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« on: March 03, 2019, 09:18:57 PM »
Hello there Weatherby Nation. I wanted to personally reach out and share some words with you regarding Weatherby Inc., Weatherby Nation and recent posts on the forum.
When we started Weatherby Nation over a dozen years ago, it was done so for a variety of reasons. Many of you have joined the Nation community over the years and have been able to meet some great people, receive excellent advice from other members, share stories, and occasionally experience some first hand communication from the folks at Weatherby, Inc. Needless to say, it's been a great online community for many like minded shooting enthusiasts.
Weatherby Nation started up before things like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were really around. Therefore, Weatherby Nation was, at one time, the most logical place for Weatherby, Inc. to make announcements and deliver news to the shooting community and Weatherby customers. So, for many years, Weatherby, Inc. was fairly active on Weatherby Nation.
Fast forward to 2019…There are now countless online social platforms that are accessible to people. With Facebook alone, Weatherby had around 60,000 post reaches last week (meaning that our posts appeared on a screen that many times). As far as engagement, we had over 14,000 engagements with people last week, meaning that people liked or commented on our posts that many times. I do not tell you this to say that Weatherby Nation is not as important as Facebook. I tell you this to communicate that a lot has changed since the inception of Weatherby Nation. There are several social media platforms, like Facebook, that reach a lot of people and have the ability to post photos and videos, share links, and track the necessary data to track its effectiveness. So, from a business perspective, this is why so many businesses are using things like Facebook to share news and information about themselves as a company.
I do not believe that the rise of social media platforms has made forums like Weatherby Nation any less important. Rather, I believe it has redefined the purpose of these forums. For instance, there are many benefits that a platform like Weatherby Nation has that a Facebook does not. The sharing of information between passionate outdoorsman, shooters, collectors and hunters is what a great forum like Weatherby Nation can be used for. I, for one, have learned a lot from many of you over the years. Although I don’t comment a lot, I read through the posts when I get a chance and have enjoyed a lot of the information and personal interaction the forum creates. So, I do not believe a platform like Facebook has made a site like Weatherby Nation less important…it just has a different role.
At its inception, Weatherby, Inc was active on Weatherby Nation. However, it now makes a lot more sense to use these other platforms to communicate information and then allow for Weatherby Nation to be a site that creates a space for valuable discussion, advice and stories that help enrichen people’s shooting experiences. Mutual importance…different purposes.
To be perfectly honest, I have been very disappointed at some of the negative discussions taking place on this forum recently. I have even received personal vulgar and profane direct messages from Weatherby Nation members. I would like to challenge the Nation to rise above these conversations and return to the great discussions that have made Weatherby Nation a great community to begin with. I would like to ask you to erase all preconceived expectations of Weatherby, Inc’s involvement and instead ask you to see Weatherby Nation as a valuable community of people who share similar interests. If Weatherby Inc, or even me personally, chooses to engage at any time, then hopefully that will add to the forum. If not, I would hope that the members would help spur each other on toward positive and engaging content and discussion with no more expectations in mind.
Ever since the inception of Weatherby, Inc., my grandfather helped build a “classy business.” He constantly pushed himself toward innovation and engaged in positive discussions and marketing around the fine products that came as a result. Quality was always at the forefront of his mind. Therefore, I would like to make it personally clear that we will no longer tolerate some of the negative discussion that has been taking place. As long as this forum has my family name on it and is owned and managed by those I employ, I will not tolerate some of the negative behavior that has recently taken place. Put simply, pages will be removed, as will the members that participate in it.
I do understand that the majority of you probably agree with me. In fact, you probably join me in growing weary of some of the recent negativity and wish this great site could return to its roots…a great community of passionate Weatherby firearm users who wish to enrichen each others lives. Unfortunately, it is a probably a loud minority that is ruining it for the rest of you. My hope is that this message will encourage each and every Nation member to remember why they joined Weatherby Nation in the first place. I wish I could tell you it would be like the “good old days”, but things take on new roles and meanings as time progresses. Sure, Weatherby Nation will not be the number one spot anymore for Weatherby, Inc. to announce news. There are other places that make more sense for that. However, the Nation can be many things that Facebook may not be to all people. My hope is that it can be a place for people to go to get their questions answered from other like-minded people out there. I love seeing new people join and start asking questions about the Weatherby firearms they purchased. Its a great place to go for such things. I hope that never changes.
In summary, I want to be very clear (maybe even blunt) on several things…
1. Let's keep Weatherby Nation a clean, safe and positive space. There are a lot of trashy and negative forums out there. Weatherby Nation will not be one them. If you are someone who cannot follow along with this, you will be removed as a member.
2. I will not personally respond when “called out.” That is immature playground behavior and I will not participate, nor will my team.
3. Let's all reset our expectations. Weatherby Nation was started many years ago and methods of communication change and morph over the years. No matter what was said or what transpired years ago, the purpose of Weatherby Nation at this time is for members to interact and communicate with each other. This experience ought to be extremely valuable and I hope that this community continues to grow in its quantity and its quality of members.
4. Weatherby will continue to communicate on various social media channels. If you want to join them and follow Weatherby, please do. If not, please don’t. That choice is up to you and we respect that. You will find out a lot of things on those channels, as that is their purpose. Weatherby Nation, on the other hand, is designed to be a place where people can come and have some great online discussions regarding Weatherby firearms, ammunition, ballistics, etc… The different channels serve different purposes.
5. My hope is that the vast majority of you will clearly understand and resonate with this post. If so, I really believe that Weatherby Nation can once again be a great safe place that will be enjoyed by many. However, if that vocal minority continues to grow and the negativity and insults persist, I am 100% prepared to pull the plug on Weatherby Nation. Honestly, it is what my grandfather and father would do as well. We have always been serious about keeping our name and our products associated with things that bring out the absolute best in people. Character, integrity, teamwork, passion…these are all things that are at the core of who Weatherby is. Weatherby is more than a brand name…it is my family name, and I take that very seriously.
Many of you are great ambassadors for the Weatherby brand, and for that I am grateful. Over the years, many of you have direct messaged me and I have enjoyed getting to know you. There sure is a good group of people that spend time around the Nation. I consider many of you friends and hope that this will continue for years to come.
In closing, it sure is an exciting time for Weatherby. We received 6 semi trucks of equipment and product from California this weekend here in Wyoming. We will be unloading and installing things in our new building this week as more and more trucks continue to arrive. We have an incredible team assembled in an incredible space and have some great things on the horizon. Additionally, our visitor center and showroom will be open after June 13, 2019 and I would love to invite you by to check things out if you are traveling through Northern Wyoming. Oh, and I attended a northern Wyoming sportsman’s banquet this weekend where a Wyoming Gold Commemorative was auctioned off for $39,000, with the proceeds going toward local wildlife conservation in Wyoming. There sure is a lot of excitement around here over this relocation. I just thought you all may enjoy hearing that.
All the best to the Weatherby Nation community as we look forward.
Adam Weatherby