Aug
Today I handed back the Forgotten Felines site. I closed the Facebook group. And I deleted the twitter account.
I’m sad about this. I’m sad that I gave 9 months to a charity, countless hours, a ridiculous amount of design work and today I had to make the decision that this project wasn’t worth my time or energy.
There are only a few things that will provoke me into leaving a project. And in this case, it was not seeing eye to eye with my client.
The Forgotten Felines co-ordinator, as nice a lady as she was, didn’t want to know about any of the “21st century” technology. She said that it wasn’t where Forgotten Felines “was going”, and they “didn’t want a bar of it”. By 21st century technology, she meant a twitter account, a facebook group, and a paypal account. All technologies that are years old and have been in use by other charities for a long, long time. I thought Forgotten Felines SHOULD go in that direction. Reach new people in new ways. Because in a few years it was those people, the twitter users and facebook people that were going to be adopting our kittens. And if we’re spreading awareness, you can never have too many channels of communication.
In my point of view, If a site I’m the web master of isn’t going to be used as a tool to acheive pretty specific objectives, there is no point. If they aren’t going to take advantage of new technology and tools that are available to them? They are stagnating. In this case, I think it’s simply because the change happened too quickly. The tools were too unfamiliar. Too new.
But the resulting fall out wasn’t worth it. The website could be taken in wonderful new directions, use new tools to bring awareness, widgets to bring in donations, adverts to get kittens adopted. But unfortunately it won’t. Where I saw the potential, the Forgotten Felines co-ordinator saw otherwise.
So, enough.
Still, I’m sad. Because I LIKED this charity. I believed that I was helping a wonderful cause, a group of people that WANTED to help where they could. I liked that we were placing what were once wild cats into homes. And I wanted to do more, raise more funds, reach more people. And I used social networking tools to do that. And I am sad. Because the social networking tools were working: we reached more people and directed them to the site in a week than we did the weeks before.
If you can’t see eye to eye with your client, then it’s not worth it.
So today, I said enough.
Posted in: RL
I’m sorry about this.
Something similar happened to me when I was doing webdesign a few years ago. A client put the design/site in my hands, then hated anything I did. You can’t work like that. It’s just too bad they can’t recognize the good you were trying to do.
So sad. :( But big *hugs* for better projects in the future! :)
Cheers to you for knowing when to let something go. That’s something most people don’t have.
@Abby – Yeah, their loss I think. Still, it was better I left now when the direction they wanted to head in was only just becoming clear, rather than 6 months from now all miserable and upset. Cheers for your comment, hey :)
@Liz – ♥! Hell YES better projects in the future, Sinter will carry us on :)
@Stephanie – Thanks chicka, I’m glad I knew when to say when. Better now than when things are worse . :)
ooo im really sorry about this… :-( –> hugs
and..i live 20 min from Paris so it’s quite nice to play tourist once in a while :-)
Awww, it sounds like you really did hit the right time to say enough. It’s hard to see something that you care for like that go, especially if it wasn’t all your choice. You made a decision that’s hard for most people to do, and there’ll probably be a day where they’ll understand the awareness you were trying to bring to the organization. :)
~Tabitha
Oh I’m so sorry! How disappointing. But it’s for the best- some of these not for profits are really someone’s pet project and they want things done their way, not the way they would examine closer if it was a for profit. It drives me crazy.
@Mo – wow! That’s so awesome you live so close to Paris! Lucky! :)
@Tabitha – I hope so, but I don’t think they ever will. They aren’t familiar with the tools and would rather say ‘no’ straight up than see the good they can bring. It’s a very narrow-minded way of thinking, and I think its best that I just get out of the way and let them hamstring themselves . . .
@Kyla – Thanks chick. You’re totally right about it being a ‘pet’ project rather than treated a like a business – it drives me crazy too! But what can you do, really? It was better that I left, I think. :) Thanks for your comment, hey!
Ugh, that had to be such a tough decision. I get it that some people just don’t understand social networking and other tools, but the smart ones allow those who do understand it to work their magic to make those tools sing. I hope you will find something else that is more in line with the talent and passion you have to give. I admire all you do.