Do you have an opinion on 'When(insert_random_celeb_name)dropped in to Boards.ie HQ'

Morlar

Do you have an opinion on, or approve of, 'When (insert_random_celeb_name) dropped in to Boards.ie HQ' ?

Gone Drinking

Nope, its not. Nothing to see here

Morlar

Don't care !

TheZohan wrote: »

Should have been posted on adverts.ie

That's kind of my issue with it - it feels like I am being advertised at in some kind of creepy infotainment/'advert-ainment' kind of deal.

MIRMIR82

Morlar wrote: »

That's kind of my issue with it - it feels like I am being advertised at in some kind of creepy infotainment/'advert-ainment' kind of deal.

OH YAAAAA - I'm obviously not very aware of subliminal messaging!!!:D

AlmightyCushion

They should have got James McEvoy instead...... and then stabbed him in the face for making the awfully horrendous film that is Wanted. God, that film sucked donkey balls.

Biggins

Jeasus, next thing ya know, there will be breaks for adverts before we can enter a forum section!

Coming in just to advertise/publicise a product directly in posts?
I though spamming was frowned upon!

WindSock

I have all her albums!

Morlar

Don't care !

Biggins wrote: »

Jeasus, next thing ya know, there will be breaks for adverts before we can enter a forum section!

Coming in just to advertise/publicise a product directly in posts?
I though spamming was frowned upon!

Verry Furrrny.

stovelid

Don't care !

I don't have one but my mate knows somebody who worked in a record shop who shouted to a colleague, have we got that bird compilation in yet when a woman was looking for that Women's Heart album.

dr.bollocko

What harm ?

Couldn't care my less but don't mind it being there. It's not a huge banner ad or an animated ad that obscures your view. It's just a thread announcement on some stuff that happened IMO.

Terry

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

If having artists visiting the boards hq is going to be a regular thing, then I'm all for it.
However, I think that Darragh needs to improve a bit with his interviewing skills.
He spent the first portion of the interview leafing through the CD inlay, rather than engaging Eleanor face to face.
Having finished leafing through the inlay, he appeared a bit timid, and his body language showed a lack of confidence.
Now this may have been because of the fact they were on a couch. Perhaps getting rid of the couch and using two chairs would be a better idea. That way, as per most interviews of this type, both people can face each other properly, as well as getting face time on camera.

I know that it's a small room, but maybe place the chairs in the corner of the room, and use a backdrop of some type.



AH reply: Feckin' shills.

CountingCrows

If only that boards.ie casting couch could talk!

dory

What harm ?

I thought it was yer one from Fair City who was married to Miley. No idea who that lady is.

Biggins

ejmaztec wrote: »

Should have been a fifth option i.e. "Who the fuck is Eleanor McEvoy?"

I've heard of her but wouldn't know a song of hers or recognise her voice if it deafened my ears! :pac:

Darragh

Moved to Feedback. Feel free to have your say here.

However, I think that Darragh needs to improve a bit with his interviewing skills.
He spent the first portion of the interview leafing through the CD inlay, rather than engaging Eleanor face to face.
Having finished leafing through the inlay, he appeared a bit timid, and his body language showed a lack of confidence.

Just on this - Terry, I completely agree. I was badly prepared and it looked awful. I'll defo keep the advice in mind for the next time. Cheers for the feedback.

AckwelFoley

What harm ?

With just over 300 views on that youtube video id imagine it either needs to be marketed better on boards.ie side, or she has no fans..at all.

Id be assuming the former, not the latter.

Nice idea though.

Any chance of Dr Dre sitting on the sofa? :pac:

Darragh

I'd love that. Dre on the couch. So, Dr, about this prescription you gave me ... :P

Nevyn

I would suggest a boards talks to.. forum which can be link in an announcement, and can be used to get questions people would like you to ask, and for feedback and which can be linked to on the blog and on twitter.

And still picture can be used on the blog to promote it.

TheZohanS

How about if you were interviewing another musician you run a little comp for boards members fans to jam with them, just a song or two.

I appreciate that sometimes these interviews can just pop up unexpected but it would involve the community a bit more, let the boardsies stick a demo on YouTube and have a poll or something to pick a winner.

