DIR- GUE Why are non-GUE divers so interested in what GUE does?

[berndo]

I guess I misinterpreted the first 2 words.

I see a pattern.

This statement of yours is simply the proof of how bad is GUE on marketing...

Dude, you don't understand his marketing thing. Look up what 'content marketing' is on wikipedia before you start typing again.
Here is an example.
These days, a company runs a blog, a youtube channel, a magazin etc. to give 'free' content to raise their profile. When the content is helpful or entertaining the people keep comming back and 'pay' with their attention. People are being reminded that company x exists on a regular basis for relativly low cost. X% of the people who consume the content are converted into new customers or repeat customers by this.
If you watch divetalk, you're reminded of kiss very week, if you read and blogpost on the TDI blog about pee-valves you're reminded of TDI.
Another example is when an instructor writes a book, it's raises their profile, establishes their name in the industry, the result is that you can charge higher prices and usually get more customers. Ever thought about why some instructors are more well know than others industry wide?
Companies allocate money for stuff for a reason. No company spends money on a blog to be nice.
Whoever thinks gue is bad at marketing is alsolutely and utterly clueless. And IT'S NOT A DIG AT THEM WHATSOEVER! It's a compliment. So, no reason to get angry. I've tried to explain this before and it went over your head.
If you do some research and still wanna believe. Fine, so be it.

 

[mariosx]

Thank you for summarizing everything that one needs to know about the attitude of GUE divers.

That was the attitude back when I was taking GUE classes, and clearly that is still the attitude of GUE divers in March 2023.

To be honest, it is a bit unclear, what kind of action you expect from a GUE Diver (a fellow costumer) to take, who happened to read your story online that provides no proofs of interaction etc for an alleged letter you sent to GUE back in the day regarding an instructor that is not member of GUE for years. Especially when also yourself say that you don't care enough for the money you lost.

It's like you are blaming other costumers using the X food chain for not "acting", because a random user online claims that a random manager 20 years ago stole their money, and the food chain never responded to your angry letter; the only action you took.
As a costumer, I like my nuggets, and GUE serves them good. You say it was bad 20 years ago. Even if I agree, I am not even sure how to even address it and show that I care. Pat you in the back from 6000 miles away? Take a stance to never step in the GUE shop and miss my nuggies for life? Write an angry e-mail to GUE HQ asking them to respond to a letter that was sent 20 years ago and on an event that shows to be still active but we have no idea about its state, or whether your claims are true? You don't care enough for this thing to contact them again, but somehow a random person (costumer) should care more?

I am not sure what you expect from random COSTUMERS when it comes a 20 years old dispute you have with an organization.

 

[rjack321]

To be honest, it is a bit unclear, what kind of action you expect from a GUE Diver (a fellow costumer) to take, who happened to read your story online that provides no proofs of interaction etc for an alleged letter you sent to GUE back in the day regarding an instructor that is not member of GUE for years. Especially when also yourself say that you don't care enough for the money you lost.

It's like you are blaming other costumers using the X food chain for not "acting", because a random user online claims that a random manager 20 years ago stole their money, and the food chain never responded to your angry letter; the only action you took.
A a costumer, I like my nuggets, and GUE serves them good. You say it was bad 20 years ago. Even if I agree, I am not even sure how to even address show that I care. Pat you in the back from 6000 miles away? Take a stance to never step in the GUE shop and miss my nuggies for life? Write an angry e-mail to GUE HQ asking them to respond to a letter that was sent 20 years ago and on an event that shows to be still active but we have no idea about it's state, or whether your claims are true? You don't care enough for this thing to contact them again, but somehow a random person (costumer) should care more?

I am not sure what you expect from random COSTUMERS when it comes a 20 years old dispute you have with an organization.

It's like a random ancient 1 star review with no text in a sea of 4 and 5 star reviews. Bumps down the average from 4.6 to 4.59 but shrugs so what? They happen for whatever reason, not my job to respond to them and hard to take them seriously

 

[mariosx]

I see a pattern.

You need a lot more than 1 sample to establish a pattern, but this basic knowledge necessitates basic cognitive functionalities.

Extremely beautiful how you skipped my entire post dismantling your bs regarding how the GUE community is upholding the core principles.

Dude, you don't understand his marketing thing. Look up what 'content marketing' is on wikipedia before you start typing again.

You mean the one that you had no idea about how active is GUE on all fronts of each corestone? Yeah, I guess they gain a lot by practically hiding it.

Here is an example.
These days, a company runs a blog, a youtube channel, a magazin etc. to give 'free' content to raise their profile. When the content is helpful or entertaining the people keep comming back and 'pay' with their attention. People are being reminded that company x exists on a regular basis for relativly low cost. X% of the people who consume the content are converted into new customers or repeat customers by this.

GUE youtube channel has 15K subscribers. Would you like to bet the percentage of GUE divers there? I found it by mistake after my GUE-F. The videos are shared SOMETIMES only on the official GUE fb page. GUE has no reach.

If you watch divetalk, you're reminded of kiss very week, if you read and blogpost on the TDI blog about pee-valves you're reminded of TDI.

Yes. And I am reminded that they upload videos 2 times per week, and they have a regular schedule, and that actually they are doing the things necessary to grow their brand name and recognition. The content of GUE is directed to people that already know it, not to people that they just found it out by mistake.

Another example is when an instructor writes a book, it's raises their profile, establishes their name in the industry, the result is that you can charge higher prices and usually get more customers.

