Good afternoon fellow Gatherers!
Thanks for joining me today. I am excited to have a different kind of conversation with you this afternoon.
This week, and in the next few weeks to come, I want to share a little bit of my own journey over the course of the past year with you. I thought it important to talk openly about who we are and what we value as people. And I wanted to begin a conversation about how we look at the Gather experience today and where we think we ought to take it in the future.
Today, I want to focus on the question of who we are and what we value as a community. I will also share with you what those of us working at Gather value. It's a big question, of course, and I think a very important one. If you will bear with me, I'll try to explain why.
About a year ago, I began a conversation inside Gather about our values. It was a rough time for us as a company, to be honest. We had hit a bit of a rut, lost focus, and seen a handful of good people depart. I had early warning bells ringing in my head, but wasn't quite sure what the alarms were alerting me to or how we ought to respond.
I turned to a number of trusted people in my life for advice, mentors, friends, and colleagues. Through some gentle coaching (and less gentle conversations), I realized one day that I had confused management and leadership. At Gather, we had been quite good at operational management (clear organization, defined responsibility, good systems, good processes, excellent reporting), but I had been failing to provide the leadership that the company needed and deserved.
For those who think this sounds very touchy feely, trust me, I did too. When I started my career as a researcher at Harvard Business School, I placed very little weight on the importance of leadership. I realize now that I could not have been more wrong.
So what is good leadership? Well, there is a lot to it, to be honest (and a lot I didn't expect or understand). I'll explain more of what I have discovered in articles to come and hope it proves useful to those interested. A first critical step, however, was identifying personal values and then helping our team identify a set of common values that we could agree upon.
So what, then, are values? I was surprised, as we started the process, to discover that everyone seemed to have some general understanding of the word, but outside spiritual/religious beliefs, few members of our team had consciously thought about them or what they meant personally (myself included). So what were values? To me, values were those things that, when known and acted upon, brought long-term happiness and fulfillment. They were what makes you a whole person. They were a prescription for how to act and how to treat others.
Over the course of several months, then, I worked with a cross-section of our company to identify our values as team members. We thought about the values of the leaders we admire most. We asked how we would want to be treated. We thought about the people we'd most want to keep in our lives, and then asked why we'd want to keep those specific people around (what made them special)? And then we thought about what values these people held in common and which were most important to us as friends and colleagues.
Over the course of many conversations, here are the values we identified together:
Gather's Values
GROW as one team & as individuals.
ACT as a leader. Take initiative, ownership & responsibility.
TRUST & be trustworthy. Be honest & transparent.
HEAR others. Listen actively, with patience & an open mind.
ENCOURAGE intellectual curiosity, creativity & playfulness.
RESPECT ourselves &others.
I wanted to share these with you today, because they are guiding principles for those of us working here at Gather. And I wanted to start to explore with you what we value here as members of the community.
This is a conversation that will take a lot of time and self discovery, of course. It will take conversation and sharing. It will require some time. I look forward to identifying our shared values with all of you in the months to come. And I am happy to explore those thoughts, or any you might want to raise about the Gather experience, here today.
PS Before we dive in, I want to thank everyone again for the feedback on Hawthorne. I am glad that the upcoming changes that I described yesterday appear to address many of the community's concerns with the new release. I will be back to you regarding specific release dates as soon as they have been finalized.
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Comments: 201
I personally want to thank you for "hearing" us. I think your article yesterday was a great step towards a compromise that many of us can live with. I think the fact that so many of us, myself included, who rarely complain and have been here a long time felt that some of the changes were a mess, spoke volumes. I really appreciate the fact that you listened and that Hawthorne will be "tweaked."
" Flit- We have figured-out a legal solution to points distribution internationally. We now need to make systems changes to match some of our legal and financial guidelines. Prior to doing so, I want to be sure we have the system really working like it should (it's best not to open-up a patient twice...the same applies to technology systems). "
Can you please discuss or tell a little about this system or programme ?
From when this system will be implemented ? - Can you please give an expected time period (date) as when it will start ?
It will be also better if you can let us know as how this system will look like !
what is there for international members ?
Please clarify on this topic. Many of us just want a clear view as what is really happening in this field.
Thank you !
I take it this discussion is about values, or what we value as members?
I value privacy. In one of the discussions with you, you asked how we felt about "shopping on Gather, then sharing what we bought with other members".