Terry

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

Darragh wrote: »

Moved to Feedback. Feel free to have your say here.



Just on this - Terry, I completely agree. I was badly prepared and it looked awful. I'll defo keep the advice in mind for the next time. Cheers for the feedback.

I'm glad to see that you read it as the constructive criticism that it was, rather than the usual AH bile.

4zn76tysfajdxp

snyper wrote: »

Any chance of Dr Dre sitting on the sofa? :pac:

Ye'd be lucky to get dr.bollocko.

DeVore

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

Hang on, this thread isnt in AH or anything, its an announcement.... right?

Wouldnt this fall under our unwritten rule of "dont like it, dont read it?"

I'm sure for some she's the most riveting thing ever. If its not your thing, keep walking. No?

DeV.

Cookie_Monster

Don't care !

DeVore wrote: »

Hang on, this thread isnt in AH or anything, its an announcement.... right?

Wouldnt this fall under our unwritten rule of "dont like it, dont read it?"

I'm sure for some she's the most riveting thing ever. If its not your thing, keep walking. No?

DeV.

But is part of the issue not that there was an AH thread on it that just mysteriously disappeared? (Darragh took it down and has clarified stuff since, which is fine by me)
And that the impression given from those actions are that boards will not tolerate criticism of her or their actions & interests in plugging this item?

Morlar

Don't care !

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

But is part of the issue not that there was an AH thread on it that just mysteriously disappeared? (Darragh took it down and has clarified stuff since, which is fine by me)
And that the impression given from those actions are that boards will not tolerate criticism of her or their actions & interests in plugging this item?

That ticked me off also - (later polite explantions notwithstanding) the fact that it was reefed. Removed (not moved somewhere else or locked) & with no explanation/pm etc.

DeVore wrote: »

Wouldnt this fall under our unwritten rule of "dont like it, dont read it?"

Yes you can ignore it.

It was plastered however on the top of the boards.ie page so it's not so easy to ignore when you see it at the top of the homepage each time.

I was definitely creeped out at the thoughts of boards.ie blurring the lines into advert-ainment/info-tainment or however you choose to spin it. It's an internet forum and should not start (imo) to feel like tv3 or somewhere for b-d-e list celebs/musicians to plug things. I would again ask the question which I asked on the announcement thread but never appeared - if we have eleanor whatsername now then when can we (or should we) expect someone like jedward's press agent to swing their boards.ie gushing appearance ? My basic point is that it feels wierd and creepy (no offence to Darragh).

Sparks

What harm ?

Darragh wrote: »

Just on this - Terry, I completely agree. I was badly prepared and it looked awful.

I blame the obvious sexual tension for that.

Darragh

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

But is part of the issue not that there was an AH thread on it that just mysteriously disappeared? (Darragh took it down and has clarified stuff since, which is fine by me)
And that the impression given from those actions are that boards will not tolerate criticism of her or their actions & interests in plugging this item?

Once again, I'll just highlight that criticism aside (about both Eleanor and me, which is never nice to read, no matter how true) it was the content of some of the posts that made me remove the thread rather than just edit it.

I have no problem with constructive criticism. I have no problem with questions. I do have a major problem with abuse, with people feeling that because they're anonymous they can say what they like, and, in fact, the assumption that we did it for the wrong reasons rather than the right ones.

We're still trying things out and trying to come to the best possible way to do this, if it's something we're going to continue doing. Right now, I'm questioning whether we do that - if it's really worth it or of interest. The unfortunate thing is that asking in just one forum, even one as busy as AH, gets only a small percentage of the 140k+ active members we have commenting.

Morlar wrote: »

Yes you can ignore it.

It was plastered however on the top of the boards.ie page so it's not so easy to ignore when you see it at the top of the homepage each time.

I was definitely creeped out at the thoughts of boards.ie blurring the lines into advert-ainment/info-tainment or however you choose to spin it. It's an internet forum and should not start (imo) to feel like tv3 or somewhere for b-d-e list celebs/musicians to plug things. I would again ask the question which I asked on the announcement thread but never appeared - if we have eleanor whatsername now then when can we (or should we) expect someone like jedward's press agent to swing their boards.ie gushing appearance ? My basic point is that it feels wierd and creepy (no offence to Darragh).

