He is reacting primarily to a columnist in the Orange County Register who was dissed by AANR when she tried to get more information about nudism.
I can't believe it. Some idiots who manage nudist clubs do not follow up with a reporter's e-mail which allows her to jump to the conclusion that voyeurs are attracted to nudist club's open houses. The clubs are acting like the nudist colonies of the 60's where they didn't want people to know they existed.Tom is dead right on this issue. I have tried contacting AANR for comments about certain issues and have never received the courtesy of a reply. That is why I am not a member of AANR.
But then Tom goes on to say:
Finally, I was called to task by a few nudist bloggers because I posted pictures of people enjoying nude recreation who were in their 20's and 30's. I stopped using those pictures here for stories. This is what I noticed. The traffic for my blog has gone down by more than half. That could be people wanting to look at pictures. However, we are also not getting as many phone calls from younger people like we were a number of months ago. That is not good as it could hurt the bottom line of my resort.Tom is dead wrong on this issue. He was not called to task for posting nude photos of younger people - he was criticized rightly for using "voyeur" photos from European beaches, taken by people with hidden cameras for the sole purpose of arousing prurient interests. If anyone was promoting nudism as attracting voyeurs, it was Tom.
There are a number of factors that could be contributing to Tom's decline in traffic. One reason could be that each and every post that he makes turns into a pitch for his resort. There is nothing particularly wrong with this, he has a business to promote, but it gets tiresome for the reader. If Tom is keeping stats on his blog, he could do an analysis and find out exactly where his traffic is coming from, and where the decline exists. Blaming other bloggers for his traffic loss is just flailing at windmills.
Also, if Tom is not "getting as many phone calls", this could be due in no small part to the current state of the economy, where gas prices are through the roof and home sales are down. The travel budget is the first to be cut.
Getting it straight is important for all bloggers in the realm of nudism because so many misconceptions exist. Perpetuating myths does no good for anybody. If Tom is angry at AANR and reporters for dropping the ball, he should hold himself to the same standard.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
7 comments:
I agree with all that you have to say. I realize resorts are trying to draw in the younger crowds but a lot of the photos used seem to be using sex to market. Where are all those imperfect bodies. Even though I am a nudist, we seldom go to the parks and resorts. Like you mentioned cost is a factor. Another factor, for me and my wife, is the "clothing optional" stuff. If you don't want to be nude then don't go to a nudist resort. Also, I am an artist and I have a blog. I don't us that to market my art, that's what I have a website for. The blog is to interact with others who have similar intersts.
I also agree with your post.
1. Every time I email "The Naturist Society" I get a response. AANR on the other hand is notorious for not replying to inquires. Also I feel that AANR is stuck in the past and made really to promote and assist resort owners.
2. I was also struck by Tom's use of voyeur pictures. You can tell the pictures were taken clandestinely from the odd camera angles.
3. Not to be mean, but his blog is boring. Has nothing to do with posting pictures or not.
Hi nudiarist,
I could not tell by reading the OC Register reporter's story if AANR did not follow up on e-mails or if it was nudist clubs. Since the repeorter talked to Carolyn Hawkins of AANR (the pr person), I assumed it was some nudist clubs that did not follow up. Especially since the reporter mentioned a nudist club in the town of Foothill Ranch and the regional association in Phoenix.
I never wrote AANR did not follow up. My personal experience is they have always been very prompt and proactive with pr requests when we have forwarded them leads.
You may be bored by my telling people to call with every post I write. However, I do that because of search engines. Every post is picked up individually by the search engines, especially google. You have to give people a phone number to call and your website URL in each post. On the net, if you don't make it easy for someone to contact you, they won't.
I wrote about if you repeat something that is wrong enough times, people will think it is true, such as when you get wet, you catch a cold. Or the latest myth, only old people go to nudist resorts.
Even one of the people commenting on your post repeated a myth concerning clothing optional resorts. He repeated the wrong assumption that people wear clothes at clothing optional resorts. The reason resort owners use the word clothing optional is the word "nudist" scares away too many first time woman. Whereas women feel more comfortable with the word 'clothing optional." This was from an independent marketing research survey sponsored by TANR and AANR.
