CAB - Communication Agents Blog

Is This Something You Already Know?

Some invited applicants really press me:

"Similarly, we are already established speakers and writers, have a rich set of Internet marketing resources available, and have full access to technology from groups to blogs."

[Read between the lines: "So what the hell do we need you for???"]

"I admire your CA Learning Path but am not in need of it and will not pay for the privilege of writing for your community. In fact I would typically require payment from a publisher for our work but am happy to call it a wash to support your global social mission."

[Thank you, really!]

"So again if that is a problem [read: having to pay to be part of this], then we'll make other arrangement for our blog."

After relaxing myself and understanding that people do not write those things to offend, but simply write them truly because they think I am a fool in not seeing the impractical absurdity of making such offering to them. These people sincerely and honestly believe that they already have and know so well what I have other people pay € 1,350 and have to work through in a year's time.

My question to these people is always the same: "Best wishes for your new book and tell me where I can see you putting at work all that you claim you already know, understand and have access to?"

So here is what I have responded this time:

"George, thanks for the prompt response. I did not mean to put any pressure on you but simply to scan your effective preparedness for this.

And you have indeed promptly reacted.

Presses me only to say that you don't pay to "write for my community" as this is not what I am offering.

I am offering what you state to already have and know very well: reach, visibility, exposure, a great and growing mailing list and an open conversation to some serious numbers of people in the noosphere.

That is what you pay for: to learn how to achieve that in ways that very few people have understood, tried out and rarely applied. "

"If I also may add, the privilege is really for you to save your and our ass before it is too late. That is the real privilege. I don't need another blogger in my class. That is not the idea. I want some brave and smart people like you, talented communicators, which are so pissed off at it that they want to do something serious and want to know how to have the greatest reach possible in doing so.

That is what I offer.

Making a Web site with Yahoo, Blogger, or one among other hundreds of online publishing alternatives costs nothing. If you have a server you can even do it with the mighty Movable Type (and soon even without needing that - with the upcoming public release of TypePad). This is not what I am selling.

Again, the results are different from what you would obtain with any other blog or tool because what I offer is not a tool.

I am sure that if you knew the methods and techniques I use your titles and headlines would be already appearing next to the ones of BBC and Reuters like CA Sepp Hasslberger was able to achieve in less than 6 weeks, and the likes of Jeff Rense and David Icke would more frequently pick up your content and be speaking about you as they did for Sepp's.

If you really care about making "waves" online, I think I have know-how and great credentials to spare.

If you are in to market yourself through the CA Initiative you are welcome to do so by effectively showing your willingness to support by finding a way where we can benefit from your technology while you can get some exposure to some pretty unique people.

If you can find me other ways to achieve what I am offering at no cost or at lower cost, I will be humbly listening, as there is always something new I don't know.


Thanks for being frank and for showing how you feel about what I do.


Cheers,

Robin"

What I Expect From Your Application

Tonight at midnight I am closing as announced the acceptance of applications for this first class of Communication Agents.

Nonetheless the above, several individuals have expressed the desire to participate in the next round of CAs, loosely scheduled to be started during the fall of this year.

In this light I want to share more of what is expected most from your formal application, outside of providing all of the basic bio information that can help me and others in this program best understand your talents and unique skills.

Here is an edited excerpt from the feedback I have recently sent to one of the applicants to the CA Initiative.

"I have read with much attention what you wrote in application.

I have learned a lot more about you and have now a bit better understanding of who you are and where you are coming from. Reading some of the passages revealed to me though a diplomatically veiled prudency toward any open statement that would you line up to one of specific issues described in the Areas of Change document.

Though you clearly identify your area of interest, I fail to identify the reasons, rationale and strategy that moves your choice, beyond the desire to learn more and to share with others what new technologies can do to improve our ways of learning and communicating better.

My assumption after having read your statements is that you have not been involved yet in seriously considering any actual social change action that targets some of the ill-designed foundations of the very system you so passionately want to improve. This maybe a strength or a weakness depending on where you stand and what you want for your future.

If you look carefully at the profiles of the other accepted applicants you can see that they all of a strong social component in their profile and in their reasons to take on this program:

Sepp Hasslberger
Chris Gupta
Ivan Ingrilli
Zoe Lenska
Heidi Hanson and Joe Samsen
Klaus and Gabi Rudolph
Andrea rieniets
Emma Holister

I want and need you to be one in this "class" and this is why I am expressing some of my personal doubts.

Do you really share the deep ethical and social issues that I care about to change within the Education and Human Potential field?

Are you going to address them? How?
Can you give me some example of what kind of articles, news or posts you would intend to publish?

Sorry to place under this barrage of questions. I am sure you have understood my goal: I need to find out if you are going to be "in sync" with this group, and whether your message and action will have enough social components that reflect the whole critical aspect of this unique learning program.

I can see that the program would be of great value to you anyhow, but I have set out this enterprise as many software developers do: I want to create something that first solves a problem I have (see Areas for Change) and secondly that can be shared and given to others while fairly supporting my sustainability.

This is not a critique of you, nor an attempt to reject you. Please do not misunderstand me.
This is only about finding out HOW MUCH YOU REALLY CARE AND WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SPECIFIC ISSUES LISTED IN THE AREAS OF CHANGE.

As this is "CENTRAL" to this advanced learning program, and even to its ability to create media "waves", I must fully invest my attention in understanding where you stand in relation to the above and why and how you would want to work hard at serving one or more of those very specific items listed in the AREAS for CHANGE document.

I would love to have you on-board, but I do have to make sure that we are going to move in the same direction.

Please feel free to share your doubts, questions, critiques and suggestions to me, so that I can better understand your personal feelings and moral issues in dealing with this part of our project.

Robin Good"