Let's be realistic about this - it was there, like many other things are there, as one thread. It was there for 17 hours. You did not have to click into it.

If you feel that these are infotainment plugs, then how can we improve them that they're not? Basically the only time we'll get access to people is when they do have something to push or to sell or to promote - why else would they? Part of the trade off then is that we mention it in return for their appearance.

Re Jedward - I would LOVE Jedward to come in - they are the top celebrities in Ireland right now and it'd be great content.

No offence taken by the way.

DeVore

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

Darragh removing the content entirely was a mistake he has put his hand up to.

It shouldn't have been removed, the offending (rather ugly) comment should have been removed instead. That was a mistake. We'll learn from it.

DeV.

King Felix

I'd love to see more artists and celebs apearing Boards, even it is to plug their latest product. So what? They're just making a living, same as the rest of us.

More of the same would be indicative of the growing power and popularity of sites like Boards, and if a celeb is ballsy enough to appear on here knowing some of the criticism they could face, more power to them.

Cookie_Monster

Don't care !

King Felix wrote: »

I'd love to see more artists and celebs apearing Boards, even it is to plug their latest product. So what? They're just making a living, same as the rest of us.

While I acknowledge Boards Ltd can do what they want with their business and have no issue with that, why go with the usual banal road of celebs and artists and the like. Too much main stream media already cover all this non stop. I just think its a bit too commercial and repetitive.
Sure we can all just ignore anything put up if we wish but I think it would also affect the general feel and membership of the site if it starts to turn into just another media platform for those trying to be famous.

@ Darragh & DeVore maybe such announcements could be better directed at the appropriate forums to minimise such occurrences (The AH thread 7 specific posts) going forward. IE that one at the music forum & sub or related forums rather than general site wide, though would the artist have been as interested then?

Terry

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

Darragh wrote: »

Re Jedward - I would LOVE Jedward to come in - they are the top celebrities in Ireland right now and it'd be great content.

I'm no fan, but I'd agree that it would make for some great viewing.
It would also be good publicity for this site.

DeVore wrote: »

Darragh removing the content entirely was a mistake he has put his hand up to.

It shouldn't have been removed, the offending (rather ugly) comment should have been removed instead. That was a mistake. We'll learn from is.

DeV.

How can we, the average boards users, continue to use this site with the knowledge that Darragh is capable of making mistakes?

As for the current announcement; as I type this, it's about some bike race or something. It doesn't interest me, so I will not be clicking on it. I can't beleive how easy that it.

mike65

Don't care !

Whats the policy for inviting public figures on boards for this sort of pimping? Only people the Admins approve of? Only people the Admins can get hold of (dropped in my arse)

Shall we end up with say Michael D Higgins being given 5 mins to talk about his tilt at the Presidency while say Bertie Ahern is not allowed same?

Morlar

Don't care !

Terry wrote: »

I'm no fan, but I'd agree that it would make for some great viewing.
It would also be good publicity for this site.

I disagree, firstly that it would make for great viewing and also because I think it would damage the boards brand to have that association.

pickarooney

Darragh wrote: »

If you feel that these are infotainment plugs, then how can we improve them that they're not? Basically the only time we'll get access to people is when they do have something to push or to sell or to promote - why else would they? Part of the trade off then is that we mention it in return for their appearance.

At the risk of repeating myself (I've kind of lost track of what I've said in which thread), boards.ie has a unique advantage over other media formats in that it is fully interactive and really it needs to be used better (as it has previously). Boards can't compare with RTE, TV3 or Rolling Stone as regards the calibre of interviewee but it can offer a type of interview none of these can - one where the questions come directly from the people who will be reading/looking at the answers.

I think everyone expects that if an artist is being interviewed he or she will mention their new album and maybe sing a song from it but there's a huge difference between that and basing an entire interview around same. Personally I'd have a lot more respect for an artist who wasn't so blatantly pushing a product and actually got on board with being asked potentially awkward or hilarious answers... and sang a song chosen by the people who set the questions.

Tom Dunne

Morlar wrote: »

I was definitely creeped out at the thoughts of boards.ie blurring the lines into advert-ainment/info-tainment or however you choose to spin it. It's an internet forum and should not start (imo) to feel like tv3 or somewhere for b-d-e list celebs/musicians to plug things

Back in the day when I had no life and actually watched talk shows, practically every single guest was there to plug something, usually a book.

