How about some new music?

[DanielC]

sounds great

[Michael-K73]

Hey there Tim 🙂 We don’t share music anymore. The forum changed focus to:

“In addition to the physical change of the forums, our forum philosophy is perhaps the most important thing to note. We’ve changed this from “a place to connect and chat with other guitar geeks” to “a place to share wins, get unstuck, or to see how others use the TAC Method.”

This means that rather than being an unfocused gathering place for any and all discussion, we’re making a bold move to only support discussions directly related to sharing performances, small wins and getting emotional support for your guitar journey challenges.”

[TimK1]

Thanks @Michael-K73…had bothered to read all the changes but thank you for providing this.

I think I’m agreeing with Loraine that there was a suitable spot to discuss what you wanted to related to music and acoustic guitar in the previous iteration of the forums. Perhaps the powers-that-be will consider an extra forum at some point.

Thank you!

Tim

[Michael-K73]

I hated pointing it out. I like music shares.

Sorry 🙁

[Derrick]

This literally breaks my heart.

I work at Microsoft. For most of the company’s existence, Microsoft tried to dictate to customers how customers should use its products. Creating features that nobody wanted (remember Clippy?), forcing partners to do our way or take the highway. After all, nobody’s gonna want a smart phone, right? We all know how well that worked out for Microsoft.

Microsoft learned the fundamental lesson of the marketplace the hard way: the customer will tell what they want from your product, if you listen. For the past seven years, customer centricity, always listening for and soliciting the voice of the customer, has been at the heart of what Microsoft does. Everything revolves around what the customer wants and uncovering how consumers actually use our products at Microsoft. The results don’t lie: the company went from being a tech afterthought in the 2000s to now being the second most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of $1.75 trillion (yes, trillion).

So far, certain aspects of the transition to the new site feels very “old Microsoft” to me. Any one else having flashbacks to the Windows 8 rollout? 😂 No? Just me?

It feels like the good folks at TAC heard a few things from us (“simplicity”, “more intuitive navigation”) and went immediately into solution mode. It seems they took the telemetry data on site usage at face value, without fully fleshing out the context of customer behavior (the “why” behind the data and the “how” TAC’s lessons are used in the real world, outside of how they were intended to be used).

For example, Levi replied on a different thread that only a tiny percentage of folks bothered to download the video for each day’s lesson. Meanwhile, the folks at TAC were often fielding lots technical support questions related to downloading the lessons. So it seems logical to disable downloads, and get rid of a constant source of technical questions. But I wonder if the real reason for the low download numbers was a tautological one: once the lesson was downloaded, there was no need to download it again. For me (and others), I have been through the lesson cycle several times, and downloaded all of the lessons, I almost always work on the lessons offline, logging on only to check the “complete” box. There’s no way the telemetry data could capture this insight. Now, this way of doing the TAC lessons can’t be done in the new site. The new site forces you to use TAC in a prescribed way. Very “old Microsoft”, right?

A critical step in the management of this site change was missed: the customers (us) weren’t brought along with the change in a meaningful, collaborative way. The change wasn’t co-created with us. Transitioning the philosophy of the forums to a narrower set of topics would feel more natural had the topics been part of the previous forum site, and folks got a chance to test out how the new forum philosophy would work, within the context of the old forums.

In my (extensive, 20+ years) experience managing people change efforts in both business and recreational contexts (often involving tens of thousands of people), the most vital piece of advice is this: you can’t dictate how folks are supposed to interact with your product or organization. When change happens a third of folks will just go with the flow, a third will try to recreate what they had before within the new context, and a third will vote with their feet. And when those who try to recreate what they had before get frustrated that they can’t, a good portion of them will vote with their feet.

It’s early days in the site transition. To be fair, there’s a lot the folks at TAC got right. But there are three, glaring missteps in managing the “people” part of the change that could undermine the whole thing. That we weren’t brought along with the forum philosophy change is one of them. It has the potential to undermine the transition, and turn the forums into a glorified “show and tell” space, losing most of what gave the TAC forums its vibrancy, spontaneity and sense of community connection. The new forum philosophy feels like we only get to talk about “work” (performances, sharing your “TAC routine”) and less about “play” (sharing new music, geeking out on gear).