Are you still planning to implement this idea and integrate it into Hawthorne? If so, can you explain it a little more? I'd like to know if this becomes part of the program if I will have the option of turning it off.. so that I don't have to see what others purchase, since I would not use it.
Several months ago, we noticed an increase in members that were undertaking activities on Gather solely for the purpose of earning points. Some of these activities were harmless. Others distracted from or interrupted the experiences of other Gather members.
We thought it was important to consider the points system holistically, looking at what incentives we were providing the community and how those incentives were affecting behavior. Over the last three months, we have been looking at data, talking with members, and examining industry information as well.
I am expecting a report and recommendation from our team before the end of this month about improvements we might want to make to the points system. Assuming that I agree with the recommendations made, I expect we would want to implement changes sometime before the end of May (or soon thereafter if significant technology changes are required). With these changes, I would expect we would allow participation by International members as well.
You say a number of good people left a year ago. Why did they leave, and what has been done to address those problems?
Gather is like Russian Roulette...
The friends (actual friends, not the connections you deemed "friends") are what keep me coming back. I can write on any site but it's the people that make Gather what it is.
I also value feeling appreciated - who doesn't? I thought of the condescending tone and arrogance of some of the Gather Team as the worst infraction involved in Hawthorne because it seemed like we were not being appreciated. We were not being valued for the integral part we play in what Gather is and is becoming.
Your Gather Values remind me of a classroom on the first day of school. Inevitably the teacher asks: "What should our class rules be?" And everyone says, "raise your hand," "respect each other," "one person talks at a time." Over time, they lose value because after a certain amount of time with the same rules, you come to expect those rules to be in effect. It's almost understood. I think that your G.A.T.H.E.R. values are similar in the fact that they are pretty much what any company should expect out of their business, employees and product.
I would be more interested in seeing how you strive to acheive each and every one of those values.
It is kind of you to thank me for yesterday's piece. Listening to all of you is an important part of my role here at Gather and a critical part of our success. We have an exceptional community here, bringing bright people with diverse background together. Our conversations are the starting point for a better Gather.
I am grateful to you and the many others who cared enough to reach out and share your thoughts. We look forward to bringing you an improved Gather that better meets your needs soon!
The words that come to mind: credibility, integrity and a balance between fun, creativity and a strong site, one that draws new people to the site and maintains the loyalty of longtime users.
First of all, thank-you for this opportunity to address you and concerns that we members have about Gather...
In answer to your question about "what we value", I can tell you that I value most things. With that in mind, it would be much easier to tell you what things I do NOT value and those two things (as far as Gather's concerned) are:
1) Seeing "who pinged whom".
2) Seeing "who is now friends with whom".
It strikes me that both of these features -- when played out against a backdrop of the relative maturity level of many people -- are destined to cause disharmony, e.g., "Annie is friends with Jane?! I can't stand Jane! I must unconnect myself with Annie immediately!" and "I wonder why Annie and Jane are pinging each other so much? I wonder if they're talking about ME? Oh dear!"
Other than those two concerns (and, as I mentioned before, not being able to see the amount of comments on a thread before clicking on it for those of us forced by the area in which we live to have access to only dial-up thereby freezing up our computers when we click on a thread that has many -- over 150 -- comments), I am happy to "play" with whatever "toys" Gather provides...
I really just want to use a first name here...with no cute little message after it. Is that possible? I'm not the cute message type!
I like the creative outlet (with good feedback) as well. A while back, I shared a poem or two on the site. I am not much of a poet, candidly, but I enjoy it. I was surprised to find that, in addition to some sweet "pats on the back," I received some really terrific feedback. One Gatherer helped reconstruct a line or two. Another suggested I rely on repetition too much (can you imagine?!). And a third helped point me to some of her own thoughts about rhythm. It was a terrific learning experience for me.
Elsie, you could be right. :)
I'm off to lunch with my husband!
What has been most valuable to me lately about Gather is the earnings I get. Without it, I would be in serious trouble since I am applying for disability and have no other income. But, it is not as high as it used to be and I feel I have several articles (on crocheting) that I have worked hard advertise which has resulted them consistently being in the top 25-100. I have more hits per day now than before and I make less money. Is it because there is more people in the game now? I would love to earn like I used to, and even more. I am actively trying to drive traffic here - not only for myself but because I LOVE GATHER. I knew from the beginning it would be something great. Even when we have glitches, I know it is leading to something great eventually. Gather is always evolving, and I am sure it will one day be the #1 site on the web.
I also need to know how to spotlight something - I cannot find it even on new articles?????