I see this as no different.

Terry wrote: »

I'm no fan, but I'd agree that it would make for some great viewing.
It would also be good publicity for this site.

OH GOD NO. PLEASE. NOT JEDWARD.

I am not even in the country and I know how cringe inducing they are.

Having said that, if they were to make an appearance on this site, I would do this crazy thing I like to call "Don't click on it". Also known as "Ignore them".

mike65 wrote: »

Whats the policy for inviting public figures on boards for this sort of pimping? Only people the Admins approve of? Only people the Admins can get hold of (dropped in my arse)

Darragh is not an Admin.

If I had my way, Shania Twain and The Nolan Sisters would be interviewed next.

Preferably together.

mike65

Don't care !

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Darragh is not an Admin.

So he's flying solo with this? Okay Well maybe not okay depending...

Tom Dunne wrote: »

If I had my way, Shania Twain and The Nolan Sisters would be interviewed next.

Preferably together.

Have to be a subscription thread, that one. :pac:

Darragh

mike65 wrote: »

Whats the policy for inviting public figures on boards for this sort of pimping? Only people the Admins approve of? Only people the Admins can get hold of (dropped in my arse)

Shall we end up with say Michael D Higgins being given 5 mins to talk about his tilt at the Presidency while say Bertie Ahern is not allowed same?

If I'm asked to get someone, I'll try get someone. Oviously it's easier when people ask me, because then there's an obvious interest!

I think what Tom means is that I'm not a volunteer admin, I'm a site employee with the autonomy to do for the site things I think that will benefit it.

smashey

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

TheZohan wrote: »

Should have been posted on adverts.ie

Eh, no.

Dades

I have an issue with the way she keeps mentioning Jesus in that song.

Think of the children! :pac:

Darragh

Folks, as I suspected, this thread is now affecting the Google search results for the artist being mentioned (which, I think you'll agree is different to the subject the thread is about).

Has anyone any major objections if I remove the artist details and just keep the thread about whether Boards.ie should be doing these sort of promotions and how they should be run?

In fairness, the problem here was caused by me and my actions, not the fact that she came in and did what I asked - answered my questions and sang a song - that's all I asked her to do, and that, as discussed, is not the best way to go about it. I'm fully willing to accept that.

Any genuine reasons why I can't do this for her?

Miguel_Sanchez

I think that's perfectly reasonable.

Gordon

What's with all this talk of celebrities and bands playing for boards, where's all the vids of the recordings?! That's what I want to see.

D'oh, it's on the announcement forum. So used to beta skin, you guys should move the boardsdeals box on the right of the homepage further down to contain that videocast and videonews type things. Give the videos/podcasts more prominence.

tbh

Darragh wrote: »

If I'm asked to get someone, I'll try get someone. Oviously it's easier when people ask me, because then there's an obvious interest!

I think what Tom means is that I'm not a volunteer admin, I'm a site employee with the autonomy to do for the site things I think that will benefit it.

Crystal Swing! Crystal Swing!

Beruthiel

/shoots tbh at point blank range.

Terry

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

Morlar wrote: »

I disagree, firstly that it would make for great viewing and also because I think it would damage the boards brand to have that association.

I disagree with you. Sorry. I couldn't think of another word to use there. Blood sugar is a bit low at the moment, so I'm rectifying it by drinking beer.

Anyway, just because you and I (and most sane people on the planet) do not like them, that does not mean they don't have fans.

There was coverage of an appearance in Tesco Maynooth by them in the local rag last month. By all accounts, the place was jammed. People camping out overnight, and then following them to their next appearance in Wexford, or some such place.

Like them or not, you cannot deny that they are extremely popular at the moment.

There is more to boards than 1337 music forums, AH and and the like.
You have the JC, LC, C&H forums and the like for the younger fans. Then you have a whole variety of forums for the older fans, or the parents of the younger ones. These can all be pimped in the interview.

I'll now refer back to the don't like, don't click point. It's really easy.

