General Forum

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Steve at Sounds Heavenly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:07:55 GMT

Ian:

The 'sponsors' of Beoword are: LifestyleAV, Struer Design, Sounds Heavenly and STB Brackets. Obviously we know that Lifestyle AV is owned/run by Lee Marriott, Struer Design is owned by John Marriott, and Sounds Heavenly is owned by Steve Marriott.

It looks less likely that 'only 1 business per genre can advertise', but more like that you need to be a member of the Marriott family to be allowed into the party. I also understand that whilst STB are not part of the Marriott family they are very close friends of Lee and not simply business partners.

How common is this knowledge on Beoword?

Thanks Ian, you've given me a giggle and brightened up my Monday morning! Seriously though, Medogsfat is quite right, I'm not related to Lee at LifeStyle or John at Struer Design (although spookily my Dad is also called John Marriott, but he drives ambulances for a living instead of making cabinets for B&O systems!)

One of my cable importers also shares my surname (again, unrelated) and last time I went on holiday, it appeared that someone had named a hotel after me...... I guess if I was called "Smith", I would be used to meeting other people with the same surname by now!

Anyway, back to the topic:- We've fed the trolls and normality is returning. Having read all the many viewpoints, I'm left with one overriding thought; If so many people are passionate about this forum, I think BeoWorld has a bright future ahead. To (mis)quote Harper Lee:-

The (forum) to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Dullen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:23:34 GMT

In my believes all the moderator is working to make Beoworld a pleasant and joyfull site, where members of all kind can help each other. And they are doing a splented job with the site

When I bring coffe to Martin or I just look over his shoulder, I can see and hear all the joy he gets from helping people with question or otherwise.

I know for a fact that he use a lot of spare time on this site, like all the other moderator! Thums up

Please end this thread before someones feellings is hurt or the Troll gets to must power

best regards to all members

Janeke

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

The_Beonic_Man — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:28:06 GMT

I think this thread is in need of some serious chill! Join me from 6-8pm at www.somervalleyfm.co.uk for 2 hours of relaxing music. Lay back, put your feet up and relax over a nice drink! Hey, if you've got kids then get them ready for my Redcoat Party set just after 7pm! Tune in!

Simon.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

j0hnbarker — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:37:22 GMT

Flappo The Grate:

i honestly don't see what the big dealio is all aboot this , the mods removed an image of a forthcoming product after the manufacturer requested it

Hi Flappo

The offical stance is that the manufacturer did not request it. They asked Lee to take a look at the image and talk to the OP about pulling it. There's a difference apparently.

Hope that's clear :)

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Flappo The Grate — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:45:38 GMT

i honestly don't see what the big dealio is all aboot this , the mods removed an image of a forthcoming product after the manufacturer requested it

it happens all the time on the apple sites

what would you rather they did - incur the wrath of the company they support ?

it's only a few weeks until the official launch , just be patient ! :)

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

tournedos — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:18:07 GMT

Puncher:

..................and here was me thinking Beoworld was just a fun place to visit, shoot the breeze and chat about B&O products (sometimes)! I never knew it was really the European Commission where hundreds upon hundreds of people debate and try to resolve issues that don't really matter in the real world!

Come on people - get a grip, it's a Hifi Fan site that was bought and saved by one of it's members - since then it has gone from strength to strength, it's membership has continued to grow, it is more professional than it's ever been and the site has never been as stable!

Puncher, this may have worked like a happy little family that mostly guides itself before, but as you say, the membership continues to grow. Soon there will be 12,000 members. According to studies I have conducted for 41½ years or so, about 1.79% of population are ar*eholes, and it doesn't correlate much with other demographics, either. This would mean that potentially there are over 200 of them here. Herding this crowd will require clear guidelines, and the moderators' workload will increase accordingly. It's nothing personal against them, just a fact of life. It will sometimes take a thick skin.

(since this thread seems to be taken much too seriously by some people, please note that I am not completely serious)

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Puncher — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:21:50 GMT

..................and here was me thinking Beoworld was just a fun place to visit, shoot the breeze and chat about B&O products (sometimes)! I never knew it was really the European Commission where hundreds upon hundreds of people debate and try to resolve issues that don't really matter in the real world!

Come on people - get a grip, it's a Hifi Fan site that was bought and saved by one of it's members - since then it has gone from strength to strength, it's membership has continued to grow, it is more professional than it's ever been and the site has never been as stable!

One second thoughts, you're right ........................... sack the Moderators and torch the site

I feel heartily sorry for Lee (especially) and the Moderating team - you spend your money and give your time for free .......................... for this, thanks everyone

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Medogsfat — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:31:26 GMT

Ian:

The 'sponsors' of Beoword are: LifestyleAV, Struer Design, Sounds Heavenly and STB Brackets. Obviously we know that Lifestyle AV is owned/run by Lee Marriott, Struer Design is owned by John Marriott, and Sounds Heavenly is owned by Steve Marriott.

