New Bee Log Entry from Joe

RIP JoeC
Posted by joec
June 20th, 2008
If I were to write a personal list of proscribed activities, I’d caution against taking a date to a UFC event, reminding a police officer that you pay his salary, and getting a Bart Simpson tattoo. But no such list would be complete without the following warning: Avoid the cheeky epitaph.

So it’s not without irony when I say that this post, our last for a little while on the new rewards system, is doubling as the epitaph for JoeC. I have decided to lay him to rest. (If you want to help me pick a new screenname/identity, add your suggestion in the comments field and I’ll select one.) After all, JoeC posting on a topic other than rewards is like Jason Alexander playing a character other than George Costanza. Alas, we’ve typecasted ourselves.

While he’s still around, JoeC would like to share a few parting rewards-ish thoughts:

Overall thoughts:

When the late Congressman Tip O’Neill (D. Mass.) said, “All politics are local,” he could have been talking about Agents’ reaction to our new system. For the most part, the way someone was affected personally colored their perspective on the entire program. Just so everyone is aware, we strove to invent a system that would invigorate our “average” Agents while acknowledging the value provided by our most active members. On balance, I think we achieved that goal. Sure there were a few miscues, but a certain number of stumbles are an unavoidable part of serving a community this large.

Thoughts on Shaloha:

This was the change that had us most nervous. Not because we didn’t think you’d like it (most of you did), but because there were so many moving parts. We had to close our rewards store, tell everyone a new system was coming, partner with a rewards expert, design an easy roll-over process … you get the idea. Because there were so many changes happening at once, we were hesitant to reveal too much for fear of eating crow (which JoeC did once!).

Thoughts on Womlets:

Womlets are largely misunderstood. We’ve positioned them as a reward, and in some cases, we’ve made them feel almost like a substitute for BzzRewards. Truth is, they were never intended to replace anything. They were an added “thank you.” Here’s how the idea came about: We were talking about ways to recognize Agents at the moment they file a report. In other words, was there something extra we could do after a report is submitted but before it is approved? Someone came up with the idea of brokering special offers with different merchants on behalf of our Agents and displaying those deals as a quick, “Thanks!” That’s how Womlets were born, and it’s trulyall they were ever intended to be.

Thoughts on points:

BzzAgent isn’t a rewards company. Our previous system had an internal rewards component that brought with it a number of challenges. We wanted to continue to motivate Agents to report, yet be out of the rewards “business.” How does a company do that? Through a carefully formed partnership.

Thoughts on status:

Fascinatingly, it’s become clear that status matters more than any other aspect of BzzPerks. We aimed to make status more fun, easier to understand, and less “punishing.” We also wanted the everyday Agent, the person who joins a handful of campaigns a year and files a couple of reports per campaign, to have as good a shot at earning status as anyone else. I think did ok here. We realize we may need to tinker with the formula now and then, so we’ll keep our eyes on this one, for sure.

Speaking of paying attention, we hired this remarkable intern named Max. As president of his fanclub, I’m authorized to say that Max is pretty much the world’s most competent 21 year old. Anyway, he’s spent a lot of time studying the reaction to our announcements and he created a bunch of cool graphs to illustrate his insights. Here’s one:




Those are my thoughts on these changes. We may have more to add periodically. But there are many, many other aspects of the BzzAgent business that we want to discuss, debate and debunk on the BeeLog. So that’s what we are going to do moving forward.

In the meantime, as far as JoeC goes, he wishes he could sign off as succinctly as this gunslinger:

Here lays Butch,
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger,
But slow on the draw.
In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery

Good luck to Joe in his new persona!

Interesting. Very interesting.

Emails sent on Friday at 5 always make me suspicious which is the taste this posts leaves in my mouth. Well planned for as little reaction as possible.

I'm curious how the super-intern calculated the graph on satisfaction...

Otherwise I suppose this final word is translated down to 'it is what it is.'

I totally agree on that end of it cinclair. The timing was very convenient and the lack of explanation on the graph was very telling. But I can also see why Joe is ready to put this chapter behind him.

I have had a toothache the past few days... I need a wisdom tooth removed. So, I have been getting rid of pain with lots of tylenol and ibuprofen, so I rambled on my message

Hm… that last bit reminded me of the little poems that the Living Dead Dolls come with… so it is only fitting that JoeC has died, but his ulta persona will arise… but who will it be??? Only the time and right name will say!!

Joe Mama… (sorry, hubby is reading the biography of Charles M. Schultz)

But what to have as a name for this persona that we will soon meet? The NEW Joe C.???

Will the real Joe C, please stand up?

I say stick with Joe C…. I have stuck with the same name for 6 years now… and it still serves me well…

I'm sorry you're not feeling well, Missy! I hope you get relief soon.

I wana post a name, but alas, its impossible to be a part of something you dont go to...

oh well. GOod luck with your new moniker!!