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Friday, November 30, 2007

Massive Private Lable Rights Private Archive Being Open to the Public!

I know, for a fact, that many of my visitors either use Private Label Rights (PLR) products or HAVE used them.  Others have written to tell me that they are going to jump in and start using PLR in the near future.  While "gurus" are trying to step you up to their $5000 programs by telling you that what they sold you yesterday no longer works today, plenty of people just like you and I are doing quite well using Private Label Rights information.

Remember, as I'll elaborate further in an upcoming article, passive income doesn't have to be TRULY passive, as in "walk away and make money forever."  It only needs to be a heck of a lot more passive than anything you're doing now.  If, for example, you have residual affiliate commissions covering twice your monthly expenses, then who the heck cares if "theoretically" it's not "truly passive?"

Well, one of the BEST Private Label Rights info membership sites on the market is about to get better.  It's one of the ONLY two to which I belong.  It's current offer is already amazing enough.  When you join, you only get the most recent 3 months worth.  But now they are going to open up the WHOLE archive to new members for the usual monthly fee plus a ONE-TIME payment for archive access.

The Cool Thing Is...By Joining Now, You Are Totally Grandfathered In...!

You Get It All for No Extra Charge!

That means when they open the archives, you won't have to pay a dime more than I, or any of their current members, already do.  Anyone who joins after archive launch will have to pay EXTRA.

If you're looking for a solid, hot, private label rights information membership site, or want to add on a new one (I have two), then NOW is the time to jump in.  Your satisfaction is guaranteed and I am completely confident that you'll be amazed at what you see....

Get Grandfathered In Now!


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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An Internet Marketing Social Media Blog Article Named Mohammed

If it isn't already obvious, the birth of Sam Freedom's Internet Marketing Controversy Blog was partly inspired by the fact that many bloggers, at least in the SEO and internet marketing realm, seem to lack a spine.  And I don't mean that in a bad way; it's just "a fact's a fact, jack."  Maybe they DO have spines but it doesn't SEEM like it.  It seems more like everyone's afraid of losing their precious PR or 2.8934765% of their readership if they take a stand on important matters when times get tough.

In fact, it only seems like yesterday that I wrote, "Sam Freedom Supports Denmark!" during a time when angry Muslims were burning down a Danish embassy in response to a Danish newspaper's printing of Mohammed in cartoons.  Of course there were bloggers, in general, writing about it, but I saw no seo expert or internet marketer types saying a word - even though their very livelihoods were potentially threatened by it.

Well, now it's the backwards Muslims of Sudan with their 7th century mindset who are assaulting freedom, "Crowd Demands Teddy Bear Teacher Be Shot".

"Our Prophet Mohammed tells us to be forgiving," she said. "So she should be released. She didn't mean any of this at all. I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult." (source) [I wish the GOOD Muslims would catch on that they are enslaved by tyrants]

This Guy Knows They've Been Enslaved by Tyrants

So I refer to this poem "'First they came…' attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group."

"Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.


Translated:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Well, Humanity (and freedom of speech) Is Under Attack Again, Folks.

With the advent of modern technology and our precious "social media", freedom-loving people everywhere are really no longer able to play isolationists any more.  What happens in one country is immediately spread throughout the world via all kinds of media channels and enters your awareness and, once it does, you're responsible for your response, or lack thereof. 

So I consider this latest round of animosity to be an assault on freedom and MY right to free speech, whether or not anyone else does.  And just in case anyone thinks this is another one of those "whacky" isolated events, or that the Sudanese "have the right" to do what they want in their country, tell me if you think it was ok for the Saudis to do THIS.... "because it was in their country."

So I Name This Internet Marketing / Social Media Blog Article "Mohammed"

Out of respect for modern Muslims who respect others freedoms and rights, I will not go on to post any untoward pictures of their beloved prophet.  But I won't allow my respect for them to serve as a refuge for their insane, murderous compatriots.

