Making people and ideas findable
Helpful Tips for New Smoosiers
I’m a member of Smaller Indiana because I’m looking to meet collaborators and prospective clients for my business, as well as thought leaders in this burgeoning Web Something Point Oh community. All of us are new here, including the site itself. I wanted to take a moment of everyone’s time, including Doug and Pat, to share some thoughts about our Members page.
1. I think that people’s first and last names should be required fields. If you’re too shy to enter your full name, this site probably isn’t going to help you much anyway. And if you use a one word name, like Prince or Liberace, I think you should have to enter it twice just for being a jackass. On this site, you’ll be known as Prince Prince.
2. If you’re from anywhere in the United States, leave the “Country” field blank. I know Plainfield is in the United States.
3. Most of us can ignore the “Gender” field in that, for 98% of us, our name is a dead giveaway. So, if you enter your name, don’t bother entering your gender, unless, of course, you’re a Pat or an Alex or a Chris, etc.
4. Feel free to ignore the “Gender” field if you post a picture of yourself. And if you do post your picture, please resist the temptation to upload a photo of your dog, or yourself at age 6 months. (That’s kinda like having an Elvis impersonator on your voicemail recording. Funny for the first second.)
5. If posting your recent picture leaves the issue of your gender unresolved, again, this site may not be for you. Visit allgothallthetime.com.
6. Don’t get too excited if you receive a “welcome” e-mail from Kyle Lacy. Kyle’s a great guy, but, seriously, he does that for everyone. Most likely he doesn’t even know you.
7.“Why Join Smaller Indiana” is not a handy place to post your 500 word self-discovery article. Post that where it says “Add Blog Post” on your member page.
8. Wait. I’m still buggin’ about Smoosiers who disclose absolutely nothing about themselves. Like they’re voyeurs or something—they just like to watch. Sites like this are more like playing doctor when you were little. You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.
9. One of the few terms I recall from high school chemistry is valence, the tendency of an element to compound with other elements. I think it has something to do with the number of electrons in the outer shell. Folks like Lorraine Ball, Tony Scelzo, Doug Karr and Pat Coyle have lots of electrons in their outer shells. Others of us don’t.
10. Believe it or not, there are people out here who want to meet you! You!! Not to stalk you, not to sell you insurance, not to spam you and not to steal your identity. They want to know a little about you, see if you have any common interests, commercial or otherwise. Try thinking of your page as a way to get noticed, not as a place to hide.
Q: How can you tell if you’re conversing with an extroverted code writer?
A: He stares at your shoes instead of his own.
1. I think that people’s first and last names should be required fields. If you’re too shy to enter your full name, this site probably isn’t going to help you much anyway. And if you use a one word name, like Prince or Liberace, I think you should have to enter it twice just for being a jackass. On this site, you’ll be known as Prince Prince.
2. If you’re from anywhere in the United States, leave the “Country” field blank. I know Plainfield is in the United States.
3. Most of us can ignore the “Gender” field in that, for 98% of us, our name is a dead giveaway. So, if you enter your name, don’t bother entering your gender, unless, of course, you’re a Pat or an Alex or a Chris, etc.
4. Feel free to ignore the “Gender” field if you post a picture of yourself. And if you do post your picture, please resist the temptation to upload a photo of your dog, or yourself at age 6 months. (That’s kinda like having an Elvis impersonator on your voicemail recording. Funny for the first second.)
5. If posting your recent picture leaves the issue of your gender unresolved, again, this site may not be for you. Visit allgothallthetime.com.
6. Don’t get too excited if you receive a “welcome” e-mail from Kyle Lacy. Kyle’s a great guy, but, seriously, he does that for everyone. Most likely he doesn’t even know you.
7.“Why Join Smaller Indiana” is not a handy place to post your 500 word self-discovery article. Post that where it says “Add Blog Post” on your member page.
8. Wait. I’m still buggin’ about Smoosiers who disclose absolutely nothing about themselves. Like they’re voyeurs or something—they just like to watch. Sites like this are more like playing doctor when you were little. You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.
9. One of the few terms I recall from high school chemistry is valence, the tendency of an element to compound with other elements. I think it has something to do with the number of electrons in the outer shell. Folks like Lorraine Ball, Tony Scelzo, Doug Karr and Pat Coyle have lots of electrons in their outer shells. Others of us don’t.
10. Believe it or not, there are people out here who want to meet you! You!! Not to stalk you, not to sell you insurance, not to spam you and not to steal your identity. They want to know a little about you, see if you have any common interests, commercial or otherwise. Try thinking of your page as a way to get noticed, not as a place to hide.
Q: How can you tell if you’re conversing with an extroverted code writer?
A: He stares at your shoes instead of his own.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Pat Coyle on -
Well said, Bruce. Many active Smoosiers have told me that I should be more strict and require folks to be more open. I have chosen so far to let thing sort themselves out. If we lead by example, perhaps we'll draw some folks out of their shells. I think most of the anonymous cats have had bad experiences on other sites. I really want the Smaller Indiana brand to be clear - so that when you meet someone you've never known before, and he or she is from Smaller IN, you'll know what to expect - and it will be all good.
