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Remember what MySpace was like in 2004?
I do, I used to run the largest group in the business section of MySpace Groups (Small Business Entrepreneurs), we had over 60,000 members... Until spamming and B.S took up so much time I decided to close the group in 2007, sure people complained about me closing it down but I think it was for the best (since I spent about four hours a day policing spam). Now I can't even stand to view MySpace to check my zero new messages once a month. Why? Because Facebook picked up the slack right where MySpace dropped it: Curtailing spammers.
MySpace failed because its architecture isn't designed with privacy in mind, it's actually built for the opposite reason. Problem is, open doors let ANYONE in. A clear example of how ridiculous MySpace and its number got were the citations of how many members it supposedly had. We all know that the number of fake profiles probably outnumbered the number or real profiles 3:1, remember when they claimed it would have been one of the largest countries in the world if it was a country? So much for it's usefulness.
Everyone had a MySpace account, now everyone is deleting their accounts or simply ignoring them all together. They're getting so desperate they're giving away MySpace.com email addresses!
I predict that the same thing is going to happen to Craigslist if Buckmaster and Newmark don't find a better way to prevent the autoposters from abusing Craigslist. I think the easiest way to do so would be by charging .25 cents per post, it wouldn't be enough to offer legitimate complaints yet it'll do a great deal to make anyone using an autoposting service to think twice.
Sure that's going to kill the real estate companies that are posting hundreds of ads in smaller markets, but think about how much it'll improve the quality of the user experience.
I think those are two examples of the paradox of Internet business and the attempts to monetize social media. These websites are started off for pure social reasons then as they're adopted by the masses companies move in and say "we're going to get in their faces", now that's fine (heck I buy Facebook and Myspace ads myself). Problem is that successful social media outlets also attract sleazy affiliate marketers who aren't offering ANY value or related products to the user experience.
That's what I mean when I say "we're bad for business". While I'm not an affiliate marketer in the sense that I promote products for independent networks or via fake profiles, spam, or building dummy websites for the sole purpose of forwarding someone to an affiliate CPA page as an Internet Marketer I'm in the same cross-section of society since I make my living from the Internet and I think it needs to slow down...
Drastically.
Facebook seems to be curating their website surprisingly well as long as they're able to keep the Facebook apps platform in check so I think they're a great example of how to protect their website, but for the most part small marketers are bad for business.
So the next time you consider posting your affiliate marketing link for some insurance verticle and you DON'T own the company, just remember that we need to keep our waters clean or EVERYONE will get out.
Even your potential customers.
I do, I used to run the largest group in the business section of MySpace Groups (Small Business Entrepreneurs), we had over 60,000 members... Until spamming and B.S took up so much time I decided to close the group in 2007, sure people complained about me closing it down but I think it was for the best (since I spent about four hours a day policing spam). Now I can't even stand to view MySpace to check my zero new messages once a month. Why? Because Facebook picked up the slack right where MySpace dropped it: Curtailing spammers.
MySpace failed because its architecture isn't designed with privacy in mind, it's actually built for the opposite reason. Problem is, open doors let ANYONE in. A clear example of how ridiculous MySpace and its number got were the citations of how many members it supposedly had. We all know that the number of fake profiles probably outnumbered the number or real profiles 3:1, remember when they claimed it would have been one of the largest countries in the world if it was a country? So much for it's usefulness.
Everyone had a MySpace account, now everyone is deleting their accounts or simply ignoring them all together. They're getting so desperate they're giving away MySpace.com email addresses!
I predict that the same thing is going to happen to Craigslist if Buckmaster and Newmark don't find a better way to prevent the autoposters from abusing Craigslist. I think the easiest way to do so would be by charging .25 cents per post, it wouldn't be enough to offer legitimate complaints yet it'll do a great deal to make anyone using an autoposting service to think twice.
Sure that's going to kill the real estate companies that are posting hundreds of ads in smaller markets, but think about how much it'll improve the quality of the user experience.
I think those are two examples of the paradox of Internet business and the attempts to monetize social media. These websites are started off for pure social reasons then as they're adopted by the masses companies move in and say "we're going to get in their faces", now that's fine (heck I buy Facebook and Myspace ads myself). Problem is that successful social media outlets also attract sleazy affiliate marketers who aren't offering ANY value or related products to the user experience.
That's what I mean when I say "we're bad for business". While I'm not an affiliate marketer in the sense that I promote products for independent networks or via fake profiles, spam, or building dummy websites for the sole purpose of forwarding someone to an affiliate CPA page as an Internet Marketer I'm in the same cross-section of society since I make my living from the Internet and I think it needs to slow down...
Drastically.
Facebook seems to be curating their website surprisingly well as long as they're able to keep the Facebook apps platform in check so I think they're a great example of how to protect their website, but for the most part small marketers are bad for business.
So the next time you consider posting your affiliate marketing link for some insurance verticle and you DON'T own the company, just remember that we need to keep our waters clean or EVERYONE will get out.
Even your potential customers.
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