Rafalution, without prying of course, would be very interested to know what Ian had to say and whether he has an action plan to address our current media situation.

_________________
We are on our way back...

*bump*

A meeting of sporting minds occurred on the weekend when Tim Nielson (Australian Cricket Coach) spent some time with Ratts at AAMI stadium. It's no secret that coach Nielson grew up idolizing Carlton in his home state of South Australia. My source tells me that Nielson and Ratten get along fantastically well and Nielson was thrilled to be introduced to Marc Murphy, who like Craig Bradley was an above average cricketer.

Anyway...probably would have made for a nice article on the website. That's all.

Hey Doc,

Do what half the sports 'journo's' would do, and pretend you were privy to what went on at that meeting, and write an article anyway.

Just don't use the Hun translator otherwise you'll have Nielsen smashing Boony's record on his way through the ashes.

_________________
Click here to follow TalkingCarlton on twitter
TalkingCarlton Posting Rules

Absolutely it does. Our website is rubbish compared to some of the competition.

Could and should be soooo much better.

Essendon* did the right thing when they went with their own website rather than the Telstra cookie-cutter crap every other club is using.

_________________
"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

In principle, yes, because Telstra has the web development capabilities of a group of teens, but what they've churned out isn't much better.

I've just set myself up, haven't I...

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Does anyone know if the club is aware of supporter dissatisfaction with the communications dept, or is it a bubble of yes men?

I remember someone saying that the comm dept all thought they were doing a bang-up job and patting themselves on the back.

_________________
WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

I do website videos and photography for a living. The CFC website (incl YouTube / facebook & Twitter) are terrible.

I contacted the club (Ian coutts and a few in the media dept.) about doing some content for them........ FOR FREE......... And after 5 phone calls and a few emails I am yet to hear anything! Not even a return phone call!!!!!

One of my ideas was to do a video tour of the new facilities at visy park (cause I doubt many of us have seen inside it).

_________________
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

Computer savvy then

Regards Cazzesman

_________________
Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

ryan, there are others here who have done the same. The club is probably inundated with offers for help.

To be honest, you'd probably have more luck if you enquired on a commercial basis.

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

They really should look into supporter disatisfaction.

The 'She'll be right' attitude is so.....Elliot era....it'll bite us on the bum down the track.

I suggest this because every Carlton supporter I speak to (and most are long time members) are so disatisfied by the lack of communication and integrity from the club, whether it be related to seating, memberships, even the offers of sponsorships etc etc all falling on deaf ears...they are disillusiones. I'm taking lots of members. Their disatisfaction is not directly with the board but the club's Marketing and Communication. The board however should be accountable and aware of the feelings of its members. Board elections don't delve into Marketing and Comms issues.

Just from my experience and what I read in forums, I wouldn't be patting myself on the back if I was in the Comms Dept.
The matter is really serious. Do not take your supporters/ members for granted Carlton.

I'm unhappy with the efforts of Marketing and appalled with the Communications from the club thus far, and as I said earlier this year (after the team's NAB cup trip to Sydney) my displeasure with the club will be demonstrated when it comes to the time of buying 2011 memberships; of course I'll always barrack for the team.

I'm sure that's the only way we can get through to those in the navy blue ivory tower. Prefer to buy my memberships, but unless there is some serious improvement with Marketing, Communications and some respect shown towards its members I have to veto my memberships (and I'll give you athe tip, that's a lot of memberships from just one person).

As for assistance from the loyal Carlton family, the club obviously needs all the help they can get, but who is listening? Who cares how many offers of free services the club receives? Volunteers should be heard and responded to....and more importantly should be their energy and skillset should be harnessed for the benefit of the club.

Who at the club is managing the offers of help? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Just read this.

The offer of free time and skillset versus offer of commercial services to a club who has a $7M debt.
Gee, there's something really wrong with that. Don't you think?

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Probably a stupid question Ryan, but did you include some references in your correspondence?

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

A few thoughts:

* It doesn't matter what qualifications you have, the Club has no process or resources to track volunteers and exploit them for benefit of the Club. The only way the 'web' volunteers (Mike & Dan I, II and III, FootyGeek, the Buzz, Blueseum) ever become involved was sheer luck from one event in 2003 that built up over time to include many and more individuals, before dying last year. Many many volunteers have tried to assist the club directly (ie photos, managing functions etc). One ex-TCer still does....slomo?