I have to ask, does anybody else think it’s odd to have a forum topic to talk about your “TAC routine” when so much of the flexibility in hacking your TAC routine that existed in the old site no longer exists in the new site?

I sure hope my experience of what derails changes like this does not come to pass. The point of change management is to make the change feel like a natural evolution of things, and less like ripping the band-aid off. Ripping the band-aid breaks trust. No amount of cheerleading and pleas of “just give us a chance” can fix that.

[Mike56]

Bravo @derrick. I was trying to figure out how to voice very similar feelings and you nailed it with this post. The example I was thinking of was Windows Vista instead of Windows 8 but otherwise everything you wrote really captures my feelings too.

[Beatrice]

🙌 👍. well said Derrick

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Beatrice.

[Loraine]

Agree wholeheartedly @Derrick .

[Guy_H]

Very well stated as always Derrick. For me there was great value in technique discussions of which you made some great contributions. Tech stuff. As well as sharing music. The community page had a lot of value for me.

[drdldr]

How do the “Lifers” vote with their feet???

[AttyTJ]

Good question @drdldr, I hope you find an answer that tells you that you do not need to do so.

[RC60]

I couldn’t agree with you more Derrick!!

[polarpeak75]

@Derrick – Thank you for your great post – I like your Windows 8 comparison (I was thinking New Coke).

It does seem that some of the great stickiness of TAC has been left behind, let’s hope that the TAC Team is reading and taking these comments into account as it plans TAC version 2.1

There is one thing that is surprising to me and that is the loss of the previous forums. It is best practice in IT projects to take a backup or copy of the current system, so that if there are any problems, you can “roll back” to the original system. I wonder if there is a Back Up copy of the old Forums that could be brought into the new TAC.

I found the old forums to be excellent sources of information. For example, instead of asking a question, I’d search the forums looking for a previous post and the answers. Then I would bookmark those answers on my computer, to help me. I miss that already.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  polarpeak75.

[TimK1]

Thank you @Derrick …I appreciate your perspective and thoughts very much! I am hoping TAC will reconsider some of the changes to the forums. There are probably some ways that things could have been improved…at the moment, I’m not appreciating the new vision for the forums.

[Maydog]

One of the really nice things about the TAC community was the community aspect. It had a nice vibe and I loved logging in to see who was having a NGD, who was selling a guitar, who wrote a new song, who found a new artist for us to check out, etc. One of my favorites was @Ricky K’s “Bearded Baby Banter Thread” that was just about as random as could be.

Most forums that I have frequented in the past were a pale comparison to what we had here at TAC. In my experience, it is rare to find a forum without political arguments, without criticism, without grouchy scolds that like to correct everyone. It’s @Tony P’s site and he can run it however he wants, but I would feel like I lost something special if the site stays as it is today.

[TimK1]

I’m with you @Maydog …I really liked the variety of what could be discussed in the forums in the previous version of the site.

[AttyTJ]

Oh, so there. Just the mention of 8 bring back memories I didn’t want to keep.

I agree with you @Derrick , and thanks

[Brian_P]

As ever @Derrick you have struck the nail firmly on the head. The community was what made TAC a great place to be and we are in danger of losing that.

Several of us who were mentors with a huge amount of combined systems experience offered to try to break the beta version before it was unleashed on an unsuspecting customer base.

Hey, what do I know, 40 plus years of systems experience so I’m not surprised. I’m sorry to have taken so long to read and respond to your comment but I find the new forum so slow and replies so non-intuitive that I have had better things to do than spend all day on here.

Sorry to be negative.

[Markb]

Very well stated Derrick! You and @Lorraine and others are seemingly all in agreement/stating what many of us are feeling. I had a lot of experience in a organization doing system migrations and you nailed a lot of my thoughts. Really hope it gets heard in the positive enriching way it was meant.

[Bluseyruss]

Well done, I hardly log in anymore myself. I like the practice and the song lessons but the community is the deal…

[David_Leo]

Great insights!!

[Loraine]

Nice artist find Tim.

