Vote for old Salon Geek with a heart

[The Geek]

Yay! The good ole days when a bottle of Coke was a quarter, kids ate their vegetables and we had world peace!

SalonGeek.com is a microcosm of the industry. Chit-Chat is a little star in the "break room banter" quadrant of that cosm. But that doesn't mean you have to visit it

A better way of putting it is that SalonGeek.com is an eco-system modelled after our own industry. An eco-system relies on each of its parts to make itself work. Chit Chat is part of that system as it rounds off content and humanizes the interactions with the real people. Is there a lot of drivel in Chit-Chat? Yup. Just like in life. Always has been and always will be. Is there more drivel now than ever?

Would it surprise you to know that less than 1% of the content served up on the site is from Chit Chat? (Sadly, on content most served, Chit-Chat is #9 on the list while Search is #10)

Over time regular members start to see current core content becoming repetitive (gel polish, hair extensions, tanning, etc...) and they start to lose a level of interest and become more conscious of what is being posted in the "Break room" section of the site. Many then become "bored" with the site and move on, take a break or... make change.

What kind of change? They engage the community in the professional forums. Participate in the seventeenth "Which gel polish" thread of the day (but maybe from a slightly different angle). They create new threads that are thought provoking or stimulating for the other regulars on the site. They make change.

That has always been one of the greatest aspects of this site: The ability for the community to engage each other in a positive, constructive and utterly awesome way. Sure, we have all personality types here and sometimes they can put a serious downer on the other personality types, but overall we tick along quite nicely. Especially after the occasional "need to get this off my chest post/thread" cleansing.

Wanted a quick word about the theme of patience running out on cheap/short/no courses.

We all start somewhere. Seriously.

If I would have joined within year 1 of my career as a nail professional, I shudder to think how I would could have been received here. I didn't start with formal qualifications or "accredited" training. Luckily, I discovered some very inspirational and talented professionals that helped me discover the complexity, beauty and joy in my profession. Those people cultivated a passion for my profession and forever changed my life.

This site should be helping each other cultivate that passion for their profession. Not passing judgement for taking the wrong direction; inspiring them to take the right one.

Other points while reading this thread:
- Yup. I am still here. Still trawl through. But my time is a little more finite now and the sheer number of posts sometimes makes it harder to keep up.
- Mods do not police content unless it violates the rules. What we need more of in "el cheapo" threads is tolerance, inspiration and leadership.
- Making members qualify themselves before being able to see/participate in the forums would be impossible. See last time I posted about this.

Have fun, be tolerant, try to be constructive and inspirational to those new to their profession and finally: don't ever have an emotional reaction to what someone has written. Those who post negative remarks look idiotic and mean to the rest of the world. And you look weak for rising to their bait.

 

[lila22]

Yay! The good ole days when a bottle of Coke was a quarter, kids ate their vegetables and we had world peace!

SalonGeek.com is a microcosm of the industry. Chit-Chat is a little star in the "break room banter" quadrant of that cosm. But that doesn't mean you have to visit it

A better way of putting it is that SalonGeek.com is an eco-system modelled after our own industry. An eco-system relies on each of its parts to make itself work. Chit Chat is part of that system as it rounds off content and humanizes the interactions with the real people. Is there a lot of drivel in Chit-Chat? Yup. Just like in life. Always has been and always will be. Is there more drivel now than ever?

Would it surprise you to know that less than 1% of the content served up on the site is from Chit Chat? (Sadly, on content most served, Chit-Chat is #9 on the list while Search is #10)

Over time regular members start to see current core content becoming repetitive (gel polish, hair extensions, tanning, etc...) and they start to lose a level of interest and become more conscious of what is being posted in the "Break room" section of the site. Many then become "bored" with the site and move on, take a break or... make change.

What kind of change? They engage the community in the professional forums. Participate in the seventeenth "Which gel polish" thread of the day (but maybe from a slightly different angle). They create new threads that are thought provoking or stimulating for the other regulars on the site. They make change.

That has always been one of the greatest aspects of this site: The ability for the community to engage each other in a positive, constructive and utterly awesome way. Sure, we have all personality types here and sometimes they can put a serious downer on the other personality types, but overall we tick along quite nicely. Especially after the occasional "need to get this off my chest post/thread" cleansing.

Wanted a quick word about the theme of patience running out on cheap/short/no courses.

We all start somewhere. Seriously.

If I would have joined within year 1 of my career as a nail professional, I shudder to think how I would could have been received here. I didn't start with formal qualifications or "accredited" training. Luckily, I discovered some very inspirational and talented professionals that helped me discover the complexity, beauty and joy in my profession. Those people cultivated a passion for my profession and forever changed my life.

This site should be helping each other cultivate that passion for their profession. Not passing judgement for taking the wrong direction; inspiring them to take the right one.

Other points while reading this thread:
- Yup. I am still here. Still trawl through. But my time is a little more finite now and the sheer number of posts sometimes makes it harder to keep up.
- Mods do not police content unless it violates the rules. What we need more of in "el cheapo" threads is tolerance, inspiration and leadership.
- Making members qualify themselves before being able to see/participate in the forums would be impossible. See last time I posted about this.

