Half Ashed live?

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magste
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by magste » Tue May 28, 2019 7:42 am

That is interesting. So you're saying that if you add an Event to the Facebook page (Live show 9pm EST 27 May) , only 3% or so of those that follow the page will ever see that event in their news feed?

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Stewmuse
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by Stewmuse » Tue May 28, 2019 9:00 am

Kip, your reasonings/issues for staying away from social media are precisely why we need a dedicated “sticky” here that is very clean and easily noticeable. I would even make it “uncommentable,” where only you and Craig could post.

“Show tonight, 5/31/19, 9pm est.” Or “show canceled due to mofongo poisoning.” Easy peasy, no lost posts, and no guessing on when and where to look for such info...
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Kip
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by Kip » Tue May 28, 2019 9:19 am

magste wrote:That is interesting. So you're saying that if you add an Event to the Facebook page (Live show 9pm EST 27 May) , only 3% or so of those that follow the page will ever see that event in their news feed?
Exactly. Just because you like a page doesn't mean you'll see its posts.

Two things increase the likelihood though:

1)Interaction - if you like, comment, or share a Page's posts you'll be more likely to see its future posts. If you never interact with it, you'll stop seeing them unless you specifically seek out your personalized 'Pages' feed.

2) Paid marketing on the part of the Page. For example, if I could fly under their radar I could market to people who have indicated to FB that they enjoy cigars, or even to various subsets (including your own followers). I previously tried exposure to Males 25-55 who'd included an interest in cigars to their profile. It was someone in this group that reported the ad and got me the warning (go figure).

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kurtdesign1
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by kurtdesign1 » Wed May 29, 2019 2:36 pm

I'm a bit at a loss here. I don't honestly know why I got away from posting about the show. I just... stopped. It's an easy enough thing to get back to. Hell, I even had #halfashed trending on twitter at one point. Also, I like Mike's idea about a "moderator only" scheduling post. I can hear Kip saying that he already posts a show notification on the website a couple hours early but I think that doing it in more than one spot is smart, plus it might induce a little more chatter.
Kip, I know things aren't always group topics but I think this place becomes more enjoyable when folks post reasonably passionate comments. Some of your situations might be community friendly even if others aren't. And frankly, just look at your manifesto. In a day you've received multiple engaged responses, including some from non-regular commentors. Good on ya.
Regarding the brotherhood being hollow, at times, I completely agree. I have commented that the Miami Cuban population has time and time again showed me that the definition of truth is not widely agreed upon in that region. Hell, many of the Cubans I know (in my family and out of it) are almost unable to tell a 100% accurate story. So much of communication is bolstered by machismo and color that it has felt like person to person connections are spaced by an electronic/marketing approved persona. It's tough for me too and I feel it has contributed to my withdrawal from the community, in part.

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815DC
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by 815DC » Fri May 31, 2019 4:51 pm

Kip wrote:
Mon May 27, 2019 12:14 am
Zedman05 wrote:I think what Mike is saying is that there is very little pre-show announcement that there will be a show at all. No facebook posts, no instagram mentions, just the main half ashed live page notification an hour or, if lucky, 2.
I too like the live interactions as well. The hosts may not, but it is like our own community getting a chance to get together.
I know what he's saying and understood the sentiment. Let's figure out the prevailing preference for notification, as I don't have a lot of confidence in many of the social media platforms these days. Without my paying for ad $, things disappear into the void. Here's where I'm at with the various connections. I'm good with most any except Facebook:

FACEBOOK
There will likely *never* be a Facebook post. FB has made their venue entirely worthless unless payment is involved. Without paying for it, roughly 1-3% of the people who've liked the page see a post...and they (FB) like to ferret out anything tobacco related and shut it off even further when their personnel find it. They have public policy forbidding tobacco advertising and notified me when I tried to use it that we qualified for such - because even though we don't 'advertise' per se, we encourage tobacco use. I'd signed up to market the page and someone reported it so I was warned for violating their TOS. As a whole, Facebook is nothing more to me now than a source for Dominican news. Of the 400 or so people who've liked the Half Ashed page, about a dozen see a post I made over the 2 day period following the post.

INSTAGRAM
Instagram is owned by FB and follows its lead, albeit a couple years behind in many respects, but I still use it some - although I don't have a lot of noteworthy things to photograph. I'm open to it still, though. It's probably my favorite platform at the moment.

