Everyone has one. Like it or not you do. But what amazes me are the levels at which people will plummet to be part of, or create their "clique". Take for example, the large and completely mismanaged World Wide Etsy Sellers (WWES).
In theory, the WWES is incredible. Etsy artists throughout the world uniting to bring maximum exposure to its members and their products. In practice however, it's nothing of the sort.
While the WWES as a whole is simply dysfunctional, narcissistic cliques WITHIN the clique operate rather well! Instead of promoting ALL members as it was intended, earning the right to be "re-tweeted" still depends on where you fall and which clique you fall into. Certain members promote everyone, as it should be. Other members, including the founder, only promote whom they see fit. Yes, I know what you are going to say. There are guidelines in place for members of the WWES regarding "helping each other out". And if you fall outside the graces of its founder, you are quickly reprimanded as if it's the first day of school at St. Ann's Catholic Church. Ruler anyone? However, the rules don't apply to her.
Have you "tweeted" someone's product that isn't a member of the WWES? Did you "tweet" something "she" didn't approve of? Prepare to be evicted. BUT, don't expect any notice. Don't expect an "I'm sorry, but you have been voted off the island." Instead, you will simply see your RT's going unnoticed; "un-tweeted"; in a word? Ignored. You will promptly be removed from the precious member list and banned to the 13th circle of hell. Even if you do everything she "expects", your Etsy shop will continue to slip through the cracks of "Twitter-dom". Some shop owners, for example, spend hours "tweeting" someone else's products. However, their own shop goes days without even a mention.
As I said before, in concept the WWES is amazing. However there needs to be an impeachment process in place. IF the members actually helped ALL the members and weren't treated as if they were in basic training it would succeed. Unfortunately it will never be the case. If the WWES works for you, WONDERFUL! If you enjoy spending time with your "clique", don't stop! But in the process don't snub your mouse clicks at other members just because they didn't "re-tweet" your orange dog mittens. And, actually thank people who spend a great deal of THEIR time helping YOU succeed.
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One quick point...there are some incredible people who are part of this group. My issue is with the leadership and direction the group is going. The great thing about opinions is that everyone has one.
ReplyDeleteLovely written article! Beautifully written, my compliments for you. There is one thing I would like to mention, a writer can't be a good writer when articles are not objective.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I do appreciate your response, in record time I might add. This is an editorial piece. An editorial typically reflects the opinion of the writer. Apparently objectiveness comes easier when one is not at the center of the discussion.
ReplyDeleteRather than speed through the web and focus your attention on this writing, perhaps you should focus more on replying to questions from members in such a timely manner. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit.
It's FANTASTIC to see that my "un-objective" post was completely on target. All day tweets have been made for other shops while certain shops are completely ignored. Thank you for proving my point.
ReplyDeleteWell I am really saddened that something fun & supportive has been picked apart like this.
ReplyDeleteI am not aware of any 'cliques' in wwes & don't think there is any intentional un-tweeting going on.
We all have different amounts of time we can spend on twitter & all do what we can & I don't think you can expect everyone to tweet 80+ shops a day,if we all did that we would have no time left to create anything.
Personally I truly appreciate every tweet I get overnite as I am in a different timezone it is great to get up & see all the wonderful work wwes has done promoting my shop,I go through & return every tweet & that's my way of saying thanks so sorry if my lack of 'thank you' tweets puts me in the rude category.
I then go through & tweet whatever has the wwes tag,& also my non wwes friends.
I don't pick & choose & ignore certain shops & I resent the implication that wwes members do that as I have never seen it.
It doesn't happen.
As for your blatant attack on Monique which I think is extremely uncalled for it's simple,she started it & has put in all the hard work with the blog etc so I think she deserves credit for that,not insults.
She tweets every shop at least once a day & then I'm pretty sure she rt's whatever she sees while on twitter.
No she doesn't want to use etsybot tag which seems to be the reason all this rubbish started & she asked team members what they thought about it & no one has actually stood up & said they want to do that.
Well that's my 2 cents worth & personally I don't think twitter is the place for cattiness,we are adults not high school cheerleaders.
Oh & thanks for making me wonder if my twitter friends are keeping tally of my tweets & maybe aren't friends after all.
Wow, I have stayed out of the fray at the risk of offending someone. But this is really childish. How old are we anyway? Move on, young man and wishing your wife well and hoping she will also. I can honestly say I will never do business with you for your utter lack of professionalism and tack and maturity.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have met wonderful people who have helped promote and support me personally and professionally in this group, thanks to its founder, Monique.