It looks less likely that 'only 1 business per genre can advertise', but more like that you need to be a member of the Marriott family to be allowed into the party. I also understand that whilst STB are not part of the Marriott family they are very close friends of Lee and not simply business partners.

How common is this knowledge on Beoword?

Errr its a pity you didn't extend your research before dropping this "bombshell" a little further digging would have told you that Steve Marriot of Sounds Heavenly is no relation whatsoever to Lee....... They simply share the same name which is total coincidence.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

saf — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:36:30 GMT

I would, while hopefully constructively and briefly coming back to where it all started, add that even if B&O asked to remove something from this site the site doesn’t become less ‘independent’ by simply and promptly stating eg:

B&O told us to remove an image and gave their reason for this (which could be also specified/quoted if needed)– we respect that and did so.

(If they don’t ask, then stating the reason is even more straight forward.)

If something like that takes place between two – essentially interdependent - parties like B&O and Beoworld who both regard their external communication dearly as they (obviously) stand on high moral grounds it can only foster good relationship and mutual respect. It’s also commonly called decency…

For the indecent ones a decent place will never be attractive in the long run, anyway.

(Quite possibly Svend Peter threads will be shorter, too. Though I read this one with interest. )

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

jk1002 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:13:05 GMT

Can we get this locked. Please.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

jk1002 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:12:35 GMT

I wouldn't think it matters to members, at least it doesn't to me. The advertising is so in obstructive I couldn't even list all sponsors if I had to at gun point.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Ian — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:06:02 GMT

The 'sponsors' of Beoword are: LifestyleAV, Struer Design, Sounds Heavenly and STB Brackets. Obviously we know that Lifestyle AV is owned/run by Lee Marriott, Struer Design is owned by John Marriott, and Sounds Heavenly is owned by Steve Marriott.

It looks less likely that 'only 1 business per genre can advertise', but more like that you need to be a member of the Marriott family to be allowed into the party. I also understand that whilst STB are not part of the Marriott family they are very close friends of Lee and not simply business partners.

How common is this knowledge on Beoword?

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

PhilLondon — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:28:39 GMT

Thanks again Lee for all you're doing for the site, and even if I have voiced certain differences, I fully appreciate your efforts.

Well targeted advertising can be valuable information for the reader.

It could tell me where to find cheap B&O stuff, cables, non B&O devices that are Beo4 compatible, IR converters, software, Beoliving installers, etc... which is the information I am likely to be looking for when I am coming to this site anyway.

Advertising does not have to be intrusive. The top banner could be a rotating banner, changing every time you load a page (you are lucky that this is a site where you are likely to stay and read several pages). It can be location dependent and an australian reseller advert could appear only to australian readers - making it more relevant.

A larger number of sponsors/advertiser is also making Beoworld less (financially) dependant on any of them.

I would welcome more B&O related advertisers, and would have no problem with other type of advertisement for products for which we would be perceived as relevant target (hotels, travel, electronic products, lifestyle magazines...), as long as they are not more intrusive that the current banners.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Calvin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:09:19 GMT

I think that the major problem (unfortunately a good one) is that the site now has such a large number of people viewing it that it inevitably requires a commercial slant to it. Hosting isn't free, this sis the same of any site. In this instance, one main form of revenue is advertising and to be honest, given the amount of work and effort (and money) Lee has put into it, he's welcome to advertise lifestyle as much as he feels is necessary unless anyone is willing to stump up the cash. Certainly, as has been said, B&O themselves are hesitant to be seen to sponsor a separate fan-site. Similarly, given the number of posts Peter has (7611 currently) I think that the pretty much unrivaled dedication to the site he's given should rightfully give him a larger say than many of us as to how the place is run.

Much as I don't really post too often, I do visit the forum every few days and have done for about 5-6 years, dating back to the "old-old" site. In that time, I can't really fault the management and to be honest, I don't think it's any more commercial than it used to be. Yes there are people that are secret dealers and promoting an agenda but yes there are others with criticisms and we do get proper debates going, that's what it's all about. If all we got was a string of praise then we wouldn't keep visiting, same if it was just complaints, and surely this current debate (6 pages) is enough to show that opinions are welcomed by the community and the management, whether agreed with or otherwise.

Overall, I get the impression that the moderating seems to be legitimate and reasonable. I'm really glad that we don't see swearing or adverts everywhere yet we still get debate - that's actually really saying such a lot for a website these days - and I welcome it immensely. At the end of the day, unless someone wants to stump up a bucket of money and time to running something better (offers?) then we should really just respect the work that's done and say thanks for the collective effort.

Re: How independent is Beoworld?

Electrified — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:30:04 GMT

Sheesh, Lee, that was an even longer post than I'd be able to write. And I like to write :)

Excellent post, that one. That post ought to address most of the concerns (again, real or imagined) posted here.

This tidbit had me laughing out loud, though:

9 LEE:
. The most recent being the BeoCom 5 image, which they actually slapped their foreheads over for being so slack as to put it in the background of a different product