How to respond to a negative blog review

This morning I Stumbled a post on the Travels with Children blog; it’s a fairly negative review of the Crayola Factory in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Author Linda didn’t feel that the place met her expectations for a creative experience for her kids. There was no “wild blogger” ranting or digital spittle – she was simply disappointed in what visitors get there for their money and time.

Since she linked to the Crayola establishment (they should see that by monitoring inbound links/backlinks) and wrote about them as “Crayola Factory in Easton, Pennsylvania” (which any decent Google Alert should catch) I would expect a sharp PR/marketing person from the company to check out the post and leave a comment.

You know, at least something along the lines of “We’re sorry you were disappointed, we’ll take your ideas into consideration, we have a facility redesign in the works, blah blah.”

Figure the odds that anyone actually does that.

A quick glance would show anyone that Linda’s blog isn’t the home of some pajama’d nutcase. She has active and engaged readers who are interested in her family travel topic.

The business communications world often still doesn’t get it, so the review will probably sit there, unanswered.

To me, that’s a lost opportunity for Crayola to reach out to customers and possibly turn a negative impression into a positive one.

Your thoughts?

The Web is made for the tourism Little Guy

So I’m invited on a blogger’s tour of a small town in Kansas.

I’d never heard of Hutchinson, and maybe neither have you.

Sure, I reacted with a skeptical, “Um, uh, what the heck is there?!”

So I went, and there’s a LOT there.

All of us on the trip blogged about it, photographed it, talked about it on Twitter and shot video, because that’s what wired writers do.

Here, look at what the WhatsUpHutch blog compiled, a mere snapshot in time….

My stuff (here)(here)(some Twitpics)(Video)(blogpost )(photos)(blogpost)
Bill Genereux’s (here ) (here )(photos here )
Deb Brown’s (here here)(pics)(Twitpics )
Becky McCray’s (here )(here )(here)(here )(some Twitpics )
Patsy Terrell’s (here)(blogpost )
Jeanne Cole’s (Twitpics)(blog)
Naomi Shapiro’s (blogpost)
Todd Vogts’ (blogpost)
Kim’s (Kim didn’t even make it to Hutch, but was excited about the idea and wrote a quick post) (blogpost)

If you’re at all involved in tourism and you don’t represent, you know, freakin’ Paris or New York, you might want to think about how your town, property or destination could benefit from Long Tail coverage by a bunch of blabby bloggers.

Or, keep doing lots of those billboard buys and putting stacks of brochures in the Hampton Inn lobby.

Jussayin’….

What’s in it for me?

When should you continue to be part of a team, and when should you strike out on your own?

At what point do you start to question whether your individual efforts for the benefit of a team are not worth the benefit to you, personally?

When should you take a gimlet-eyed view of your output vs input and ask, “What’s in it for me?”

Confidence in your own talents and abilities is critical.

When you’re less confident in your abilities, you’ll do anything for a team because you figure it’s not possible to make it on your own.  It’s learning time.

As you gain confidence, it’s normal to begin (even almost unconsciously) measuring the value of what you’re providing and comparing it to the value of what your team brings to you.

I am at that point.

I’m not sure that I like being here.

I’m thinking about it.

I’m grateful for mentors and friends like Liz and Becky and events like SOBCon, so I don’t have to think alone.