I was going to delete my last post, but decided to leave it up and just eat some delicious crow.

Today was a day of celebration at Etsy! Oh yes! Sooo… what happened? Rob Kalin is what happened.

Yesterday Rob started posting in the forums, answering questions, erasing fears and generally calming people down. It continued into today, complete with a party in the Virtual Labs. (unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stick around for much of the party, but I will be posting the how-to for TrashCan Chicken-or-Turkey after Christmas.)

Not only are they not going kamikaze corporate on us, they’re actually going to implement some much-needed, long-begged-for improvements, and are eliminating some of the less-than-desirable “enhancements” that have been implemented over the last year or so.

Rob states they’ll be adding more (desparately needed) seller tools, redoing the category structures, working on marketing (an affiliate program – yes!), completely eliminating the “Weekend Deals” crappola, and moving into social marketing as opposed to the sterile retail “experience” that’s been going on.

That’s just to name a few things. Wow. I have to say, I haven’t been this excited over a marketplace – ever. Matter of fact, I’m just not real excited about marketplaces in general. But Etsy is a different sort of environment. I saw this years ago when I first stumbled on the site, and it’s with heartfelt gratitude that I’m there now to see it take wing and fly again, and be a part of it.

Yes, I’ll still be developing my sites, but Etsy will play a prominant role in my online presence.

I’m sitting here with a glass of wine, continuing the celebration. I offer a toast to you, Rob Kalin, with deepest thanks for stepping in and saving what is the most incredible site online today.

Merry Christmas, Etsy :-)

Etsy posted a suprise article on the Storque (Etsy’s blog) today. CEO Maria Thomas is leaving and co-founder and ex-CEO Rob Kalin is coming back.

This is very sudden – no major announcement, no fanfare, like you would expect for a change like this, just a quiet post. Also, Maria seems to be leaving with very short notice.

Overall, Maria has done a good job getting Etsy organized and steering it off the chaotic path. So why is she leaving, especially after less than 2 years on the job? Something’s screwy here…

Etsy’s been running in the red since Rob first “opened the doors”. I’m sure Maria’s been under tremendous pressure from the VCs to “show us some black.” This would partially explain some of the questionable actions taken by Admin (pushing Etsians to spam social networking sites comes to mind here…).

Have the VCs gone too far in their demands? Have they asked Maria to do something stupid that she knows would start a major uproar with sellers, and she refused? Is this why they’ve brought Rob back in?

Rob left Etsy because he didn’t like what was being done to the site, the direction it was taking. He could hardly argue with his backers, since their money was keeping the show running, so his only alternative was to leave. Now his only alternative is to cave to their demands, whereas Maria is able to take her marbles and go home.

It will be interesting (to say the least) to see what develops with Etsy in 2010. In the meantime, I’m stepping up the work on my own sites, and will be reworking the business plan… once again.

Oh, Etsy will still play a part, but not as dominant as was planned, and certainly in a way where I can hit the door running, if necessary.

Call me paranoid, but I learned a hard lesson with eBay.

Today was the IMU webinar class – Passion-Inspired Video and Other Creative Content by Gary Vaynerchuk. Wow. Gary, you are my new hero.

I only wish people would use their brain and think, instead of just reacting. Why do people take everything so literally any more? Is it something in the flu shots? Sometimes it can be sooo hard to communicate these days.

Do y’all pick apart the food on your plate, separating all the ingredients, or do you look at the overall idea of it being food to eat? Chew before you swallow, folks!

People were stabbing at Gary’s words with their forks instead of listening to the message. Their loss. But it’s not surprising. I see this a lot on forums and such. That’s why I mostly lurk and don’t participate much. That’s my loss, but it’s so tiresome when people jump on you because they can’t see the context, only the words on the page (if even that). But I digress…

It’s so hard to speak in literal terms when you’re in conversation, without having to “script” it – at which point it ceases to be conversation.

Hey people, go back and listen to what he’s saying and not how he says it.
(I personally loved the reference to the CEO…)

Here’s what I got from Gary, very basically (he really said a lot):
Focus on what you’re putting out there – CONTENT.
Focus on how you’re interacting with others – CUSTOMER SERVICE. CARING. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. Don’t just throw a bunch of links out there like so much mud on the wall, but actually relate to people like they’re… uh… people, not cash drawers!

That’s the steak…

All the other stuff – tracking analytics data, what camera to use, video or written word, ROI, SEO, blah blah blah – is all “seasoning” to help you serve that steak up as a delectable meal for the world.

Think of it as tweaking a recipe. Seasoning’s good, and sometimes necessary, but without the steak you’re just sitting there with a salt shaker…

I get it! I’m amazed and excited! Thank you, Gary!
(Can you tell I loved the steak/salt & pepper analogy?!)

Oh – and the bit about the Thank You economy is very interesting. I do believe you’re right about this. Will be back to your site to watch the video!

Okay, now I’m hungry… Talk to ya later :-)