Oh, and lastly, I value you, Tom. I have never been as close to a CEO as I have been to you and I think that is awesome. The T in Gather should just be Tom.
I would also like to bring to your kind notice for some modification in the comments that shows in an article.
Can you put a refresh button on the page below the last comment so that clicking that will only refresh the comments and not the entire page ?
I hope you don't mind if I use this opportunity to publicly express my gratitude to a member of the Gather staff. After the upgrade I emailed Jennifer Hodges with my frustrations over the changes. Jennifer took the time out of her weekend to listen to my concerns and basically talked me down from the ledge of jumping off Gather. Her response to me during a difficult time definitely personified the values you've outlined above.
YAY!
Staying on FOCUS, . . .
"Today, I want to focus on the question of who we are and what we value as a community." ~ Tom
I'd like to ask you Tom if your really understand what the community wants and values most. And, if so, what do you think that is?
You've told us what ~
Gather is . . . from a corporate standpoint;
and what
Gather values . . . from a team/leadership standpoint - corporate wise
Now as to the Gather Community of individuals itself, what is it that Gather is offering to the Community in terms of DESIGN, ease of use, the communication schedule relative to upcoming concepts Gather proposes, the implementation schedule of such new upgrades so that we can prepare and not schedule Interviews, Workshops, Chats, Discussions, or Meetings during construction times of disarray?
"Gather has long been known as a community for writers/artists. A site for writers and artists should, in my opinion, focus on the writing and photography of its participants. The current format seems to stray from that mission because it doesn't focus on the articles/photos we personally post."
I also agree with Debra, who values privacy. Gather is very, very good at search engine optimization. That's a good thing for someone who wants to get out the word about their writing. I am uncomfortable, however, with the level to which Gather allows search engine spidering. I believe that conversations on Gather should remain on Gather, searchable only by those actually on the Gather.com site. My thought to meet this aim is that only the articles, videos and photos as published by their authors should be indexed. Is that doable?
Do you have any response to my comment?
jean
On shopping: when I raised the idea of shopping (or social shopping, as some call it), I didn't mean to suggest that we had a project like that in the works yet. I wanted to chat broadly about things that we might do and get community feedback about them.
We value privacy, too, and think that protecting privacy is a critical part of creating a good experience for adults online. If ever we did decide to have some kind of shopping experience, I promise that it would be strictly opt-in (you would have to decide to do it) and we would never, ever share information that you didn't explicitly want us to. That said, we aren't spending a lot of time thinking about shopping right now. I promised Elsie that we'd make the experience simpler and that's our next big project (after a few Hawthorne updates are complete).
I have found the process of thinking about values important in my personal life as well.
I mean those guidelines for how we think and behave that help us live fulfilling lives in the world.
Well, on that note, I'd like to find a way to stop stalkers who like to harass people. In the real world they're arrested and sometimes locked up :-)
I am glad spring has finally arrived there. In Florida we run from hot to pleasant then back to hot.
What is it about Gather I value the most. The people. Didn't start out that way. But thats where I am now. One gather friend has just been diagnosed with Cancer and I care. One Gather friend recently lost his mom and I care. A Gather Friend is serving in Iraq and hes become like a son. Then I realized I only knew his screen name and if he were injured or worse I wouldn't know and I care. I heard the word credible used to describe the content of what is published. I dont see it that was as each person shares a bit of themselves and their needs in what they publish. Gather is about the people and the parts of their lives they share with us is so many different ways. Gather is all of you who make themselves accessible and by your posts part of us.
Most, if not all of them, were very disturbed at the latest changes and the reaction to their voiced complaints. I'm most interested to know what updates are forthcoming and how they'lladdress those concerns so my friends remain here - as well as when. As for the website, my interest is largely that it is a comfortable home for my friends. I know you need to make money, but I'd expect that being a good place to be for the people who interact here is in the best interest of Gather's interests.
The specifics on how that will happen and what it will mean, I don't see that here. Admittedly, I read things skeptically for a living, looking for the data that backs the spin. I'm not seeing that here yet. I may be coming and it may just be too early to see it. I'm OK with that, but I'll hold off on the pompoms until a little more information is available.
Tom: Thank you for your explanations of yesterday and thus far today. I have been vocal about my displeasure with Hawthorne but from what I've read so far, I'm happy with the adjustments you've mentioned. I'm curious about the time-frame of their implementation, though, so if you could shed some light on that matter, I'm sure we'd all be grateful.