If anyone feels that they would be put off visiting boards if Jedward were interviewed, then I feel that they really need to reassess their priorities. Don't get me wrong, Morlar. That's not a dig at you. I'm just really surprised by the amount of negativity towards this.

If you watch the Late Late Show, Conan (before Leno screwed him), Letterman, Stewart, Colbert, or, back in the day, Wogan, you'll see that every single guest is pimping their latest product. Radio is the same.

I'll get back to this later in this post.

Tom Dunne wrote: »

OH GOD NO. PLEASE. NOT JEDWARD.

I am not even in the country and I know how cringe inducing they are.

Having said that, if they were to make an appearance on this site, I would do this crazy thing I like to call "Don't click on it". Also known as "Ignore them".

See above for reason.
I also agree with the Ignore option.
Nobody is reading anything on this site with a gun pointed at their head.

Darragh wrote: »

Folks, as I suspected, this thread is now affecting the Google search results for the artist being mentioned (which, I think you'll agree is different to the subject the thread is about).

Has anyone any major objections if I remove the artist details and just keep the thread about whether Boards.ie should be doing these sort of promotions and how they should be run?

In fairness, the problem here was caused by me and my actions, not the fact that she came in and did what I asked - answered my questions and sang a song - that's all I asked her to do, and that, as discussed, is not the best way to go about it. I'm fully willing to accept that.

Any genuine reasons why I can't do this for her?

A genuine reason?
Well, sometimes people just don't like your product, be it music, literature, film or whatever.
In all honesty, I did not know any Eleanor McEvoy songs until someone mentioned the "only a woman" one. I knew her name, knew she was a singer, but that was about it.
I now know that she writes good songs with meaning to them, and not just mushy ballads.

In the time it has taken me to write this post, while being interrupted by my conspiracy theorist lodger, I noticed that the thread title has already been changed.

I'd suggest that you restore the original title, and link to the interview in the first post, or just embed the clip, so that people can see that it's not really a bad thing, or so that they can judge for themselves as to whether it is or is not.

Now, back to the potential appearances and interviews.
I'm a fan of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.
Stewart and Colbert bring in one person every night, but they always discuss the issues of the day, rather than just fawning over their guest and telling everyone how good the product is.

They devote about 2 minutes of a 7 minute interview to discussing the guest's product. The other 5 minutes is spent discussing a range of things, from politics to music to film and the like.

Boards could do this by asking members to submit questions to the interviewee. They don't have to be relevant to the product being pimped (a word I should probably not use in relation to this, but, as stated above, low blood sugar being raised with alcohol).

As alluded to above, this doesn't need to be limited to singers. There are plenty of others who could be interviewed.
Politicians, writers, journalists (yep, I see a difference), actors and so many others.

This could be the beginning of something brilliant for boards, and nobody is forcing anyone to click anything.

jtsuited

Don't care !

I think it's a shame to engage in this sort of stuff. The business model tabloid newspapers use is selling readers to advertisers as their main source of income. This is exactly what boards is doing with this. Pathetic imo.

Tom Dunne

jtsuited wrote: »

I think it's a shame to engage in this sort of stuff. The business model tabloid newspapers use is selling readers to advertisers as their main source of income. This is exactly what boards is doing with this. Pathetic imo.

If you could come up with a better business model, I'm sure the owners of Boards.ie would be intrigued.

Staff wages, servers and software ain't cheap, y'know.

Darragh

jtsuited wrote: »

I think it's a shame to engage in this sort of stuff. The business model tabloid newspapers use is selling readers to advertisers as their main source of income. This is exactly what boards is doing with this. Pathetic imo.

Selling implies we're charging for this. We're not. This is purely for the reader's entertainment first and foremost - any benefit to the interviewee is a plus.

Darragh

tbh wrote: »

Crystal Swing! Crystal Swing!

Careful what you ask for

jtsuited

Don't care !

Darragh wrote: »

Selling implies we're charging for this. We're not. This is purely for the reader's entertainment first and foremost - any benefit to the interviewee is a plus.

Fair enough, but between this and competitions being announced in the same way, there's a fierce wack of crass commercialism off it.

Darragh

Aye, and I'm trying to find the best solution around that. All we can do is try and if it doesn't work, try again differently.

TequilaMockingBird

Do you need a hug Darragh? :pac: