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

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:

Darragh

Always

Morlar

Don't care !

Tom Dunne wrote: »

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: »

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.

Comparing boards.ie to tv3 - going down that road to begin with is the issue and reason for the thread.

Terry wrote: »

There was coverage of an appearance in Tesco Maynooth by them {jedward} in the local rag last month.

Coverage of that sort is either the reason, or part of the reason, why people consider it a 'local rag' in the first place. So this kind of association does (imo) affect the perception.

Tom Dunne

Morlar wrote: »

Comparing boards.ie to tv3 - going down that road to begin with is the issue and reason for the thread.

I dunno, I can see Darragh as the new Mark Cagney.

Or Bono.

In all seriousness, though, this is where Boards.ie (and the 'net in general) differs from the passive medium that is the TV.

You can choose to read and partake in forums just as you are now, or you can take it a step further and watch media such as that interview.

I really don't see the issue. I have a particular distaste for the whole celebrity culture nonsense, so on Boards.ie, I can choose not to view such material or engage in any discussion on that topic.

When I walk into a shop to purchase a newspaper, there are plenty of celebrity crap magazines, I choose not to buy them, but that's not going to change the fact that the shop sells them.

Morlar

Don't care !

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I really don't see the issue. I have a particular distaste for the whole celebrity culture nonsense, so on Boards.ie, I can choose not to view such material or engage in any discussion on that topic.

When I walk into a shop to purchase a newspaper, there are plenty of celebrity crap magazines, I choose not to buy them, but that's not going to change the fact that the shop sells them.

So if one day the Irish times changes format and comes in a glossy a4 cover, with garish bright colours and in depth 'find out jedwards favourite colour' articles this would be just like any other random day at the newsagents ? A teeny smidge of an exaggeration but the point is there. Blurring the lines & heading into this area is the part I would not be a big fan of. Saying 'tv3 and hello mag do it' doesn't make it a good idea imo.

Darragh

Okay, I see your point and can appreciate where you're coming from but is there a happy medium that can be reached here?

smashey

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

Morlar wrote: »

A teeny smidge of an exaggeration but the point is there.

A huge dose of exaggeration.

boards.ie caters for a wide spectrum of the population, you only have to look at the huge number of forums covering almost everything. As Tom Dunne said, and I agree, you don't have to read these things, they aren't being forced on you. They are there in their own little corner and whoever wants can have a look and they serve their purpose. There are loads of forums here that I have no interest in and do you think I read them and go complaining that the content of them shouldn't be allowed here? No, different strokes for different folks. I would wager that there a a lot of people happy with what Darragh has done. I am, even though Crystal Swing was pushing it a wee bit.

Terry

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

I think a few links are needed at this stage.

Celebrity & Showbiz forum.
This has been in place for a few years now, and has not brought boards to its knees.
It's only one of 1100 forums. You do not have to click that link.

Would you have preferred if the interview had been with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave or Kim Gordon?

You can't just expect those names to suddenly jump in for a boards interview. You have to start somewhere, and an interview with the woman who holds the distinction of having the title track of best selling Irish album in Irish history (A Woman's Heart) is a damn good place to start.

Here's another link you don't have to click:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmrmZahuGvU

That was a horrible few seconds, just to make sure that embedding was enabled.

Now here's me being facetious, sarcastic, ironic, posting a song I like, and getting rid of the Jewdard cover from my head all in one go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OdSoKfTP1k

Darragh, you can't please all of the people all of the time.
I suspect that Morlar would not have complained had this interview been with someone he is a fan of.

Nevyn

but that kicked this off wasn't in it's own corner it was presented in a manner which did not allow for discussion on a discussion site.

i get if it's not your cup of tea then change the channel/forum but that was impossible to ignore as it was an announcement.

I do think such things are good for the site, the will bring traffic and raise the sites profile and get it taken more seriously so that we will have politicans ect on the site once they can see how such things are done and handled but there has to be away to let there be dicussion with in limits and away for those who are not intrested in general or specific interviews with to ignore them.

pickarooney

Darragh wrote: »

Okay, I see your point and can appreciate where you're coming from but is there a happy medium that can be reached here?

You want to interview Casper the friendly ghost? :pac:

I think a lot of it boils down to the growing distinction between the members and those running the site. Whereas before these were more or less one and the same and user input counted for something, it's not hard to see how some would feel some aspects of boards today are The Management doing things without the plebs having a say. Grossly unfair to the likes of yourself, certainly, but an inevitable side-effect of expansion.

DeVore

Disapprove of the dropping into Boards.ie HQ threads

pickarooney wrote: »

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.

Ok, fair comment but I think you are wrong. Typically we take a list of questions from the community closest to the interviewee and ask them a selection of those.... for example what about todays video, would you accept that it disproves your point above?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056026893

DeV.