Wow, something must not have set well with you.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you advised the creator of WWES that you had a problem before writing such a damming article. It no doubt was a huge misunderstanding and I am sure it could have been worked out, and still might be.
The people who are part of WWES are members, no one forced us into this so called Clique kicking and screaming. We are happy and proud to be part of a World Wide group that in my opinion treats everyone with respect and gives their time freely to the group.
I Tweet, RT and mention Etsy shops even if they are not part of WWES and no one has told me not to. I also have not been told what to say, tweet, or chirp about others.
I find it difficult to RT, and mention everyone's shop but I do my best when I am on Twitter.
You are right with one thing that you have stated, WWES is an amazing concept that has worked well in my opinion.
Monique is the Creator, CEO and President of this group and is free to do what she thinks in necessary and good for the group.
FYI - She does ask opinions of members on issue's that concern her about WWES.
I do think you hold a few of the traits that make up a narcissistic human being. Although I am sure you will not see them.
Narcissism - Mental disorder characterized by extreme self-absorption, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and a need for attention and admiration from others
I am really clueless to why you found it important to write this article, Do you have a shop on Etsy that wasn't given enough tweets? Do you feel left out and alone? I can only speak for myself but I really make an effort to RT anyone who has been so kind as to Mention my shop, I must have missed your mention. And if I have offended you I am sincerely sorry.
Gosh, this is incredibly petty. But I can't say I'm surprised, judging from what I've witnessed of your behavior elsewhere. Petty and childish all around.
ReplyDeleteMaybe no one's ever told you this before, but you are not entitled to anything. Everything you want in life you have to earn. And you're earning yourself nothing but a bad reputation.
I'm with Denise. I certainly won't be doing business with either of you, and I won't hesitate to pass along my opinion to everyone I know.
Protip: If you put as much time and effort into your shop as you put into petty crap like this, you might get more sales.
I am new to WWES and have only met kind, generous, and supportive people from this group of amazing artists. I've tried to stay out of such pettiness like this, but the truth needs to addressed by us WWES members.
ReplyDeleteThere are no crazy conspiracies or "cliques" of people in this WWES group to help promote one shop over another. We are all VERY hard working people who try our best to promote each other. We tweet the list of shops on the main WWES website and anyone who is on at the same time that we're on Twitter. It's unfair and unfounded to turn something positive into such a negative spin.
Monique tries very hard to help other busy artists promote their shops by uniting us together to showcase our work. She started this group with the generous intent to help other people expand their business by promoting one another. It is unfair and unkind to write this negative blog about her and the WWES group. She is a good person with sincere motives to help not hurt others. The people on WWES are good people who do their best to help promote other artists not put them down.
I stand with all the folks here~the purpose of this group is to help each other out. I try to include everyone I can, but there are days when it just isn't feasible. I don't purposely leave anyone out~ As for the leadership~it couldn't be handled any better~someone needs to be at the helm, and Monique does an awesome job. We joined this group not the other way around. I am in several groups~all with the same purpose~to help promote one another. Take it or leave it!
ReplyDeleteWow! Did you start a blog for the sole purpose of bashing WWES? That's really impressive. If only you used your powers for good.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one within the group that gets retweeted a lot, and it kinda sucks, but I'm not on often, so I can't really expect people to go out of their way to go into my shop and tweet something they think is fabulous, can I? You get out of this group what you put in. Unless we impose restrictions and mandatory tweeting quotas on people, then everyone will never be tweeted equally. That's just life, and life isn't fair. So either buck up and deal with it, or take your ball and go home.
Kym of Heavenly Creations
Twenty-seven treasuries, wow. That's a really big number. Your wife was in 27 treasuries alone put together by wwes members. I believe at least three were ones Monique put together. We haven't even been a group very long. I don't think I was ever in a treasury until wwes came along. 48 treasuries is the number listed on her blog. They are screen saved quite nicely. I put her in one of my own treasuries. I know I tweet a ton and don't mind it at all. I willingly help my friends and twitter-mates. You are correct, I haven't included everyone in a treasury (yet). I have only had 5 so far. If I am fortunate enough to nab more, I will continue to promote. I enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI attempt to be fair and professional in my business dealings. This is the type of attitude I have found at wwes. I am proud to be a member. Thank goodness for the views I get because of them. One day, these might equal a few sales. The only sales I have had since Christmas has been through this group, and I for one am thankful.