Michael, agree with your assessment, and I’m not sure I agree with the change. Forums typically are for the members, and therefore, if they choose to treat it as a social interaction and support group for all things acoustic, then I think they should be given a user friendly platform to do so. The forums were my main reason for becoming a lifetime member months back, and I would prefer it revert back to tthe previous version or something similar. At least we could see which messages were newer, from new players, had a follow on conversation, we could respond with likes, direct comments to specific people, and so much more.

[Rod]

Thanks for sharing the song Michael.

<font face=”inherit”>Loraine, I concur about the changes. I’ve only been a member since January but I already feel like the community portion of TAC is not going </font>to be the same, and I was really<font face=”inherit”> liking it. </font>

[Derrick]

100% agree, @Loraine . I’m hoping the good folks running TAC are open to hearing that something significant has been jettisoned in the transition to this new forum philosophy. A big aspect of what differentiates TAC from other guitar learning sites is the community building that happened in the old forum.

[DavidScoggins]

I couldn’t agree more, Derrick. So much so I was going to post a reply that the interaction in the community was what made TAC preferable to other sites. Then I read your comment. The new look seems very sterile a and less conducive to chat and building relationships with people.

If I were to make one change to TAC it would be have new daily lessons. That doesn’t mean everyone of them has be new, but more than the occasional week’s worth based on a theme. This is in fact a point I’ve raised previously, but doesn’t appear to have been addresses with the nee version.

[drdldr]

Yes….strongly agree…new lessons!! Six times over is enough already. We can show our displeasure by using our feet…..but what about the “ Lifers” ???

[Beatrice]

i recently became a lifer too, and like you it was the forum that tilted the scale to make that decision… i hope the new forum will improve over time and become the connecting place it used to be…. 😐

[TimK1]

Thanks @Loraine …glad you liked this! I was in desperate need of some new music this week…just another looong week in a year of loooong weeks thanks to the pandemic. Without access to TAC for a few days, I found myself really floundering.

[AttyTJ]

O.K. the nameless one (me) thinks, (wait, breath in, breath out, turn on the irony meter), ironically, what you supplied @Tim K1, is exactly what I needed. And in addition, she is really good.

If @michael-k73 was being serious, then we need to learn from his repost of Ton’y’s comment, and strive to carve out a niche somewhere in here (or in the other world of e-Mail connections that the Jam Clubs have been relegated to), and if, as my meter tells me, he is being more ironic, then, well, Wolverines have a high intelligence, and a great it a sense of ironic humor. (Note, same guy who used to give us Sunday Funnies)

FWIIW

@t-j-colo

[TimK1]

Thanks @T-J-Colo …glad you liked this one!

[Mike56]

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Mike56.

[Cowboy48]

Great song! Thanks

[TimK1]

Glad you enjoyed this @Cowboy48!

[Kristin1]

I agree with you all. BJ Fogg states in his book “Tiny Habits” that motivation is a crucial factor when it comes to making changes. The forum motivated me to reflect on a lot of guitar related questions. For example:

– just one guitar or more guitars?

– Which size? Which brand? Which sound?

– storage in case or hanging on the wall?

– where are public places ( with few bypassers) to play outside?

(inspired by the Mark Lindemann TRUMPET video)

– what about humidity?

Some answers lead to small changes, which added up and multiplied to big changes. One answer even enabled me to install a rock solid 7-day-a-week guitar practice. The forum offered me many prompts ( as BJ Fogg would call them) to improve as a guitar player. I guess others made similar experiences.

I believe there are other ways to improve as a guitar player than daily pratice and skill courses – allthough these are the most essential for sure. I am gratefull that the tac forum offered me so much inspiration, prompts and motivation for my guitar journey till now – and hope that tac will expand it´s focus a little bit in that direction again in the future.

[Larry-Mc]

@TimK1 Thanks for sharing I really liked this young man. I found the lyrics and cords on Ultimate Guitar going to add this to my learn it list.

[TimK1]

Thanks @Larry-Mc …his use of hammer-ons caught my attention. I listened to a number of his songs and these videos are quite handy since they show his left hand so clearly! Time to ‘borrow’ some ideas 😉

[DavidScoggins]

@TimK1 for sharing the music. After my rant I got round to giving it a listen and am glad that I did.

Cheers

[TimK1]

Glad you liked this @DavidScoggins !

