Reply to: Do you Remember Contractors Reunited or NamesFacesPlaces?

[MarillionFan]

How about

Convicts Reunited

Much better idea.

[Sysman]

Good for you but that's not the norm, even among those several generations older than FB.

I must point out there aren't so many of them.

Just like any job really, contracting or permanent. You will meet a few people at work you want to keep in touch with, but the majority don't last beyond a Christmas card or two, if that.

If you work in a niche technical area, that's different and it can be good to keep in touch with knowledgeable folks, but you can do that via technical forums and the like.

[DimPrawn]

Do you Remember, Contractors Reunited or NamesFacesPlaces

Was that another dreadful lyric by Fish?

[d000hg]

I kept in touch with the contractors I wanted to keep in touch with, so I didn't need a web site to do it for me.

The same with old school friends really.

Good for you but that's not the norm, even among those several generations older than FB.

[original PM]

I remeber speaking to Gerry once about an article I was doing for him.

He seemed like a nice bloke!

[DodgyAgent]

I assume a number of us are getting these 'NFP' posts from Gerry(keep dropping into my spam folder). It's interesting to read one of his latest posts, which is basically a rally to bring back Contractors Reunited and ask people to join.
This thread should serve as a lesson to wannabe Plan B'ers/entrepeneurs. This one quote.

"This was well before social networking websites like , FaceBook and Twitter came out.I got out of social networking even before they even got into it."

This guy had created 'LinkedIn' before they did. What this shows is, that a great idea poorly executed gets nowhere, and what it subsequently shows is Once the boat has been missed you're probably better to get a different one as opposed to swim after the first.

Move on Gerry. Next time though try and execute better.


"Contractors Reunited
In 1998 I got the idea for a website where IT Contractors could get back in touch with each other.
It was from hearing about Classmates.com an American School Reunion website.
I thought “why not have one for IT Contractors”.
Of course, I should have said “Why not have one of those in the UK?” as this was before FriendsReunited started.

NamesFacesPlaces

How many times have you said you would keep in touch with contractors at a site and then after a few meet-ups have lost touch with them either because you or they have moved or you just had other things to do?
So, I set up NamesFacesPlaces with a couple of partners, bringing it out in 1999.
I bought the partners out circa 2002/2003.

Contractor Search

Contractors could search for other contractors by name, by workplace, by dates and by position.
They could add their own details as well so that others could find them too.
They could send each other messages.
Indeed some people used NamesFacesPlaces to send messages to each other rather than go through the email messaging system at work which was likely to be monitored.

Traffic

We got lots of traffic.
However, just one comment by one reader in 2002 or 2003 made me do an about face, change the name to ITContractor.com and move it to be being an IT Contractor portal.
This person said that the Contractors Reunited idea was passé and very much last year’s idea.
Despite the evidence of the traffic I took that on board and made the change.
That was pretty stupid of me.

Pre-FaceBook

This was well before social networking websites like LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter came out.
I got out of social networking even before they even got into it.
I still kept the facilities on the website but downgraded them and didn’t push them.
However, people still used them.

Changes

In 2007 I had major changes to the website and only did brief tests to that part of the website.
The result was that I didn’t know that new members joining up couldn’t add any details about themselves, like the places they worked since then.
There were also other errors that took away the use of other facilities.

Re-Launch

Now, however, I have spent the past couple of weeks retesting that area of the website and have got all the gremlins out (I think).
You can access these facilities from the Contractors Reunited and My Account sections of the website accesses from the left hand side of this pa and the home page.
Many of you are still on there but I bet you wouldn’t remember your passwords from four or more years ago.
Here are some of the facilities that you can use."

(rest removed)

He completely missed the point. Linkedin offers a commercial window to business and therefore contracting opportunities, it is not a Nigel no friends portal for discussing train sets.

[Ravello]

Gerry spent too much time posting tulip on CUK instead of developing his ground breaking ideas that could have made him a zillionaire.

