[Re: Loose Cannon: How Not to Feed Newlyweds, Direct Newsline July 5, 2006 http://directmag.com/loosecannon/loose-cannon-not-feed-newlywed-070506/]
As a direct marketer and a newlywed, I was shoved from the Knot to The Nest immediately after my wedding date. I found it presumptuous on their part. The Knot/The Nest also seems to use some other not so nice tactics – they have talk areas which are monitored and they ban people and provide fake posts are sometimes found by users – these posts seem to come from staffers. They also do not seem to take into consideration their users’ preferences and push redesigns and insert ads which only annoy users.I passively use the Nest as something to read/lurk on the boards but usually don't post anything and occasionally reply. It definitely has lost value to me since getting married. The Knot was a useful site to plan a wedding. The Nest has much less value for me. Perhaps it is my age - as I am a good deal older than most there. I never really built up a social circle on the Knot or the Nest. But I find the monitoring annoying which disinclines me to post much personal.
One annoying thing about the push from Knot to Nest is my login on the Knot was based on my maiden name. When I was pushed over, I wasn't given a chance to change my login to reflect my new name. The only way to change your login I believe is to get a new email address. I think a more positive way would be to push newlyweds to the Nest and ask them to sign in with a new user name if they want. In addition, any personal information I gave the Knot was based on where I was living before getting married. When people get married, they usually move as well. If they want to solicit their users, they should ask for complete updated information.Also, two significant redesigns they came up with that have caused problems. In 2005, the Knot added Knot TV - streaming video of bridal fashions combined with a complete redesign of the boards. This caused technical issues for some and turned off others completely. The bandwidth required for the streaming video also caused some users to have the Knot banned from their work place - hence, less use by users. On the Nest, they have added ads in the talk boards. If you go to talk and select a board, sometimes the next page is not the board but an ad for Sears appliances or something. An annoying extra step that has no positive reaction that I have seen from users.
There have been some fake posts in the past months and people would disclose them - sometimes by content and sometimes by their user name. I have only read posts about fake posts and never uncovered them myself.
I am glad to see that I am not the only one affected by this. I would love to post a link to your column on the Nest chat boards but my post would probably automatically be policed and deleted or I might get banned.
Caroline Frankovich
Marketing Manager
MCLE, Inc.
Boston
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Yep, Richard, you are 100% correct on this one!
My research shows that when the husband smashes cake in the face of the bride the couple is 58% more likely to divorce. When the bride does it, the percentages go to 63% and when they both do it, the odds are up there somewhere around 75%.
I have also noticed, though, at Jewish weddings this is a much less prevalent custom.
Rick Hyman Owner
www.VolunteerGifts.com
Boca Raton, FL