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Permalink Reply by Jon D. Speer on -
I like the comments. I think it's ironic and sadly funny that all the hype these days is social media. Most of the "social" sites are anti-social. But I don't believe it needs to be this way. And Smaller Indiana has an opportunity to change that.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Morris on -
Good comments! I did notice the whole gender thing the other day when I saw my photo with the label "Female" under it. I thought to myself, "gee, if they can't tell that, then I have bigger issues to attend to!" OTOH, I don't think it's my place to dictate what sort of photo people use or what they post. I think that it tells me a lot about a person who chooses to post a picture of their dog. Some of your comments are a tad harsh though, don't you think? Isn't this site about sharing the love, the ideas, meeting new people, making new connections?
I'm going to go cry now because I have just realized that Kyle Lacy is not truly my new best friend :(
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Permalink Reply by Kyle Lacy on -
Michelle,
I will be your Smaller Indiana, best friend. Don't you listen to Bruce.
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Permalink Reply by Kristin Eilenberg on -
Bruce - I do empathize with you on some of your points. However, I think that you could have been a bit more tactful in outlining your requests and suggestions. This post is fairly derogatory and paternalistic.
Don't get me wrong, SI should establish some formal expectations of our members and completion of their individual profiles. However, if I was a newbie to SI, I am not sure that I would want to be associated with a group/community that talks to its new members in this tone.
Plus, in defense of Kyle, if you have even met this man in person, you will know that his "welcomes" are from the heart and tie directly to his enthusiasm and belief that SI has potential to have an impact here in Indiana. His energy and spirit is one of the main reasons why I continue to stay involved with SI.
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Permalink Reply by Bruce Allen on -
This was supposed to be funny, obviously missed the mark. I know Kyle, and I know he's sincere. I was looking for a laugh, that's all.
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Permalink Reply by Kyle Lacy on
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I also knew you were kidding. I love everyone on Smaller Indiana. Especially Kristin because she stood up for me. :) She is my life coach.
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Permalink Reply by John Essex II on -
OK... I'll admit it. I don't know what "paternalistic" means as it is used here. I have an idea, but the depth of how it is being used has escaped me. Then again, for the longest time I couldn't figure out why people kept saying "yes" in Spanish on this site!
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Permalink Reply by Nicki Laycoax on -
That is hilarious about "yes/SI"..... Another indication of how acronyms are baffling to others outside of your industry-or online community in this particular instance. I went from health care to State Gov't to technology-each use a great deal of acronyms...
FYI, I recently informed Kyle that he can be perceived as the "Tom" of Smaller Indiana(for those unfamiliar with who Tom is, he is the welcomer on MySpace) ... Though, I actually know this "Tom"-Kyle, and think he's a pretty awesome, and genuine guy...
Regarding Bruce's #10- I have even gone as far as showing my music taste... I'm an open book; anything you want to know about me, if you don't see it on my page, or feel it from my posts, feel free to ask me!!!
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Permalink Reply by Patric Welch on -
Funny, I just met Kyle last week and I told him he was like the "MySpace Tom" of Smaller Indiana.
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Permalink Reply by Theresa Browning on -
Bruce,
Nicely said. However, I'm not sharing my age. Yes, that makes me sensitive which automatically puts me in the "boomer" category, nevertheless, if you can't tell by my photo then you need to get to know me better or look for references in my musings.
Theresa
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A few things to consider before joining Smaller Indiana:
1. Please use your real name (first and last) when you sign up, or we cannot open your account
2. Please do not use logos or commercial images for your profile photo
3. Events should be posted in the events calendar
4. You can post pretty much anything you want on your own personal page (self promotion, etc), and you can change the style of your personal profile page to reflect your corporate identification if you so choose.
5. Please keep all comments civil and polite. It's OK to feel strongly about a subject, and it's OK to be critical of ideas, but please refrain from personal attacks of any kind.
If you witness or experience any issues, please contact admin@smallerindiana.com and we will look into the matter.
6. Smaller Indiana is supported by its members, and by corporate sponsors. If you're interested in learning more about sponsorship, please call Pat Coyle at 317 332 7878.
1. Please use your real name (first and last) when you sign up, or we cannot open your account
2. Please do not use logos or commercial images for your profile photo
3. Events should be posted in the events calendar
4. You can post pretty much anything you want on your own personal page (self promotion, etc), and you can change the style of your personal profile page to reflect your corporate identification if you so choose.
5. Please keep all comments civil and polite. It's OK to feel strongly about a subject, and it's OK to be critical of ideas, but please refrain from personal attacks of any kind.
If you witness or experience any issues, please contact admin@smallerindiana.com and we will look into the matter.
6. Smaller Indiana is supported by its members, and by corporate sponsors. If you're interested in learning more about sponsorship, please call Pat Coyle at 317 332 7878.
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