Additionally, I'd like to give a ton of credit to MaryAnne publicly for picking up on a comment I left in your thread yesterday about "pending friend requests." I'm not the only one with the "imaginary friend requests." If I cannot become "friends" with other members, it puts a nice dent in my private publishing options.
I do appreciate her taking the time to contact me and I hope we can get this issue resolved.
I don't usually join in on these, but I have to say that coming here is like finding long lost family--some of these people I wish I could have stop over, they've helped me thru so much. And finding friends like this is the best part of Gather to me--and keeping it connected, lol. (My train of thought jumps, so sorry).
I also appreciate the multitudes of feedback, when it's given. It would be nice to be able to stop the people who give bad scores for spite, but that's asking alot. Gotta take the good with the bad in any situation.
Enopugh of the bad, it's beautiful here today, and as much as I love Gather...well, I don't want to spend too much time at the computer.
Have fun :)
It has been asked a hundred times but not sure if really answered. We know that the site is not going to "roll back" as you put it in your other article, but is Gather going to give us the features of "articles for me", "images for me" etc. back in the next update? It would seem a simple thing to add to the existing tabs in choices there, and sorely missed as a tool option to many members.
Thanks.
We started our process by defining a shared set of values for the company and a shared vision (big picture of where we want to go) and mission (specific things we want to do to achieve our mission). I will share those with you in future conversations this month and both will help provide guidance on where we are going as a company. Stay tuned for a lot more...
It makes me uneasy that "few members of our team had consciously thought about them [values] or what they meant personally (myself included)."
I'm willing to accept that people can make it to adulthood without a formal moral education. I'm surprised that people can make it to adulthood without thinking about the concepts involved.
Better late than never, I guess.
Take it easy! He's one guy answering comments in order.... He'll get to you. Patience. : )
First Tracks appears to have brought a younger crowd to Gather, a group that likely will find the new upgrades right up its alley. There in, however, could be a disconnect. What has long distinguished Gather from the competition is its focus on the content, rather than the hot connections and petty discourse found on other sites. I agree that social networking is a smart business move as well, but it's one that I personally take because I was proud of my work showing up first in Google search as a result. Now, I hesitate to even write this comment, for fear it could move my real content down and off the search page.
Meanwhile, the face I present to the world coming to Gather -- my homepage -- has been changed without option to me. I think the "spotlight" feature does wonders to help bring some of the focus on content back, but it still doesn't address what seems to be Gather.com's general member creativeness. Being able to select what features, articles, information is viewable from our first public page is key here, in my opinion (ala Squidoo with more focus on content). To date, there's still no way to feature photos or video in a group or perhaps even on your home page (it may be available as a spot light though, I haven't checked that). That would seem to be critical to keeping the First Track sign-ups on Gather after the contest has ended, and keeping a steady stream of writers, artists, photographers proudly using Gather as their collective portfolios.
Do you think I'm off base here Tom? I just had to weigh in, since I have personally been impacted by the recent changes and feel that they are not in line with what Gather.com said it was going to be at the beginning.
You also said in yesterday's article that "We will allow you to set your feed to show just articles (or images, or videos) and that setting will remain persistent for your entire visit to Gather." So we will not be able to permanently change these settings, we will have to change them for each new Gather session? I don't understand why everyone can't be allowed to customize their pages--once--and get on with whatever they choose to do on this site.
First, you are right to call our that our values aren't unique. We identified behaviors that we thought were critical to our being good to one another as people. These behaviors aren't specific to Gather. They are, however, behaviors we aspire to live by (and commit to working hard to live by as well).
Second, we do fall short. We failed in conversations this week to honor our "Respect ourselves and others" value. Sometimes we fail to encourage each other. Other times, when in a hurry, we might not listen as attentively as we should.
This shows the importance of your third point, then, about how we keep values top of mind, identify when we fall short of them, and create systems that encourage us to live by them. Many businesses establish values and then forget them as quickly as they are raised. We want to do much better.
At Gather we:
- review our values with all prospects for hiring
- train new team members with our values
- display our values throughout our offices
- make part of our culture gently calling out values violations when we see them
- reward people who do something that exemplify our values in all-company meetings
- keep an active "Mirror" committee that evaluates our progress against values each month and considers amendments to what we do and how we do it.
Leaders at Gather also "model the way" for members of our team by acting in accordance with our values and explaining our decisions in that context. We think that walking-the-walk is as important has having the values to begin with.