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Posts
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Got page three done last night. It has a realy good video that ought to be playing in a loop in every countertop shop in the country.
The site is getting cluttered and will need cleaning up one of these days, stuffing all the stain info into one page and so on. Still, not a lot of time to work on it lately. To do the subject justice, each one of the issues needs its own page full of links. One of these days…..
I learned from a rep that shops were begining to use the info, some have part of it printed out for shoppers, others are planning on using it to back up their own websites. Nice to know some are finding it helpful.
If anyone wants to take an issue and buld a page for the site, just take what is there and add to it. Yahoo site builder is free and pretty simple to use.
If anyone wants to add to the Quartz info, post it on that thread. Will probaly finish that page next weekend. I have to clean it up and add something about Dani’s polishing method showing promise for repairs on quartz.
Al,
As a guy who has an interest in website management, I think an auto load is a bad idea, especially with this kind of content, as it removes the choice of the viewer as to whether they wish to see it.
I think I can’t stress hard enough to you that this clip, should not be there. I assume you have permission of the copyright holder to have it there, so I am honestly not sure of the legality. I am quite sure that it could lead to some civil action on someone’s part. I’m not saying if it is legit, but I’m pretty sure there’s enough for a court to let it go to trial. Can you afford that?
I’ll go back and read the page now.
If they stick it up on the internet with no copyright protection, isn’t it fair game? Used in it’s entireity it should pass, if not, I can link to the stone site.
One thing I noticed was the body of text shouldn’t refer to the woman as average. She is an illustration, but you cannot possibly derive her as representing the average opinion. Also, you need to at least cover your ass by linking the site you got the vid from.
I hate this page. To me, this goes against the heart of the mission statement. Very antagonistic.
I’m sorry, Al, that’s what I get from this.
Tom,
you were right about the copy right thing, I checked and even stuff posted online is protected. I took it down till I can find the author and get permission or at least link to the thing.
I consider her an average pissed off and disappointed granite countertop consumer based upon her own words. Not saying she is an average granite consumer, were she that, I would have a lot more free time. Got a great book on the Third Galliea Legion that I would like to finish.
You are welcome to rewrite the page as long as the info gets gathered and posted it matters little to me how it is worded. If you want to do it, I will do a quick edit to tone it down till you get time to deal with it. Only for the Tominator though out of respect for your judgement…..
True point about going against the mission statement. Some of these threads linked to show the industry at its worst and exposing the info will be considered antagonistic regardless of how it is presented. If fools hand me ammon, they should expect to get shot in the foot with it.
I’m going to throw my 2 cents in here, since this touches on the main reason I showed up here in the first place.
Tom, you make a good point about the mission statement, although it appeared to me that the mission statement wasn’t relevant to most of the site content before Page 3 went up.
I am firmly convinced that this whole site, as it currently exists, does more harm than good for your trade. It is strident, incoherent, and almost entirely negative. The only good part is that it’s probably invisible to 99% of the countertop-buying public. As more people see it, the worse off you’ll be.
A parallel immediately came to my mind as I browsed Page 3, and I think I’ll share it. I used to know a guy, years ago, who was completely convinced that he understood all there could be to know about the Kennedy assassination. His complete certainty was matched only by his complete failure to convince anybody else. We all thought he was “around the bend” on the topic. That’s how the SSA site appears to me, and I think it’ll appear that way to an overwhelming majority of consumers.
revans1,
I hate to play monkey in the middle (as big a gorilla as I am), but I take exception to your example. I agree that it looks like the site has it in for stone and estone now, and sort of wish it were behind a wall till finished, as many works in progress tend to be, but the entries are based on research, anecdote, and example, as opposed to speculation, rumor and wild assertion.
My problem (apart from the liability) of the vid was that in todays phone camera world, it is easy to find a video of someone hating just about anything, and that tends to blunt the impact. I also think there might be cause for slander (note: I’m not saying it would win in court, just that it would be actionable), and although it did not originate from this site, the site could be included as the means for spreading the slander. Face it, that was one dissatisfied customer.
The site as it stands is harsh, but you have to start somewhere. Stay tuned.
Al, it is the end of my financial year coming up, but I will give it an honest try to rewrite the page. I may have to do it in word and have you rework it into the html for the site, if that’s okay with you. I have to tell you though, it will be very different. Not nearly as antagonistic. I think you need to set up the argument as a correction/clarification of some unfortunate statements and claims that are shown to be contradictions, rather than heave as much negativity as you can.
