requirements that we have here yet will allow you to attain the goals you have set for yourself and your business...
Good discussion...
Cheers!
Dave : )