Have fun, be tolerant, try to be constructive and inspirational to those new to their profession and finally: don't ever have an emotional reaction to what someone has written. Those who post negative remarks look idiotic and mean to the rest of the world. And you look weak for rising to their bait.

Well said, we all start somewhere and I do look to chit chat as a staff room kinda place which is great if people work for themselves and wAnt a chat with other in the same industry, and if it's not your cup of tea you don't need to look x

 

[hippy-chick]

I fear this thread is slowly turning into a one day debate! Lol

That makes me a little nervous!
I have done one day courses, also a full time NVQ, I'm just about to start my lv3 at one of these dreaded one day schools, I can understand the point from both sides.
I have been in college with students who seriously cannot do the work, continuously fail exams and assessments are showing lack of skill and enthusiasm but these people still pass!
I have also been on a one day course and seen people be told they can't have the certificate at the end of the session as the tutor feels they have not done enough study or generally the practical is not of a high enough quality, they need to learn more etc, I myself treat the day courses I do, will do, as a full time course, I research as much as I can and take the exam as if I was in college, I work hard to get the most out of it, I then go home and practice for a long time on my long suffering friends before I consider treating a member if the public!
I then plan to upgrade my "one day" certificate to individual NVQ lv3 units, not just for my own self esteem or even to work in a salon, mainly because I feel that even though I have completed prior learning with my lv2 this forum lumps me in with things that are said on here sometimes!
Please don't get me wrong I to have issues with people having done no A&P training and breezing through but at the same time I've seen people quit college because they feel the education provide is well below standard!!
As far as I am concerned its not just the one day schools that need to be regulated, it's all education providers in this industry! It doesn't help our reputation if a college refuses to fail a completely incompetent person because they will lose funding!! (one girl passed her leg wax assessment that took her over an hour to complete and also left wax and hair everywhere!!)

Because of the experiences I have had with college I will be doing my lv3 work based and I don't feel I will have any less of an education because it's MY responsibly to learn as much as I can and I intend to do that!!

Sorry got a little carried away there didn't I!!!
Xx

We have had many discussions regarding college courses and one day courses before, and I personally believe after working in both sectors and learning in both sectors, that it is the fault of the student in many ways. Who in their right mind would offer a "professional" standard treatment after attending a one day course without practice, practice, practice and research, research, research.

I personally applaud one day courses, they do exactly what they say they do, they teach you a professional routine and then it is UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL to get off their backside and be disciplined and bright enough to set up as many practice runs as they feel they need.

I hear it time and time again, students that have left college clutching a certificate but feel incompetant in waxing, why? they only got chance to wax an area once and was deemed competant.......ummmm hello? Well, surely, you would then go home and practice, just as people who have attended one day courses would.

this thread was about OLD SALON GEEK, not a soapbox for NVQ V one day courses............

also, may Point out, in chit chat, it was deemed, if it wasn't a question, it wasn't allowed to stay, we were told to blog it. so a statement of I've just booked a course with so and so, am excited, is surely not a question, but someone actually mistaking a professional forum for facebook/twitter or dare I say it BLOG.

BTW, I have been overwhelmed by the amout of hearts, we've voted with our hearts and our fingers. Take a look at my message board if you don't believe me!

 

[hippy-chick]

There is some serious mis-info on the hair forum. It really needs a hair pro moderator.

Dee is a hair pro and I believe a moderator.

 

[hippy-chick]

One observation is that I have often been accused of being elitist against people who have done a one dayer to call themselves a hair pro.
If I was to start threads about the science or the theory behind hairdressing, I feel as though I would just be trolled or shouted down because it wouldn't cater for the people who don't share my fascination for in depth technical hairdressing.
I had it before from people, and it wasn't nice.

Why not do a TPTW Dawn?

 

[Lovebeauty14]

Brilliant response Mr Geek.

Encouraging people to learn, not making them feel foolish and unaccepted, is the way ahead.

I was foolish enough to do a couple of one dayers, didn't know any better and must have been pretty naive and ignorant. And you know what, I'm rectifying those mistakes and training with CND.

At the end of the day, just as it is in life, it's not the mistakes you make in life that matter, it's how you go about making them right.

P.s It took a lot of balls to confess to you guys that I've done a couple of one day courses, and I hope you respect that.

*scared*

Xx

 

[tanfastic]

My biggest bugbear on this professional forum is the fact that very few of us seem to have a spell checker installed in our Geeky brains. As professionals, on a professional forum which is open for all to access I would have hoped for us to portray a professional image to the outside world but every day I come across another cringeworthy moment. I can understand if english isn't your native tongue (mine isn't) but wouldn't it be nice if words were written the way they were intended by our English teachers?
I always try to edit any spellling errors from my posts, ( better be extra vigilant now:biggrin

Sorry if I have offended anyone

 

[The Geek]

spellling

Only quoting because I agree with you 100%. And because this is the type of thing I would do if I were posting about spelling

 

[tanfastic]

Only quoting because I agree with you 100%. And because this is the type of thing I would do if I were posting about spelling

Wondered when someone would pick up on that ? I already went back to correct another one earlier.