Fair enough, and I could be wrong. I still believe, though, that the site is headed down completely the wrong path if its real purpose is to educate and motivate consumers about solid surface countertops. At the risk of repeating myself too much, I think you must remember that (and this is a common-sense belief on my part, not based on any research) for most of us buying a countertop is a once or twice in a lifetime thing. Even a lot of people who build their own houses don’t give a great deal of thought to the countertop….too many other things to think about. The SSA site as it is currently written and organized is not, in my opinion, taking into account who the typical consumer is and what that consumer knows and cares about. I think you can’t overemphasize the importance of seeing all of this through the eyes of someone who has never given any of it much thought.
Oh heck, on most of this, at least right now, I agree with you. It was the Kennedy thing that I took issue with. We have a college station here in Ct that had “The Kennedy Diaries” (I think) every Sunday afternoon. I mean for years. It still may be going on for all I know, and it was a constant conspiracy fest. Non-stop speculation and complete redirection of stuff about the case. Talk about obsessed.
Yes it still is a young site, more people use it for informational purposes to help them decide, We got alot of heat on this site (read why an association,etc), we were just trying to be like everyone else when this was established, Stone sites galore. this site caters to types of Countertops choices like surface fab magazine, it is very hard to list the cons of all these materials when you mix up all opinions of fabricators and materials…this site is strictly SS, Stone is strictly Stone…Yes it may be negative, but that is business…is it true? that is the question? i have friends who work with granite and we have friendly arguements…i always make fun of his white boots he wears at work and he makes fun of my white dust covered body when i dont use my vac, You do not represent the Granite industry as a whole, majority of granite people do talk negatively about SS…..its not fact, but you can ask any of us..And we would express the cons, we express the cons of Stone and we are bad…its not so much stone we are putting down its the competition of countertops regardless of what material you use…graniteers cut each others throats around here, they dont love each other ,they put down each others skills, we just put down the cheap stones….Alot of granite guys around here are hacks, the shops that changed from SS to stone do way better stone seams then,Cinder block layers who started granite top business, most of us been in the industry for years, whether cabinets,etc, We know how to use levels, tapes, etc I usally don’t make my money off SS tops anyway its usually vertical applications and artwork, but regardless what you think about the site, think of it as a thread srictly for SS, if you click onto the home page of this site and just use SS, you’ll see my point, if you click onto Stone, etc its the same thing, The SSA site is really not known yet, but i’m sure next time at this year it is going to be pretty well known, I just know opinions do not belong there, that is why people hate it is facts…also called NEGATIVITY to the opposition….I wish they would print the facts of SS, not opinions, but FACTS…funny thing though, most of SS fabbers would agree with them.
“Is it true?” is an important question, but it’s not the only question, if I understand what this site is trying to be about. You have an ethical obligation, certainly, to tell the truth as you see it. In terms of public relations success, though, another critical question is, “Is it convincing?”. You’re looking to change what people think, and thereby influence what they do. A person who knows a truth but can’t convince anyone of it has failed in a way that is perhaps more egegious than the person who never finds the truth at all, because the first one actually had the potential to improve the world’s understanding of something. I am suggesting that, at least in my lone opinion, the granite material on the site is not going to be convincing to Joe Shopper.
I’ll throw out an idea. Might it work if, instead of breaking things down by material, you had pages for the important characteristics of countertops? Off the top of my head, you’d have looks, stainability, cleanliness, repairability, structural integrity, price, warranty…..you know better than me what these are. You could sell the virtues of solid surface on each of these parameters, and then have a closing bit on the page to cover why it’s better in comparison to other alternatives. If the mission statement of the site is going to stay the same, then I think most of what’s on the site ought to be about solid surface and it ought to be positive statements, and this approach would get you there. If you’re convinced, for example, of the radiation health issue (and I will readily admit that I am not), then I think you’re much more effective with a strategic mention of it than a long diatribe.
Just my thoughts…….
Problem is, others have that “ethical obligation” as well and in the world of stone, I wish they’d start right now. It would make my life easier.
revans1, did you ever get the chance to check out the links I posted on another thread? A homeowner’s perspective is what I was looking for.
If the formaqt works better, than we can work in that direction.
Tom, I did look at them, and I made reference to it on the thread I started. It’s on page 3 of that thread, done on 10/14/2007 at 6:36, and starts with “Tom, that strikes me as a balanced and informative approach…..”. I’d cut and paste it here, but for some reason I can’t make that work. If there is more specific feedback that I can give, I’ll be glad to do so.
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