* I think that Communications are thinking they're doing a much better job now because the Club is on the up, complaints are down, membership boomed. I think they rate themselves on the website for hit count which naturally we'll do well in because we are the Club. As only one other club has gone off and done its own thing, I dont think its on the radar.

* Overall the Club is still patchy in quality, but gets much out of Swann who is brilliant from what I see. The recruiting coups, finally managing Fev out of the Club for that trade etc - I think he (and maybe some of his close allies) lift the overall average standard to over par, but some weaknesses remain. (Also consider that most of the improved revenues go to football department issues, not corporate management, which still appears lean)

* Overall I'd also say the Club thinks it is meeting the needs of the common fan. You and I - people with time and interest enough to be on here - are the fanatic fan. We complain more loudly than the normal fan but our expectations are probably far higher. I think they would say they look after the common population but not us, but that's probably OK.



The Mike & Dan guys had to give up because it was not run to support us anymore - we had to try time and time again for players numbers, and were getting pushed back to Thursdays etc. We'd either become a hindrance, had become 'too needy' or the Club wanted to go away from what we were doing. Some tried to keep it going, which the CLub appeared keen on, but it is now April and Id suggest they're stuck in the whole 'waiting for a reply' process I lived with. NB I of course was obviously happily enough in living with being treated like this because I kept it up, but I dont believe thats the right way to manage volunteers. The disappointing thing for me is more Blueseum which despite claims of cross-promotion of articles, is routinely set aside. The CFC link is still there though so I guess I should be happy! Hit count keeps going up but not from CFC - more from other sites.

So in the end I think CFC thinks it is improving overall and it has to prioritise where it further seeks to improve. I think you and I are seen as fanatic weirdos - people to keep an eye on in case we get really stroppy but otherwise not the main target.

Well that sucks!!!!
Boooo....

_________________
That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

Apart from Swanny, I wonder who is pulling their weight at the club? Seriously.
The good results for the club (memberships, Judd, cash, improvement) are mainly due to our patron Dick Pratt.
It seems to me that Marketing/ Comms are still riding on his coat tails.

Let me say that I speak with more common fans than 'fanatics' (I only know a handful of forum fanatics) and they are not happy with Communications and Marketing Depts. Haven't been for a long time, and they have made themselves clear by ringing the club. I bet the club doesn't keep a tally of unhappy members calling by phone. Why would they? It's not in their self serving interest.

How naive of them to rate themselves with the number of hits they receive on an AFL/Telstra run site. WTF are our people actual doing? How ironic to call them 'our' people.

OK, lets see who holds the power in future: The Marketing/ Comms ivory tower or the common member. Challenge is on.

I know a lot of 'common' members who would not drop their memberships because of the Fev fiasco, but who are not happy with Marketing/ Comms, and who have mentioned they are serious about not renewing their memberships because of their treatment from the club's Marketing people over the last couple of years. I for 1 buy 50 memberships a year, so they can count those as a loss and I will put that in writing as to why, and I will encourage others to put in writing why they will not renew their memberships next year.

How ironic calling themselves a "Communications Dept". ha ha.
Watch this space you foolish suits.
No pain no gain.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

That's a shame mols, because they can get a lot of fantastic service out of such 'fanatical' support beyond banner waving and chants. Apparently you need to be a rank Australian celebrity to do anything useful.

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Being a business owner I wouldn't take on volunteers to work in your marketing department which is what the web is, a marketing tool. I would want it to be commercial and people are paid to implement my marketing strategy.

You get the best people available to do the job by looking at past experience/reputation, cost and ability to deliver. Having people land on your door step and asking to work for free is a risk to me (I get a lot of these emails from graduates and overseas people who just want work experience). What if the volunteers misuse company equipment on purpose or by mistake or sabatage the carltonfc website. I would think volunteers are high risk whereas using the skills of reputable businesses makes much more sense.

CarltonFC is not a junior football club or a local football club that is screaming for volunteers to run day to day operations. It is a multi-million dollar business.

_________________
Delulio is a member of TISM

DIAMOTISM, when it comes to the website, I'm sure people are talking about content, not administration.

There is no risk if all the "free" volunteer is providing is content. You can choose to run the article or not.

Problem is, they are not even bothering to assist those who are willing to get the content to them. This is a tragedy IMHO.

All they need is one person to liaise with the comm department and the volunteers and their content will treble.

In fact, done right, the comm department might free itself up of resources.

_________________
The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

#DopeThenStash