Reminds me of someone...

[milanbenes]

I kept in touch with the contractors I wanted to keep in touch with, so I didn't need a web site to do it for me.

The same with old school friends really.

I wonder if Gerry would have had more of an uptake in the US...

I remember him turning down advice about the colours and look and feel of the site. Perhaps he should have listened.

quite,

I remember the colours, it was pink and as we kept saying, pink was very workplace unfriendly


Gerry's obitiary is fascinating in as much as he knows at every point of the journey, which turn, was the wrong turn, as an essay, it could really go down in history as the how not to guide to doing startup internet projects,


this is gold

too many classics in there, these are my favourites...


. It was from hearing about Classmates.com an American School Reunion website.
I thought “why not have one for IT Contractors”.
Of course, I should have said “Why not have one of those in the UK?” as this was before FriendsReunited started.


. We got lots of traffic.
However, just one comment by one reader in 2002 or 2003 made me do an about face, change the name to ITContractor.com and move it to be being an IT Contractor portal.
This person said that the Contractors Reunited idea was passé and very much last year’s idea.
Despite the evidence of the traffic I took that on board and made the change.
That was pretty stupid of me.



. This was well before social networking websites like LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter came out.
I got out of social networking even before they even got into it.
I still kept the facilities on the website but downgraded them and didn’t push them.
However, people still used them.


. In 2007 I had major changes to the website and only did brief tests to that part of the website.
The result was that I didn’t know that new members joining up couldn’t add any details about themselves, like the places they worked since then.
There were also other errors that took away the use of other facilities.



classics !!!!

I remember when Gerry was.... FromTheUSA and talking about the swamp bar


All the best Gerry, are you still living at your parent's summer house in ireland ?

that's a paradox itself isn't it, summer house in ireland ?

Milan.

[EternalOptimist]

I kept in touch with the contractors I wanted to keep in touch with, so I didn't need a web site to do it for me.

The same with old school friends really.

I wonder if Gerry would have had more of an uptake in the US...

I remember him turning down advice about the colours and look and feel of the site. Perhaps he should have listened.

Exactly so.

I meet up with a few blokes on a semi regular basis. But the most interesting one is a lady contractor from a big IB
Last time we met up, she was telling me about the bust-up with her long term partner, and as she had a bit more to drink I noticed the buttons of her blouse were coming undone, one by one. Her breath started to come in shorter and shorter and I noticed a few beads of perspiration on her forehead. The thin fabric of her blouse was barely enough to contain the thrusting orbs that threatened to burst free at any moment. Her voice became husky and I could sense the quivering tip of her womand hood opening like a rose in bloom. I leaned forward and bit her ear lobe sharply as I whispered
'Same again then'


damn those rounds

[Sysman]

It was an interesting idea that he had, but the numbers are so small, its a non starter. I think I only ever worked with a dozen contractors

I kept in touch with the contractors I wanted to keep in touch with, so I didn't need a web site to do it for me.

The same with old school friends really.

I wonder if Gerry would have had more of an uptake in the US...

I remember him turning down advice about the colours and look and feel of the site. Perhaps he should have listened.

[Zippy]

Proof 100%.

I always knew Woderick belonged to you.

Wodewick

RIP Fleetwood.

[MarillionFan]

I don't want 'fwiends', I want work (although some of you are friends, that's between us)

Proof 100%.

I always knew Woderick belonged to you.

[Zippy]

I don't want 'fwiends', I want work (although some of you are friends, that's between us)

[AtW]

Gerry spent too much time posting tulip on CUK instead of developing his ground breaking ideas that could have made him a zillionaire.

[EternalOptimist]

I remember Gerry, whatever happened to him ?


It was an interesting idea that he had, but the numbers are so small, its a non starter. I think I only ever worked with a dozen contractors

and I only went for a beer with three or four

In fact I met more contractors through CUK than I ever worked with. so the 'reunited' bit would never work for me