Let’s Be Friends

A few months ago, I made a big switch from using traditional comments to a system powered by Facebook. At the time, I mentioned this switch was an experiment in progress and now that we’re several weeks in I can say that it will be the ongoing standard for the foreseeable future.

Since making the switch, a several readers who used to leave comments anonymously over verified likelihood of suffering retaliation if they used their real name. Know that I do feel for your situation and am sad to see this being removed. That’s the only aspect of this platform I wish could be modified but trolling abuses over the years made the previous method untenable.

In the future, if there is a way to provide those protections, know that it will certainly be incorporated.

facebook comments

Until then, here is what you need to know about leaving a comment:

  • Anyone wishing to leave a comment will need an active Facebook account and be logged in when leaving a comment.
  • Your Facebook profile will be automatically associated with your comment.
  • All comments are still moderated and those violating the comment policy will be removed.
  • You will now have the option of having your comment appear automatically at your profile in addition to the blog page.
  • Comments are still displayed oldest first.
  • Existing comments via the previous platform will remain attached to their respective posts (yay!).

Now that Facebook powered comments are part of the blog, let’s be friends!

Although it isn’t required to leave a comment, it does make it easier for me to reply to your questions and it makes for an easier time staying plugged into discussions thanks to the increased social media connectivity.

add as friend

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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