It’s OK to ask “Who can DM me a quick review of [EA-run service]?”
Problem: It’s costly for EAs to find out which EA-run services will actually help them.
An increasing number of EAs are offering services to the EA community
E.g. coaching, therapy, research, training, recruiting, tech support, consulting
And it’s useful to read honest reviews of services before using them
Especially when it’s costly to trial/use them
But it’s awkward saying negative things about each other’s work in public
Sometimes people do anyway, but usually wrt large orgs where it’s less personal
Proposed partial solution: Normalise asking for private reviews of each other’s services.
This seems like a relatively low-cost way to access honest reviews that has a good shot at not being too socially awkward with some effort
I think it’s generally too awkward at the moment to ask in spaces where the service providers themselves might also be hanging out
So potential users, try it and feel free to link to this Shortform to explain why you’re doing A Bit Of An Awkward Thing; service providers, encourage potential users to do it
Thanks to Jennifer Waldmann and Ozzie Gooen for helping me think this through.
Following my own advice: I will not be offended if I see someone asking “Has anyone used Pineapple Operations who can send me a quick review in DM?” on the Forum or on Slack etc (although I think we’re pretty low-cost to use at the moment, so maybe not the best example).
It’s OK to ask “Who can DM me a quick review of [EA-run service]?”
Problem: It’s costly for EAs to find out which EA-run services will actually help them.
An increasing number of EAs are offering services to the EA community
E.g. coaching, therapy, research, training, recruiting, tech support, consulting
And it’s useful to read honest reviews of services before using them
Especially when it’s costly to trial/use them
But it’s awkward saying negative things about each other’s work in public
Sometimes people do anyway, but usually wrt large orgs where it’s less personal
Proposed partial solution: Normalise asking for private reviews of each other’s services.
This seems like a relatively low-cost way to access honest reviews that has a good shot at not being too socially awkward with some effort
I think it’s generally too awkward at the moment to ask in spaces where the service providers themselves might also be hanging out
So potential users, try it and feel free to link to this Shortform to explain why you’re doing A Bit Of An Awkward Thing; service providers, encourage potential users to do it
Thanks to Jennifer Waldmann and Ozzie Gooen for helping me think this through.
Strong upvote from us.
Two natural places to ask are Bountied Rationality and the EA twitter group.
Following my own advice: I will not be offended if I see someone asking “Has anyone used Pineapple Operations who can send me a quick review in DM?” on the Forum or on Slack etc (although I think we’re pretty low-cost to use at the moment, so maybe not the best example).