Sorry, I was just so frustrated after reading that story about no follow up with the reporter by some nudist clubs. Here they could have set the record straight with the reporter that all ages enjoy nude recreation. But, because they didn't, yet, there is another article telling people that only the geritol set enjoys nude recreation which is not true everywhere. That is why I posted that picture.
Business is good for us. We just had our best May ever because we get all ages at our resort. But, since we get e-mails and phone calls on a daily basis, the trend is a lot less "newbies" in their 20's and 30's contacting us this summer. That was not true in previous years. I attribute this to the Cara Rubinsky wireservice article.
Tom
Tom, we basically agree on everything you just said. The difference of opinion stems from your use of voyeuristic nudist images and then blaming bloggers for a decline in your business from twenty-somethings. Perhaps that was not your intent, but your words seem pretty clear to me.
As for the Cara Rubinsky article, she mentions that her "e-mails" (plural) went unanswered. Whether it was AANR or the resort(s) that dissed the reporter is not clear, but there is no excuse for any business to ignore the press. It also does not change the fact that a couple of e-mails that I personally sent to AANR went unanswered. Perhaps you have more clout since you are a resort owner.
Also, how many people out there have actually read the Rubinsky article? Do you honestly believe that such an obscure article could have a direct affect on your bookings? The Solair "college day" debacle was covered by a lot of mainstream media and probably had a lot more influence on people's perceptions of nudism.
On the Google issue, many bloggers use a signature URL or other promotional information at the bottom of their posts. You, on the other hand, manage to turn every news story into a bit of self-promotion. There is a clear difference. This is not to imply that you are not a valuable resource in the online nudist world, you have many fine opinions that need to be heard, but you complained that your blogging traffic has been cut in half and I was merely suggesting that perhaps you lay on the sales pitch a little thick sometimes.
I'm glad that your resort is doing well because you gave the impression that things were not going so good, and you were looking for someone to blame. Perhaps it was your frustration with the Rubinsky column that angered you a bit. That's understandable.
BTW, the photo that you used on your post today looks like it was shot by someone on a beach blanket with a hidden camera. Just an observation.
Nudiarist,
I have not posted yet today to my blog. The photo you saw is the same one from yesterday. It has since been replaced.
The Cara Rubinsky article IS the Solair collge day article. That is the article that has damaged nudism as it has been picked up in the mainstream press around the world.
I was just complaining about how that story is not dying out and how now The Orange County Register newspaper is continuing the story. Interestingly, the OC Register article is also picked up on line by some other sources.
My biggest frustration is the way the reporter was handled by being ignored by some nudist clubs or organization. The story could have ended up that nude recreation is for all ages, (which it is) instead it ended up it is only for older people. Sad.
I wrote to the Orange County reporter (we will see if I get an answer [smile] inviting her to my resort so can do a real story on nude recreation.
Sorry If I sounded harsh to you. That was not my intention as I think you have one of the best nudist blogs out there. Tom
Tom, OK, I had the articles mixed up...I agree that the AP article was damaging since it was picked up just about everywhere. I even heard it referenced on cable news and on talk radio. I know you've mentioned in the past that nudism needs a spokesperson, like someone in the entertainment industry who would speak out about how great nude recreation is. It's ironic that the porn industry has spawned many celebrities, even Paris Hilton is famous because she had a sex video, yet nobody will admit to being a nudist.
Nudiarist,
You are so right. You read about the pornification of America. How much of an impact pornography has had on women's clothing (especially younger women's clothing), yet no celebrities come out embracing nudism.
Now sure Tom Hanks and J Lo have said they enjoy being naked at home, and Shakira says she enjoys naked gardening, but I know of no celebrities that will let their name be tied to nudism.
We get a few B and C listers at our resort and some of them that I have become friends with I have asked if they would ever let us take a picture. The answer is always no as they are afraid for their careers.
Now A list celebrities will go to the Hustler store in Hollywood parties and get their pictures taken there and think it is fun. It is sad that so many people are afraid to say they like nude recreation.
I think Jenna Jameson has a lot to do with making pornography mainstream which led to Girls Gone Wild, etc. Nudism needs a nudist Jenna Jameson.
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