I am just learning about the cliques. Some members of Quirky have been here for a while and probably have naturally gotten to know each other. However, others are part of the unofficial Facebook group. They pimp their ideas there and then vote for each others ideas. That is pretty much the only place that you can pimp your ideas and actually get them seen. The pimping zone here is in my opinion useless. No one looks at it. Unfortunately, after visiting the Unofficial Facebook group for the first time, I have decided not to return to it. I do not like what goes on there. It pretty much is one big clique. Sme members of Quirky might disagree. Afterall, I am just a newbie.

I just want to add that there are plenty of nice members who are part of the unofficial Facebook group. I don't want you to interpret my post as saying they are bad people. I am just explaining why you see so many products getting votes by the same people. A lot of these members are part of the unofficial Facebook group. Hopefully, that makes sense.

PensiveIntrovert & ABCreations:
Check out this link:
http://www.quirky.com/forums/topic/8385

Just for some transparency, I participate in the facebook groups a bit. I have 4 active ideas and my vote totals are 18, 61, 150, 86.

I can only speak for myself but I don't vote for every idea, and not everyone votes for my ideas. If anyone is interested in joining, they are open to all.

Besides that, if someone comments or messages me about my idea, you bet your ass I'm going to look at their profile, and see if I like or have anything to add to any of their ideas. Why shouldn't I?

You are not permitted to talk about your ideas here so people went to facebook. I suggest you do too so you can get support. It is open to anyone.

"good job" and "wow" are not nonsense remarks. They are acknowledgments. I leave those comments all the time if I have nothing to add to an idea and the idea looks really well thought out.

I too leave "Good Job" and "Wow"..."Cool" etc. I love getting a compliment on my idea! I don't see anything wrong with leaving those words...better than - this sucks! ;-)

_

The problem is not talking about one's idea. Facebook is well known for its ability to create "flash mobs," either for political reasons or for crime sprees. "Flash mob" voting is the problem here. Marshaling votes through Facebook distorts the process. When someone states "I voted for your idea." there is a bit of pressure on then to reciprocate. Why not just vote and say NOTHING about it? One can just say "I like your idea, because ..." but people make certain to say they voted, why? It cannot be checked anyway! The only reason to say it, is because they expect you to reciprocate.

It would be nice if they added a new forum tab for talking about and collaborating on ideas. Each person could have a thread for example the Debra Courtenay thread or MichelleB thread where people could go to check out their latest ideas and chat.

I agree with mark and see what you are saying PensiveIntrovet! That makes sense...you are saying sort of - I will vote for you ---you vote for me.

Marc that would be a nice piece of functionality but would it be better to have it as individual areas somehow? As a forum topic, I'm imagining the depressing prospect of a parade of stars always rising to the top again discouraging comments for the rest of us.

dbl post

PensiveIntrovert:

Perhaps you should change your name to PensiveExtrovert? heh heh

I am new to Quirky. On a couple of occasions, after I voted for an ideation, and then looked at my "Latest Activity", I noticed that my Vote was not listed there, so I wanted to be sure to have a record of it, hence me saying "I voted" in comments. It has absolutely nothing to do with expecting reciprocal votes. Don't forget that there are many on Quirky who have not submitted an ideation, yet comment and vote. Quirky could solve the problem if they informed the Ideator who actually voted for their product by member name. I would be more peeved about people putting their own ideation links in someone else's ideation. That, to me, smells of the "I voted for you, now you vote for me" mentality.

I agree with Elle and Debra above - there are many times I can't think of something to add, but just want to acknowledge to the ideator that I think their ideation is a good one. I believe in giving "strokes" - which is also a great thing to do with children. So many times parents only tell children what they have done wrong, not mentioning the good things they have done. Sadly, many employers do not give strokes either - if they did, I bet retention rate would be higher as well as morale. Too many people suffer from low self-esteem, why not tell them when they have done a good job?

There are also times when I DO write something that I think could be beneficial to the ideation or a reason why I would not be interested in buying their product. I have been chastised for leaving "negative" comments, which I believe to be corrective criticism. Many people become defensive and simply can not accept corrective criticism, which is not a good thing when you are in a social setting that is built around collaborating.

I am not going to tell someone I think their ideation is terrific if I do not actually believe that.

That's just how I roll. :D

If you want to offer positive or negative "stroking" you need to explain why. Otherwise, how can the genius in question know how to improve it further? You may think it is great because it is simple, but the author may think it is great because it is red. "Negative" comments with an associated analysis are far more valuable than positive comments with or without analysis. The market is a lot more unforgiving and the thin skinned inventors better learn to deal with it. If you continue telling a person who is fat that he or she is pleasingly plump, this person is bound to become morbidly obese.