BzzAgent in Wonderland.. (new BeeLog Post)

Way way back in the very early days of BzzAgent, I’ll never forget a very specific stressful moment in the business. Our CTO, Kurt Overberg, was telling us about a massive modification of our technology that would change how we managed the business. To be honest, I can’t even remember exactly what it was we were doing, but I’ll never forget his nod to Alice in Wonderland as the dozen of us sat in silence, thinking about the daunting change: “Well, down the rabbit hole we go.”

If there’s one thing I’m immensely proud of in this business, it’s our willingness to go down those rabbit holes. To take risks to find out what’s on the other side. That day, we braced ourselves, leapt into the hole, and whatever happened down there, it seems to have turned out all right.

And we’re about to do it again. After nearly a year of researching, debating and building, we’re about to head into another rabbit hole for the business of BzzAgent: the transition of our rewards platform.

I can’t emphasize enough how much of a massive change this is for our system – as you’ve sensed over the last few months of BeeLog posts, there are many, many moving parts and we appreciate your patience as we worked to get everything just right. Much like Alice, we may not be able to see what’s at the bottom of the hole, but we bet it will be tremendously exciting.

So much work has been put in to make this new program be a wonderful experience for each and every Agent. We lived by two credos:

The first was to ensure that the transition from the old system to the new was as seamless and fulfilling as possible. We implemented a ‘no point left behind’ policy to make sure all of the energy you’ve put into BzzAgent so far is recognized and valued. We totally overhauled ranking and tiering to make it simpler, more consistent, easier to maintain your status and be recognized for it.
The second credo was to provide you with immediate and unlimited inventory for ‘thank you’s’ for reporting your WOM activities to us. You’ll find that to accomplish this we’ve expanded the types of reward options we offer. You’ll still be able to earn and accumulate points, but now you’ll find there are always reward options. You’ll also see we added an ‘immediate gratification’ concept, where you can receive a quick thank you immediately from us.
The first change you’ll see is the ability to utilize the points you’ve already accumulated. We looked at many models for doing this and considered every idea, no matter how costly to the business. We had to do this right, regardless of expense, and we wanted you to have the ability to leverage everything you’ve done thus far – but also, to gain from everything you will do in the future. The future system should do just that. We’ve done our best to limit compromises and to satisfy every Agent’s interests and requests, and that necessitated something of a balancing act. With nearly 420,000 Agents, we know some won’t be satisfied entirely, but we hope the overall concept and transition is welcomed with open arms and an open mind.

The changes this morning are only the beginning; there’s much more to come, so whatever your feedback, please keep that in mind!

As always, you remain the reason we are able to do all of this – there would be no BzzAgent without your input, involvement and support, and for that we thank you. So, thanks for joining us on this little adventure.

Now it all begins. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and let’s jump into this rabbit hole together.

let me stew on this a bit

Here's what I posted on the blog:

So Dave, are you getting the $2 referral bonus from each agent deposited directly into your bank account? Thankyou so much for forcing us to sign up with a spam/spyware site and taking away 40% of my BzzPoints in the process. You know what the most insulting part about the whole thing is? You and the rewards team tried to be sneaky and underhanded about taking that 40% after most of us had been honest about reporting bzz — even when all the Shaloha secrecy was going on. I guess you must have been hoping we wouldn’t notice, right?
I doubt you care, but here’s a link to what over 300 Agents are saying about the transition. http://bzzz.heavenforum.org/shaloha-is-here-f13/

Now I'm back to not even looking over there though. I just couldn't leave Dave's post alone. I guess the good news is there are lots of Boston area guests here today so I guess someone is watching.

Well, his post sounds about right, especially if you substitute the word "rabbit" with "your ass".

That's so funny Karen!

OMG!

too fuuny!!!

yOU SHOULD PUT THAT ON THE BEELOG "YOUR ASS"

Good lord, someone stop me from posting over there! It's not worth the time and energy, what I say is bound to be misunderstood and someone will take offense to it, and yet another argument will start, and ..... this is feeling more and more like shablahblahblah to me...maybe I should just log off and go do laundry!

I hear ya Michelle -- every time I think I'm getting over it, I remember again how they're screwing us and I get mad all over again. I think I'm going to log off for a while myself...

thebigscott wrote:Well, his post sounds about right, especially if you substitute the word "rabbit" with "your ass".

Oh god Michelle I saw that................HOLD ME BACK!

It's funny, because I usually enjoy his posts, whether I agree with him 100% or not. But this one - come on already!? Is he the self-anointed god of all that is good and right with bzz?

Self control has never been my strong point.
*sigh*

I posted on the log

grumble,grumble grumble....

breath, breath

mrschia wrote:grumble,grumble grumble....

breath, breath

hehehehehehehehehehe
I know the feeling

LOL and I haven't logged off like I said I was going to. We make a great team!

I held myself back and was nice in my post on the beelog today.

Quick, someone come pin a rose on my nose

I DID hold myself back too



for everyone!

... I guess I kinda did?

Now there's someone who's under 18 who logged on this morning and was told her bzzpoints are worthless, since mypoints won't accept members under 18. How well was this thought out, again???

That sucks!

I'm surprised BzzAgent allowed a minor to sign up at all.

how old do you have to be to become a bzzagent?

It says you have to be 13. Glad I didn't ask DD if she wanted to sign up, her attitude is worse than mine!!!