The industry are not costumers. I never heard of JJ or that he wrote a book until few days before I registered for the class. And only because a GUE C2 buddy gave it as a present. What do yolu think that people do when they start scuba? Looking up in amazon for books around scuba? xD
GUE charges higher prizes because it delivers a much higher quality of instruction. Already most of us here told you that we learned about GUE from GUE buddies, or people that were hovering effortlessly in random dives.

Ever thought about why some instructors are more well know than others industry wide?

What the industry knows, is not what the costumers do. I have no idea who is well known in the industry. I know only instructors that are well known in GUE.

Companies allocate money for stuff for a reason. No company spends money on a blog to be nice.

GUE is an organization. And yes even organization would like to grow. This doesn't mean that the money allocated and the human resources are enough to consider it a serious marketing presence.
Dude, I even tried to report a typo in the slides/videos before the GUE-F class, and it was JJ himself responding to students that he fixed it, or that he left it like that. GUE's marketing is the community and the displayed skills by most GUE trained divers.

Whoever thinks gue is bad at marketing is alsolutely and utterly clueless. And IT'S NOT A DIG AT THEM WHATSOEVER! It's a compliment. So, no reason to get angry. I've tried to explain this before and it went over your head.
If you do some research and still wanna believe. Fine, so be it.

I fully understand what you are saying. And GUE has a great brand but underutilizes its resources when it comes to marketing, because it has a steady line of costumers and a niche in the market. So many things done by GUE divers could be advertised and always they end up on some regional GUE groups or dive shops. There is no serious organized marketing strategy, which explains your lack of info on GUE's activities. I am stopping here.

 

[LiteHedded]

I was lucky enough to know well thanks to John Rose.


/Edit:
Information retracted due to misunderstanding.

I just mean it’s Casey doing all the liasing with these agencies and their stakeholders. Most of the rest of us just show up and dive and try to get the work done

 

[rjack321]

I just mean it’s Casey doing all the liasing with these agencies and their stakeholders. Most of the rest of us just show up and dive and try to get the work done

So so lazy

Open water divers seriously underestimate how much effort it can be to build relationships to secure access to caves. When you don't have those relationships or trust you (with much sadness) quickly end up like diepolder.

 

[grantctobin]

So so lazy

Open water divers seriously underestimate how much effort it can be to build relationships to secure access to caves. When you don't have those relationships or trust you (with much sadness) quickly end up like diepolder.

Preach. FDW.

 

[berndo]

@mariosx
Mario, I was merely responding to your claim that gue does bad marketing. I see that you're either not willing or able to understand what I've been trying to explain to you. Maybe because you're a very very young person, I don't know.
When you try to make a distinction between 'organization' and 'company' in this contex and point out 'industry are not costumers', it tells me that you're not understanding what I've been trying to explain. Your personal experience or youtube subscription numbers have no bearing on anything I said. And I don't feel like you've been making a good faith attempt to understand what I said either. You could have tried to read the wiki article I suggested.
I don't know what else to tell you, other than maybe consider that other people you don't know, know stuff you don't.
Again, I just tried to tell you how gue does great marketing and it has nothing to do with you.
I'm not attacking you or gue. Don't come at me with another wall of text, please.

I wanna go back to the fun stuff now and hear about Harry's second class. That's the stuff I'm here for.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Yes you can spearfish here on scuba - although most of Puget Sound is pretty lame, closed season or polluted (or all three). The better fishing is west of Port Angeles or on the outer coast but crazy seasonal weatherwise.

This a pretty accurate statement although I'd say that up here in the North sound that pollution is not much of an issue. I think we all know that the key to any diving in the Sound is structure whether it's natural or artificial... The GREAT diving, in my opinion (and as mentioned by rjack3231) is out in the Neah Bay area and I actually think my all time favorite dive site on the planet is Duncan Rock but it's definitely a dive that requires critical planning of the exchange / slack periods and even with perfect planning is still a "Go / No-Go" last minute decision depending on conditions. It's a live boat dive for sure and easy to get seperated especially when hunting lings and gathering scallops. From my boat I require a fully redundant air source and both a DSMB and an SMB along with our Nautilus Lifelines. I have the older version with the radio option......but my boat VFH is fully AIS and DSC messaging capable for the newer lifelines. Myself and my buddies all pretty much all dive with fully redundant back mounted 19cf or 13cf Pony's and HP Steel 120's or 102's. If the conditions are No-GO then there are lots of other more "protected" options like Tattoosh and Waddah. Waddah is beautiful and fairly shallow site thats right close to the Neah Marina... and even though it's legal we don't spearfish there.. Just too pristine and close in. Great site for the camera though and if conditions are right we can even anchor there.

Duncan Rock

Tatoosh Canyon

Waadah Island Fingers

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

@mariosx
Mario, I was merely responding to your claim that gue does bad marketing. I see that you're either not willing or able to understand what I've been trying to explain to you. Maybe because you're a very very young person, I don't know.
When you try to make a distinction between 'organization' and 'company' in this contex and point out 'industry are not costumers', it tells me that you're not understanding what I've been trying to explain. Your personal experience or youtube subscription numbers have no bearing on anything I said. And I don't feel like you've been making a good faith attempt to understand what I said either. You could have tried to read the wiki article I suggested.
I don't know what else to tell you, other than maybe consider that other people you don't know, know stuff you don't.
Again, I just tried to tell you how gue does great marketing and it has nothing to do with you.
I'm not attacking you or gue. Don't come at me with another wall of text, please.

I wanna go back to the fun stuff now and hear about Harry's second class. That's the stuff I'm here for.

You forgot to add "I'm not being condescending (that means I'm not talking down to you)".