[Kristin1]

@TimK1 I forgot to say thanks for sharing! Unlike the others I´m more interested in the Martin X-series guitar than the guitar player. The guitar sounded so much better than a quite similar x-Model I tried out before corona to broaden my horizon.

I guess I try an X-Modell out once more when the music shops in Germany open again. You motivated me to do one more step to playing comfortably in public👍. Thanks für that as well!

[TimK1]

Bitte sehr @Kristin1 …I was struck (and surprised) by the woody tone from his guitar. I think it’s a great tone that is well suited for his style of playing.

[AttyTJ]

Trying to be positive, here:

Accepting that the new philosophy of what we get in the forums are more restricted and more driven by 1 underlying focus, rather than the discrete lines of learning and request of those thousand? or so who post and respond, how do we (the 1/3 @Derrick spoke of who try to recreate) recreate?

I am trying not to face the potential loss of my guitar friends who provide so much support and are responsible for my progressing because of the forums, voting “with their feet.” as that will lesson my joy in this process.

FWIIW

[DanJG]

Why not just post what you want to post? Everything seems to just get thrown into the general message bin anyway! What’s the most they can do? Delete it? That would only give impetus to using your feet!

[KathyCP99]

Love the song @TimK1, thanks for posting it. And I agree with all the comments above – I too am a lifer, and the reason I became one was because I found the TAC community so supportive and such fun – looks like those are the aspects that have been severely curtailed in the ‘new’ look. And as a TAC community member, I really object to being told which guitar and music-related topics are suitable for me to talk about with other TAC members – where’s the fun or learning in that?

[Marty73]

I just want to know… Where are all of our posted videos? Are they gone? Should we re post some of them? Don’t know what to do or where to go. Also, when we read post in “Small Win” etc. Why can’t we mark it as read or not. I keep going back to something I already read or responded to. It gets frustrating at times. It’s like Easter Egg Hunting! Just my 2 cents. 🧐😎

[AttyTJ]

Good question @martin. If you did what TAC admin asked last summer, they are on YouTube under your control. If not, I believe you can still find them and download them on the OLD Forum pages where you posted them in the first place. tac.tonypolecastro.com is the address for the old forums

(it may make you log in, to the New Site, and if so, log in, then move to the above address.)

[the-old-coach]

I’m a 70-day newbie, and LOVED the old TAC forum setup– but am not any kind of computer/tech person, so I really don’t know any difference. I know it’s “new”, and I have zero technical knowledge about it, but the former version just seemed easier and friendlier somehow, and when your just starting out, having that comfortable place to go is REALLY valuable.

I also hope that the “Get Unstuck” area doesn’t get to the point of being a place to post EVERYTHING- because that would have the effect of watering-down the basic point and ability of getting something unstuck.

There is a huge difference between having a QUESTION- (remember- we are all learning(!)– and having a PROBLEM- (getting unstuck). I am afraid “Get Unstuck will just become a catch-all. There goes any “efficiency” the new setup was supposed to bring…………

Learning IS about questions, advice, and hints/tips.

I hope the new Forum doesn’t leave that general philosophy in the dust.

Thanks– Mark J

[Michelle-PSL]

I agree 100% @Derrick ! I wish there was a beta testing of the most frequent users before moving to the new platform. Perhaps there was, but I don’t see evidence of it. I feel as though some of the really great stuff from the old site and our wonderful interactive community was left behind and not captured and brought into this one. I, for one, have a bit of a rebellious nature, and don’t like the be told what is or is not allowed, especially when it is something that does no harm, and is welcomed by others. I am also befuddled about that Tac Routine section. I see there are finally some posts there, but it might just be because nature abhors a vacuum, and someone decided to put something there. I haven’t had the inclination to even check it out. I would have MUCH preferred a Share the Music, or Jams & Open Mics section instead. That was more in line with what was being shared in the community before.

And, by the way, Thank you @TimK1 for sharing this new young artist. He is awesome!

[DavidScoggins]

Indeed @Michelle_in_PSL , the share your routine forum feels like nothing more than self-promotion for the TAC approach, which frankly for paid-up members is pointless and in no way fun.

[TimK1]

Thanks @Michelle_in_PSL …glad you enjoyed the tune!