Life is difficult for many now. It is the test of a man through adversity to see what he is made of. It might be a good time to reflect on this.
JudysDesigns
This type of post is simply unbusinesslike and very unprofessional. The author states this was meant to be an opinion piece. The group opinion response denies the claim of partiality and supports the team structure. The posted opinion above that states "...take your ball and go home," hits the nail square on the head. WWES is a great group.
ReplyDeleteArt
Glass of many Colors Stained Glass
All I can say is how truly disappointed I am that someone would feel the need to post such non-sense about WWES.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other responses that your post is petty, childish and unprofessional. I joined WWES because I wanted to meet like-minded people, have fun, and perhaps have a few sales. None of us can tweet every shop, every day and still have time to run our homes, jobs, families and our shops. WWES is and should be about artisans coming together, for professional support and friendship.
I am very appreciative of every tweet I get and always say thank you and go out of my way to tweet something unique for those people first, then others as time permits.
If you are a disgruntled WWES member, be professional, and resign your membership with dignity, not hide behind an alias, blasting the creator, while you continue to use the WWES tag on your tweets.
Sharon
BeadzandMore
First of all, for those of you that support the WWES, fantastic. For those of you that assume this is an "alias", think again. There have been many benefits of the group, however they do not outweigh the truth. It's interesting that everyone here says the same thing. Everyone says how amazing it is. Everyone says what I waste of time and how unprofessional this article is. Yet, you bothered to read it and waste your time posting. EVERYONE is entitled to an opinion, even little old me. If you don't like it, don't read it. It's THAT simple.
ReplyDeleteIts the people who say "this isnt high school"... "I dont see any cliques" are the same people in the high school cliques.
ReplyDeleteI think its amazing that your group is SOOOO GREAT and AMAZING yet you sit up at night wondering what these "artisans" are saying behind your back!
Hey JudysDesigns! since all of those Treasuries came about in such a small amount of time... it must have helped your sales?! I dont think so Judy... 3 last month? NOW THATS AMAZING!
Where is all this HARD work DutchFelt does on the blog? The blog is geared towards other WWES "artisans"... so the only people to gain anything from the WWES blog is *gasp* WWES members! NOT the general public... so all that hard work is great because?!!? OH BECAUSE IT LAYS OUT HER RULES AND LAWS! She takes you all in, she talks behind your backs, she tweets your stuff... and you are to tweet back?! Why dont you take more time on photos of your products, look into the Google Base and Google Analytics... work on your own blog! get your facebook going! IF YOU ALL PUT FORTH THE EFFORT TO HELP YOURSELVES... You wont need to rely on the sorority sisters and the house MOM.
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ReplyDeletehe wwes is something that really isn't that "big" of a project.People only joined because of the word "etsy". Etsy(as in ownership) has nothing to do with the group.It was an Etsy seller that decided to do her own blog thing, make her own rules. In fact, it has many more followers than members..because apparently the followers are not up to par.They are on stand by hoping to get in...lol...
ReplyDeleteGet into what? Time will tell..
I truly believe as time goes on, more and more people will realize what's going on.To all of the ex-wwes people, no need to worry..Your sales are not going to come to a halt.Your good reputations will stay with you.
What you put into your project is your reach.You don't need them.There are so many others that will be there to back you without asking for anything in return.
Just remember the World Wide Web was here long before the wwes. I know for a fact that you are much better off staying in the big picture with your friends.
Christopher - Yes, everyone is entitled to an opinion. When that opinion is stated in such a condescending manner, defend themselves and state their own opinion as well.
ReplyDeleteOB - Speaking of condescension... Wow. You do know that it's possible to state an opinion without insulting people, right? If you want people to actually hear you and listen to what you have to say, you might try that. As it is, even if you did have a good point, it's buried beneath a pile of rude, condescending bullshit. And caps.
The Ass Grove - what do you call your "Protip: If you put as much time and effort into your shop as you put into petty crap like this, you might get more sales." statement?
ReplyDeleteYou may call it condescension... I call it stating the facts. Who did I insult?! Judy? OH THE SAME "woman" who talks behind peoples backs and CLAIMS to be their friend?! MAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OHHH Ass Grove! you are TOO funny! *sniff* WHEEEEEEW! good one... Yeah she deserves to be treated like an adult right?! You show respect, you get respect... LET JUDY STICK UP FOR HERSELF ASS GROVE! Unless she cant dish what she hands out, SCRAPPY DOOOOOoooo!
Too FUNNY! Thanks Ass Groove!