re: [Harp-L] Banned from Slidemeister

["Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Greg for your highly pertinent post. I didn't realise you were on
the Slidemeister banned list too!

As a fellow inventor of new harmonica-oriented products and successful
boutique maker of them for appreciative players, your words resonate with
me.  As you say, without the promotional budgets of the large harmonica
manufacturers, the online harmonica lists are really the only way for
small makers like us to let harmonica players know about useful stuff we
have created, to add to the mass production harmonica items pumped out by
the big companies.

There is a balance to be struck, and I think you, me and all the folks you
mention know where it is. We don't just post out unremitting promo
material, we contribute meaningfully to regular discussions. We've been
around for a while and have a lot of expertise in certain areas, which I
think is appreciated by newbies and others on the lists asking questions.

I know announcements of new harp tech stuff on the lists is one of the
main reasons I keep up with them, as there would be no way to know
otherwise about what's fresh and worth checking out. I think most list
members are happy that the likes of Blowsmeaway and the other harp mic
makers, the small amp makers, the custom FX pedal makers, the comb makers,
the custom harp makers, the FX patch designers etc tell us about their new
stuff. Sure it's advertising of a sort, but it's also informative,
friendly and interactive as well. If that was all banned the lists would
be far less interesting places.

Brendan



On Tue, December 9, 2014 5:47 pm, Greg Heumann wrote:
> I too was effectively banned form Slidemeister - for doing nothing more
> than answering a list member?s legitimate question and pointing out that
> my product was one designed to solve his particular problem.
>
> I think Slidemeister has it wrong.
>
>
> The harmonica market is worldwide, with no geographic concentrations big
> enough to support conventional retail advertising.  I try hard to
> contribute to the lists and forums where I participate; granted I am not
> a chromatic expert in any sense of the word so I can contribute less to
> Slidemeister. And I try to really limit the self-promotional messages.
> But if I introduce an important new product (as I have done recently with
> The Heumann Element, for example, which I haven?t even mentioned
> previously on HARP-L) - these lists ARE the best way to let harp players
> around the world know about it - and in my experience they are
> overwhelmingly accepting and appreciative of such posts. How else do
> harmonica players find out about anything but the bottom rung mass
> merchant gear - EXCEPT by word of mouth? That is part of the great value
> of these lists to ALL players. Far fewer people would know about
> Brendan?s brilliant work, or Tom Halchak?s or Greg Jones' or Randy
> Landry's or a host of other ?too small to advertise in Time Magazine?
> businesses if it were NOT for HARP-L and the internet forums.
>
> I had this discussion (privately) with the management of Slidemeister. It
> didn?t work.
>
>
> /Greg
>
>
> http://blowsmeaway.com
> http://facebook.com/blowsmeawayproductions
>
>
>
> When responding to this email, please include the copy of our previous
> conversations.
>
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