Wind of change....Unhappy with Purestorm for the first time...

Quote from Crazy_Diamond
Not all changes are perceived as good....we've changed from having no speed cameras to having loads, some perceive it as good some as bad....are the ones that see it as bad really Luddites?
Likewise the change to ID cards?
Just a couple of examples.

In the last week, people at my studio have commented...these are people that you don't notice on Purestorm, they don't post on the forums, they don't advertise for models, they just silently come onto the site and arrange shoots. Out of 6 people who commented (I didn't solicit any comments btw), 1 liked it and 5 didn't.

Do these people represent the (maybe 80%+) "lurkers" who never express a view or make comments on the forum?

No way of knowing, until, perhaps some months down the line they gradually evaporate away to other sites....realistically they ain't going to jump ship rapidly, they're conservative people (hence their views on change) and might take weeks or months to reach their decision or take action. Taking straw polls a few days into the changes is naive bordering on the stupid and demonstrates nothing except a lack of understanding about how the real world works.

Managing change is one of the most difficult things to do in an organisation.....it's hard even when it's employees involved (who face the choice of changing or getting the sack) getting customers (using the term in it's widest sense) who cannot be compelled to accept change is even more problematical.

I suspect nobody within Purestorm has even googled "change management"....the attitude of "play elsewhere", would bear that out.

The fact is that change always alienates some people, it always will.....unfortunately the blunt instrument of the "play elsewhere" attitude will just alienate even more, as it clearly demonstrates a bombastic and arrogant attitude and, if continued, will cause serious long term damage to the popularity of this site.

The change might be good...but sneering, shouting down, insulting and effectively telling dissenters to "eff off" shows a level of ignorance that cannot be allowed in any organisation, particularly a "customer facing" one; it will drive away even those that agree with the change as they will object to the ethos and style being pursued.

Quote from Chandos
To avoid mass emigration to NM why doesnt Matt keep the old system running alongside the new casting system* and see which one people uses most, soon he will realise which one works best and ditch the one that don't.

Quote from IainT

Quote from tarmoo
So perhaps the rules of eligibility for the "Community Events, Studio Open Days, and Group Shoots" forum can be modified* to allow models to submit entries for paid group shoots here.

Peter

Quote from IainT

Quote from matt
Guys, give me a little bit of time to implement the changes I mentioned earlier, additionally I will also add a section to the home page that will list the latest casting calls, I will also be changing the location to regions rather than counties, ie south west, south east etc.. lets see how it looks after the changes have been made

Quote from GlasgowPhotographer
Hi,

While not always in this position, rarely I must admit, a tog was flown in LOndon to do a shoot for Colgate yesterday.  Colgate forgot to organise 3 models for the day - what chance did I have to get them from here with the new system?

The system is improving with the changes made by Matt but it can always be tweaked.  Beacuse that happened I would love to see a section for general viewing for "models/togs required today".  Or and emergency shout out.

Ended up using staff for the Colgate office - big loss for some girls here!!  Not a fault of the site but a quick call section might be of use?

Just a thought.

My searching is getting easier but have to admit Iain I am not in your position so cannot know your level of frustration here.  Am sure it will be worked on though to rectify.  Lets have a wee wait and see.