Positive Yarn

Online handcrafted retail giant Etsy.com was a focus of an article today in the New York Times ("Hobbyists Use Etsy to Trade Day Job for Hard Work"). As someone who quit an office job for the trifecta of being home for the kids/being my own boss/setting my own hours, I can sympathize with many of those interviewed for the story — the sometimes 18-hour days, the challenge of work/life balance. I can also see the critics’ point that the whole quitting-a-day-job-and-livin’-the-dream scenario is more fantasy than fact for the majority of crafters on the site, and to promise them anything that gets their hopes up without arming them with some major small business knowledge is simply cruel.

I am curious, however, about what my readers think of Etsy (and similar sites like Indiepublic and American Craft Guide Community, all three of which I actually belong to, but am not very active in). Is it something that your customers love to discuss, or even buy or sell from? Is it something that you use yourself, to unload old inventory, to buy great deals on supplies, to sell your own creative offerings or just to peruse to get ideas and inspiration? Is it passe at this point, or even something that has never really touched you or your customers? Please let me know by dropping me a line in the comments below or email positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

And in case you haven’t seen it yet, check out Regretsy.com, the site that cheekily rounds up the somewhat eccentric (and let me warn you, often mature content) items available on Etsy. It is quick to point out that art is subjective, and that it’s just having a good time poking fun at some of the more offbeat offerings (and perhaps justifiably so, copyright infringement!). There is even a page that shows items that people have purchased from the respective shop owners as a result, lending credence to the old adage there is no such thing as bad publicity. Unless, of course, you’re a respected sports figure…

The New York Times’ decision to add a “social editor” this week to the masthead is being watched with interest by many in the media (Click here for an interesting open letter to the newly promoted editor, Jennifer Preston, from a columnist at The Washington Post). In a way, it cements the idea that social media phenomenons like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are not going away — even when we may tire of them. Their popularity may wax and wane, but they will likely find their eventual, respective footings in ways we couldn’t even imagine today.

For many, though, the issue is that social media outlets allow almost too much information out there, with limited filters. As David Houle, author of future-examining book The Shift Age, puts it for all these newly breaking technologies in general, it’s “as though we’re drinking from a fire hose.” So how does one hold back the flow? By having a set strategy of goals to meet with your efforts.

From a business perspective, check out this column from G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Viton in BusinessWeek: The Smart Way to Tap Social Media. It quotes the authors’ corporate digital integration manager, Nicholas Kinports, as saying “It isn’t about making content go viral — though that would be a wonderful byproduct, should it happen — or creating the next great Facebook application. It’s about structuring, and in some cases restructuring, how a business views and interacts with its customer base. The modern consumer is savvy, aware, and fully able to make informed decisions, thanks to a wealth of information freely available on the Internet. The consumer of the near future will make purchase decisions based on information gleaned from unbiased peers and influencers. Social media is the latest tool through which these interactions occur.”

What’s your approach to this branch of marketing? Are you a dabbler or a master, as Maddock and Viton might ask? What do you find works, and what do you find turns you — or your customers — completely off? Comment below or email me at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.