Social Media Companies and Referral Networks
We have been getting several “referrals” lately from companies that make a living doing so. They attempt to capture requests and route them to the correct vendor. The problems is that they are using algorithms that miss the subtleties of what is in the mind of the searcher. Algorithms are beginning to dominate our online world as companies seek to take you, the human, out of the equation and substitute their algorithm that is tied into a revenue model. The reality is that these systems can waste your time and misdirect your search away from the broad choices that are out there and into their own little world. This is happening all the time now and you should be aware of it and you should fight to maintain your independence.
Recently I got one from bark.com looking for a wedding photographer to shoot an event in Falmouth. That was pretty far off the mark as we aren’t photographers and we are physically located in Edgartown on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, 8 miles and a long swim from Falmouth.
The take-away is that it is better to do your own research and your own searching (Google, Bing, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go etc.) to find locations and venues. You will get better results and save time. When I search I make a notepad of all of the people I ask about and their phone, email and website. I often use the phone as I find that not everyone is great with email. This is especially true of inline inquiry forms where most companies never even go into them. There is just so much email these days that it is almost impossible to keep up with it.
This is what I wrote to them:
‘We are getting some inquiries from you that are not relevant.
First – we are located on Martha’s Vineyard island. We can’t really do anything for any inquiries that are not relevant to this geological location.
We are in Edgartown and near Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, Chappaquiddick, West Tisbury. We are a bit further from Chilmark and Aquinnah (Gay Head).
We are not wedding photographers. We are a physical location where we often have wedding parties stay. We also occasionally have small weddings.
We are very good for smaller family weddings (30 or so) but can handle events of up to 150 people at an additional charge.
We normally do lodging and then add an event. We rarely do just the event although I could quote on that. Pricing for all of this is explained on our website.
Please view our house website where you can see all about the home and our calendar and rates.
https://www.captainmorsehouse.com
The rate for a stay is quoted once we confirm your actual dates and the number of house guests.
We take pride in customizing your rates and dates to give you the best possible experience at our lovely home. So that we can give you the very best possible service please reply back to this email. You can also call us at 401-575-0328
The Captain Morse House is located on the corner of Edgartown’s North Water and Morse Streets. The Captain Morse House is arguably one of the finest examples of a Whaling Captain’s home in New England. Captain John O. Morse built the house in the Greek Revival style in 1840 and his whaling ships at the foot of Morse Street at what is now called the Edgartown North Wharf. You can walk down Morse Street to the wharf any time of day and take in the harbor views. See the history link on our website for more information on the fascinating life of Captain John O. Morse.
Since 2008 we have rented out the Captain Morse House to families, groups of friends, companies, civic organizations and wedding parties. The home is in a perfect location; just a few blocks from the center of town and yet an easy walk to several local beaches. We strive to maintain the Captain Morse House as one of the island’s premier properties.
Thanks for considering the Captain Morse House. I look forward to hearing back from you.”
Yours Sincerely,
Platt
Norman Platt Johnson
401-575-0328 -Cell
888-278-0327
The Captain Morse House
www.captainmorsehouse.com
80 North Water Street #34
Edgartown, MA 02539
Office
VCJ Property, LLC
220 MacFarlane Drive #902S
Delray Beach, FL 33483