TWITTER
Does anybody actually read Twitter any more? It's easy enough to tweet, but the platform is so cluttered that posts are often lost in the shuffle. Again, unless someone goes out of their way seeking a post, it gets buried. Someone who follows hundreds or thousands of accounts won't likely see it - but I'm not averse.

GOOGLE+
RIP. It never was more than a niche platform anyway, or at least a platform of niches.

Honestly, I tapered off bothering to post via social media because the chat room waned and twice I took crap for sharing via *too many* channels. I realize the schedule is wonky, but for a long time when I did take the time to post ahead of time, there'd be 2-3 folks show up for the chat. The downloads held steady, but not many people were showing up for a live show. It seemed somewhat pointless as the people who were coming came with or without social media posts. I'm sure recording on Friday night plays a part, as many folks have plans. Mike often has jobs on Friday nights, and you have kids' games, right?

I will certainly give it another go, but it will have to make a difference to persist and people will have to show up. I'm OK with the idea, and will post to a platform or two, with the caveat that the days when I was able to have a finger simultaneously on the pulse of 4-5 media platforms are gone, at least for now.

For quite some time I've felt unhinged from the cigar community and frankly I could use some more of it. I tend to be cyclical, and I'm cycled into a time it'd be nice to have a little more community. On a personal note, last year royally sucked for me in many ways that aren't worth delving into here. This year has been much, much better, but for various reasons life here can feel very isolated at times. I'm in a good place these days, but more honest community is always a good thing. To be truthful, the consumers/listeners/regular guys like me that I've encountered through this show are the only *real* community I've experienced via cigars.

Not to be too overly cynical, but I call utter BS on a large majority of cigar manufacturers' poetic idealizations about their love of community, media, and consumers. My experience with maintaining a lot of 'friendships' with people within the industry has been very different. Many seemed to become instantly unavailable and disinterested the moment they thought my ability or likelihood of fostering their brand faltered in the least. And I'm not speaking of samples, swag, etc. I mean even bothering to return a message or take some time for a chat in an informal setting - or even honoring their word. I idealized a lot of cigar industry 'brotherhood' and such in years past, but the chutzpah I've seen in recent years, coupled with fake facades has made me a little cynical with many who proclaim such loving bond with the brotherhood of the leaf. Maybe I'm just the a-hole who repels most folk. Maybe I'm just older and crotchety. I don't know. There truly are genuine people who work in this industry....just a lot fewer than I used to think.

Good grief. Y'all got me monologuing.

Sorry for the rambling. I'll shut it off before I really get wound up :)


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This this is a work of art. Also why I am merely a curmudgeon in training. Behold a well spoken master!

Actually I feel you hit a lot proverbial nails on the head Kip. Alao, with nothing going tonight at home I vow to be in The chat harassing the both of you this week. ;)
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Stewmuse
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by Stewmuse » Fri May 31, 2019 8:04 pm

I’ll be listening, but it will be via my phone in my car until about 10:00 CST.
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815DC
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by 815DC » Sat Jan 04, 2020 1:58 pm

Kurt says episode 200 is happening tonight.
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by Cabaiguan juan » Sun Jan 05, 2020 12:33 am

815DC wrote:Kurt says episode 200 is happening tonight.
It would be nice. It’s been a while.


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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by Cabaiguan juan » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:37 pm

@kip & @kurt any updates?


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Kip
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Re: Half Ashed live?

Post by Kip » Sat Feb 01, 2020 6:24 pm

Ep 200 has been recorded. I just haven't been able to edit and post it. After Mike left my house, we began a series of illnesses throughout the family that has been relentless. In fact, my last post here was what I thought to be the end, but was only a 1.5 day respite. I haven't been able to do much of anything for 2 weeks. Only one other time in my near-47 years have I been so ill. Thankfully, I believe I'm at least on the tail end of it now. I still can't speak without a coughing fit, but the fever is gone and aches subsiding.

I'll get Ep 200 up soon and we'll probably next record in the next couple weeks. Our scheduled date would have been the 14th,but I'm guessing that may not work out. We'll see.

Sorry guys, but no one would have wanted to see me slobbering and hacking through a show in recent days anyway.

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