Comments on: Leaving An Impression

By: Andrew Faulkner

Andrew Faulkner — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:31:01 +0000

This is something I really try to campaign for - ‘being nice.’ It really bugs me when people aren’t.

It isn’t hard to offer constructive criticism in forums/blogs instead of getting into a slanging match. It isn’t hard to be polite when on the net.

Bickering over nothing doesn’t help your reputation, the site that you’re commenting on and the people who visit that site.
Play nice everywhere. Or risk your reputation. Enough said.

By: Matt Davies

Matt Davies — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:07:20 +0000

I have found this is exactly the case with articles I write in my Journal. Unfortunately I am not the best writer and often have spelling or grammatical errors (a problem I am swiftly attempting to rectify). People often comment on this and it is hard to win you audience if they have initial negative vibes towards you. However, as you say, being polite doesn’t heart anybody and I try to hold my hands up and say “yep, I can’t spell!” - I hope this makes my brand image honest and able to know my limits. I now try to put everything into word and let that help me out.

Nice article – by the way. Brand image is everything!

By: Steven Teskey

Steven Teskey — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:34:14 +0000

I find the real difficulty in commenting, interms of upholding an image / avoiding conflict, is that across this medium it’s very hard to detect things such as sarcasm. It’s very easy to get held up in a flame war over something as trivial as a misinterpretation of meaning. We as people are so used to being able to have our messages being sent across, whether it be through speech or any other form of communication, that when we encounter someone who cannot, or will not, understand we get all up in arms. This is primarily why I take a great deal of time to think about what I should say, if I read to the end of what I’m about to submit as a comment and have the slightest of second thoughts, I either a) don’t post, or b) rewrite it until I’m satisfied with the turn out.

Friends are taken for granted, and enemies are always in abundance. The key is knowing how to keep your friends, as they will attract more.

@Matt - For spelling, just pick up the Google toolbar, it has a built in spell checker that works wonders.

By: j0sh

j0sh — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 00:16:58 +0000

About talking trash about others … There once was this guy who had a folio and a blog to go with it - He liked talking smack about clients he has problems with. His client list started to fade and he was wondering why. Ultimately I guess potential clients and current clients were chased away because they saw how he deals with client issues. …Talking about the whole thing coming around to bite you in the behind.

On the other hand, I’ve heard that having a type of blog or journal could increase your chances of landing jobs. Hard to tell though but maybe because employers have a better impression of the person when reading his/her posts?

By: Andrew Faulkner

Andrew Faulkner — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:52:23 +0000

“Ultimately I guess potential clients and current clients were chased away because they saw how he deals with client issues. …Talking about the whole thing coming around to bite you in the behind.”

Biting the hand that feeds you. Not good. Not professional. Not right.

By: P.J. Onori

P.J. Onori — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:28:28 +0000

The only problem with this is that folks can create ‘alter egos’ to troll as much as they wish with less chance of repercussions. The anonymity of the internet encourages and breeds this behavior. Unforunately, as long as there is that anonymity, I don’t see this going away.

By: Matt Davies

Matt Davies — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 12:07:14 +0000

Never be nasty, be constructive. I never talk about my clients unless its in a positive light. To me, what goes on between my clients and me is private until a job is complete. Then its like “ok I’ve worked with these guys and this is what we’ve produced”. How it was produced has little or no consequence. If you like the product you will then ask me what my process is. I always think that’s a great way to do business.

I think what we are talking about here is brand association. Blogs are great if used correctly - but as demonstrated, can also be counter productive. You have got to be on your toes at all times.
Matt

By: Steven Teskey

Steven Teskey — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 12:21:29 +0000

I think blogs are a fantastic medium to showcase what you, as a brand, are about. I can say I’m all about proffessionalism and such, but how I actually communicate in my blog will either reflect that, or negate it. If your blog is your product, to say that I’m not trying to sell you something, I just want you to read it, how you write in it and what you write about will ultimately determine your following. Whether you’re backed by a design community, because your main focus is design practice, or you have a following of writers, due to your style of writing, all will be determined by how you choose to use your blog.

If you have a buisness to worry about, a blog can be a dangerous thing, it may also help, but chances are if you were to say something like Iframes are the wave of the future, you’ll be able to watch your design practice go up in flames. If you’re just a blogger though, you’ll always recieve readers, but what kind will be determined by your writing style and ability. Unlike in buisness where contraversy will cause a drop in client base, such an event would be where a blog picks up a new reader base.

By: Danny Foo

Danny Foo — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 04:33:03 +0000

Sometimes the impression is concentrated too much that either us or the client tends to forget core values that is to produce quality products. :)

By: Steven Teskey

Steven Teskey — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:38:48 +0000

A similar topic was written about on FreelanceSwitch. Just in case you’d like to continue reading into the subject.