Did you notice when you logged onto the internet today and typed in Agragape.com as the page loaded something unexpected didn’t happen? I guess it would be more correct to say “something expected” didn’t happen.
One of my favorite things about going to Guatemala is the Airport. It’s not really the airport itself I love as it is the moment the doors slide open, and I step out of the building and get my first deep breath of diesel mixed with the 70 degrees of pure happiness shot straight up my nasal cavity.
There are some moments in life that I want to be completely present in. These moments are so unique, dare I say, so life-altering and affirming I want nothing to distract me from this place or this moment in time.
The door slides open. I exhale deeply in preparation for my favorite moment. I step out the door and breathe in. I begin to feel my stress leak out of my shoulders and fall off of my spine, just as I am about to complete my moment… the onslaught of people asking me to buy trinkets and nicknacks begins. My moment is gone. I’m not angry at them. I don’t even mind being asked about a shoeshine for my sneakers. One thing I love about Guat is the people. I actually like those specific interactions with them. I do still find myself a bit sad having lost part of my moment. The feeling that I am only seen as a means to monetary gain not only robs me of my moment, it sours the experience of getting to know these people.
The first few moments of my adventure are soured.
You’re right! That is exactly what you noticed was missing when you typed in Agragape and slapped that enter button. You got your nose full of Diesel and Happiness, but gone was the immediate assault of a pop-up asking you to get a newsletter.
A random quora user sent me a message today. They may not have used the exact words, but they certainly did tell me I was ruining everyone’s first step out of the airport and into their favorite place in the world. I cried for a bit. There was grinding and gnashing of teeth. It culminated in the slapping of keys until Mailchimp and WordPress chose to be agreeable with my new Champion of the Interwebs from Quora and make my “newsletter” subscribe pop up way less obtrusive in your Agragape experience.
I like it when the internet is a beautiful place to be.
Feel free to enjoy our nifty little conversation. I’ll stick it in this post. When you are done, drop us a comment and jump onto that “way less obtrusive” email list at the bottom of this page.
From The Internet…
Just wanted to say, you’d get a ton more people interested in Agragape if they could examine its worth for 5 whole minutes w/o being aggressively accosted with a demand to give one’s email address first (directly implying the site won’t hold up to scrutiny). You give witty, interesting answers, so I tried to check it out, but the apparent lack of integrity just mentioned, precluded further consideration. I would not be alone.
A Response to The Internet…
Oh, dear Internet, it’s amazing the emotions a few taps on a screen, or a keyboard can cause to swell within those targeted by the words spewing forth.
An often rare emotion invoked is thankfulness. It Is what I feel for the legit and excellent feedback you gave. It should have been, but was not, something I had actually considered.
I appreciate the reach out. The helpful instead of the hateful approach is excessively reassuring. It appears the complete self-involved moral depravity of the internet-enabled human race has been, at the very least, slightly overstated.
When it is found within your heart to forgive us and try again to peruse our digital domicile, or perhaps your short term memory fades, and the recollections of our oppressive email grab has faded, and you are again enticed to climb the beanstalk into our cloud-based castle… you will find the accosting to be far less obtrusive and even discover words can genuinely effect change when wielded well. Proven by your masterful handling of them.
All wit and fanciful prose aside, I do really appreciate your words and approach. I shifted the prompts and positioning of the email opt-in. Hopefully, your thoughts will help us get better reach. Thanks a ton.
Feel Free To Come And Hang Out With Us Over At Quora Some Time.
Be a good Internets and make the world wide webs a better place to surf.