Made me smile....
and thanks

 

[The Geek]

There is some serious mis-info on the hair forum. It really needs a hair pro moderator.

Know a couple people commented on this, but I wanted to join in the fun too. Specifically because it gives me an opportunity to discuss a very important point at the heart of SalonGeek.com

We have a hair pro who happens to be a mod. However her role isn't to validate comments or fact check them any more than the other mods are supposed to fact check Skin or Nail posts.

A moderator facilitates the flow of discussion by keeping posts in the correct forum, closing threads that have outlived their discussion, keeping the forum free from spam, deleting posts that violate rules, banning those that refuse to adhere to the rules and most importantly: they engage the mod team to debate and discuss actions as a team.

You would crap your pants with the amount of work these guys do in keeping things flowing here. Only when all that work is done, they will sometimes have some free time to actually participate in the community as regular users too.

We do not want mods that are content police. That would seriously suck. The community is the content police and it provides each member an opportunity to have a differing opinion, experience and stance on any subject matter posted.

What should people do if they see misinformation on the site? Don't just complain about it. Do something about it. Constructively counter in a positive and pro-active way.

 

[theextensionist]

We do not want mods that are content police. That would seriously suck. The community is the content police and it provides each member an opportunity to have a differing opinion, experience and stance on any subject matter posted.

What should people do if they see misinformation on the site? Don't just complain about it. Do something about it. Constructively counter in a positive and pro-active way.

Amazing! I would triple heart this if I wasn't running around on my phone all day like always. This is so very true and what everyone should take to heart from this thread.

 

[Zooks]

I've only been using Salon Geek since late last year and I have to say I love it. I have benefited enormously from the majority of information found on the professional forums and I am sure I have irritated people with repeat questions, especially when I was such a newbie that I didn't realise you could search but even in the short space of time I have been logging on I have noticed a real change in the type of questions posted. I don't think I have ever posted in the Chit Chat forum, although I cant understand why it appeals to some, as the entire contents bores me and I baulk at some of the questions asked and some of the replies, don't get me started on the text speak!

I come on this professional forum to learn what's new and to educate myself further in what I am already doing but please let the mundane dinner threads and I don't know what to wear threads be banished!

 

[tanfastic]

don't get me started on the text speak

Oh my lordy, that drives me bonkers. HATE texting, HATE text speak. SO LAZY, What makes you think you touched nerve there then ???

I certainly agree with this one. I grew up with English as a second language and absolutely loved school and getting an education, went to University and tried to improve my mind and life using my education so I do find it very depressing to see a whole generation succumbing to what I can only call "Garbage"

Where is the pride, I would have given anything to have grown up in a country like this with the wealth of History and Patriotism and education, All reduced to
Thx gr8 2 c u...

Off the soap box now

 

[Zooks]

Touch a nerve did I? Ha! It is the one thing that drives me insane, even whilst texting! There is no need!

 

[Tinxy]

English is in fact my 3rd language and I despair at the abysmal use of the English language on this and many other forums. If you type a question in TXT SPK then sorry you are not going to get a reply from me - you couldn't be bothered to write a thought out paragraph, why should I?

Bad English is a bug bear - I can spot dyslexic writers a long way off (I know, because I have mild dyslexia and my cousin has very severe Dyslexia) and I have no issue with these posts at all - although spell check is free and I frequently use it myself

But "lazy" English just makes people look uneducated and dim - it's NOT cool, groovy or hip! STOP IT!

*deep breath*

 

[geeg]

English is in fact my 3rd language and I despair at the abysmal use of the English language on this and many other forums. If you type a question in TXT SPK then sorry you are not going to get a reply from me - you couldn't be bothered to write a thought out paragraph, why should I?

Bad English is a bug bear - I can spot dyslexic writers a long way off (I know, because I have mild dyslexia and my cousin has very severe Dyslexia) and I have no issue with these posts at all - although spell check is free and I frequently use it myself

But "lazy" English just makes people look uneducated and dim - it's NOT cool, groovy or hip! STOP IT!

*deep breath*

Writing in TEXT is also against the SalonGeek site rules so if you see it .. report it.

 

[JoJo1980]

Notice this thread had fallen back and I wanted to bump it back up. Totally on board xx

 

[topcuts]

Now, without sounding facebooky (and I agree with OP title and comment btw) how do I "like" a comment on here as I have seen people have "liked" something someone has said?

 

[izzidoll]

Now, without sounding facebooky (and I agree with OP title and comment btw) how do I "like" a comment on here as I have seen people have "liked" something someone has said?

click on the red heart on the bottom right o a post.
You can't if you are on the phone app though you neeed to be using a browser.

 

[Penners]

BIG BIG BUMP for this thread as the Hair side of salon geek is barely worth a look, a lot of the wisegeeks have disappeared and some new wise ones that joined have been chased off by those who should know better.
come on everyone, we can do better than this or it'll end up with questions asked by students - answered by students, and with the state of training these days - that's a recipe for much nonsense!!