I’m Being Followed – Happy Anniversary Affiliate Scams!
Is it just paranoia? I don’t think so.
I have a hub where someone left a comment. They claimed they didn’t know anything about the subject of the hub. Later, that same person commented on a blog (not mine) using a user name of the product I was talking about on the hub.
On the hub, they linked to something different, but used the same web site address when entering their name into the other blog that was commented on. Hard to explain. Let’s just say both comments linked back to the same site which promotes a competing product.
Are you paying attention? Do you look at the comments left for you on your blog and in other places? Ever click on the links to see where they go?
It’s not stupid at all for this person to be following me – but they are silly not to realize that even when I’m not paying attention, I’m still paying attention.
I’m kinda flattered, and annoyed at the same time. The fact that someone would want to follow some tactics I’ve discovered myself.
I’ve had to wonder just how many people have been following me. Not everyone leaves comments behind on blogs they’ve visited. I personally try to leave comments where I’ve found helpful information.
How does one determine what to give away and what should be freely handed out? I have possibly explained and exposed some things too well on this blog.
Do I need to go around and mop up some of my digital footprints? Hehe, that would take a long time.
A couple of days ago I was struggling with a thought. I was thinking back to pen names and how marketers use them in an attempt to market different niches and not come across as a Jack (or Jill) of all trades expert of none. I was thinking about this, as I got an alert in my mail from Hub pages. Someone I follow there has done so many different topics under the same name. Why shouldn’t I promote everything under the same name? Walmart has a lot of things in their store. Why couldn’t I just do everything under my name?
I’ve felt somehow deceived in the past when finding other marketers using multiple names, and yet I understand so many more reasons for that now – other than just creating an identity to appear as an expert.
Even the scam I have followed has had me taking on multiple identities of my own just to try to stay undercover with some smaller operations. I was ripped into at one point for this – but it was by an anonymous commenter and I believe whole heartedly it was an attack by the enemy camp.
On a side note, I have to say I am amazed at the abilities of the ducks. They have picked up so many skills. It is downright scary at this point. They all know the dangers that lurk online in leaving footprints behind in the enemy camp.
How much thought do I give to this?
In my efforts to expose one scam in particular and show what is going on, I fear I have revealed too much to the enemy. It’s possible to be on the team for the good guys and unknowingly give things away to the wrong team.
I have just passed my one year anniversary of the day I proclaimed “I think I’ve been banned.” Could this anniversary be bringing up all these questions and feelings from within?
I’ve been doing a bit of redecorating on this site. My support is still here of the anti-KK crowd but I am ready to head on into another direction. I’ve detached myself from the blog ring and it is such a strange feeling! Like I was part of a giant space station and I’ve been let go into the rest of the universe. I’m floating, in a most peculiar way.
It’s been a long year. I have been trained, and feel like it has all been some preparation for some things to come. I’m going to be moving in a new direction. I know there are still a few weeks left of 2008, but I’m ready to take 2009 and make some changes. They are long over due.
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Pictures, Pen Names, Products, and Ethics
I posted a question today on a forum I frequent. The post was about the ethics of using a fake picture to represent yourself. I recently found out that a product I’m promoting uses a stock photo which is perceived as the product creator.
If you have been following this blog, you will know in the case of the Kimkins diet scam that one of the problems was the creator Heidi Diaz using fake pictures to represent herself, as well as other pictures to represent successful testimonials to sell the diet. In that particular case she did not use stock photos but actually used photos taken (allegedly stolen) from Russian brides websites.
So here I am faced with the fake picture scenario again. The product in question does not say anything like “you will look like me if you buy this product.” The product itself is sound. It is not harmful in any way, it works. The only thing in question is the picture provided on the site of the product creator. I have been made aware of a picture of the same person being used on another site.
I was sent an email by a furious subscriber. They unsubscribed from my list all because that picture is a fake. They claimed that it questions my credibility.
I do my darndest to find products that are not a scam, and I personally purchase and look at the products before suggesting them to anyone else. And as much investigation as I can do, it would have been nearly impossible for me to find out that the picture used in this case was a fake without someone else seeing it somewhere.
A lot of times, marketers will use purchased stock photos to make their sales page pretty. Many marketers use pen names to write articles about what they are promoting – especially when they are promoting some very different niches. Does this make the product less effective?
People have different reasons for doing these things. It is a very gray area I’m dealing with. Is the product creator selling a product based on what they look like?
If someone purchases the product based on what the person looks like, then they are purchasing this particular product for entirely the wrong reason.
If someone purchases this product based on my recommendation but I lie in my recommendation then that is a whole other ball of wax.
I have never confirmed that the picture used to represent the person was one and the same. I have done all I can with the exception of showing up on this persons doorstep to see if they are who they say they are.
As an affiliate, I look for safe and useful products that do what they say they do.
As a product creator, I would never use a fake photo of myself. That is where my ethics are.
In this particular circumstance, I am just an affiliate, not the product creator. I like this product, and I think for the price it is a fair value.
This was a really tough thing to work out, but I’m confident with my current choice.
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