And I won't allow the fact that this is an internet marketing and social-media related blog to serve as one either.  Obviously, it would be chaotic to use an internet marketing, social media blog to speak out on every injustice, or to portray the inevitable "both sides" of every story.  But, in that light, I have no compunction about writing on such topics I deem highly relevant to our seemingly unrelated niche.

So You're a Jew, You're a Woman, You're a Teacher, You're Black, You're (Fill in the Blank), but Most of All You Love Freedom and Your Right to Speak Freely Without Persecution.... Right?

So why aren't you using your new reach via your highly cherished social media to speak out?  Or are you?

If so, link to your post in the DoFollow comment section below.


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Top Sphinner Marty Weintraub: Separated At Birth?

Just yesterday, Marty Weintraub, owner of AimClear blog held the first ever Linkapalooza Sphinn-related Link-Love festival.  It was such a class act, that I got a strange hunch that Marty might have been seperated at birth from someone royal or famous.

As you can see, I plugged Marty's picture into my handy-dandy face recognition software and voila!  I was right!  Marty is none other than the twin brother of Pedro Martinez (who is no longer with the Red Sox)! 

Want your own?  MyHeritage Face Recognition

No, you're not imagining it.  It accurately says Marty and Pedro are a 72% match.  The other 28% is 2% for skin color and 26% something I cannot mention (cough pickle cough) so this definitely confirms my suspicions.

If anyone knows how to contact Pedro, please tell him we found his better half.  And do not be misled.  The other people in the photo are distant cousins except for Fred Durst who stalks Marty in between concerts and Bertolt Brecht who haunts his dreams.

Please send all sightings of Pedro to Marty who can be found hanging out by the Sphinn water cooler between 12am and 12am each day.


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Thursday, November 29, 2007

5 Undeniable Reasons Why Chitika Linx Probably Won't Be Working Out on My Internet Marketing Blog

ONE

chitika linx example on my internet marketing blog

TWO

example of chitika linx on my blog about internet marketing

THREE

internet marketing blog example of chitika linx

FOUR

chitika linx on internet marketing blog example

FIVE

internet marketing with chitika linx on blog


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Monday, November 26, 2007

Rich Schefren... blah blah blahhhh... part 3

It seemed like only "yesterday" that I had penned, "Rich Schefren blah blah blahhhh, Part 2." It was in response to Rich suggesting that his prospective clients were "blind idiots" for not following his recommendations.  More precisely, he was referring to the herds of people clamoring for PLR products right after he, and some of his clients, pitched them on the virtues of going it the Schefren way.  It's safe to say it did not include PLR. ;-)

Like so many others, I personally see the value in some of the free lead-in materials Rich has given away.  I just don't see value in his characterization of people as "blind idiots" other than were he to say it as a guest writer on Sam Freedom's Internet Marketing Controversy Blog. 

But, also, like so many others, it's kind of icky and distasteful when someone with Rich's reach and visibility not only can't comprehend that a whole bunch of people are taking time to tell him why they are upset but that he then goes on to make them wrong.  He then adds insult to the injury by switching the focus of the conversation onto something that it never was in the first place... a tactic I've only come to expect from Hilary Clinton.

His reply to the mounting discontent is in italics, interspersed with my response to it.  And the whole shebang can be found right here at Rich Schefren's blog.  It's lengthy but if you enjoy a good dissection of a "holier-than-thou" reply from a "marketer-gone-crazy" then you'll find yourself enjoying this quite a bit:

Let's get a few things straight.

Already, it's obvious that Rich hasn't connected with those who found his actions objectionable.

When I said, "We can no longer be friends", I was referring to my readers, prospects, clients, and fellow internet marketers that claim they’re listening to me, agreeing with me, but still (for some strange reason) not hearing my message.

For some strange reason?!  You're supposedly surrounded by dozens of people who, along with yourself, make 100s of 1000s of dollars and the best you can come up with for why a number of people are not hearing your message is "for some strange reason"?!  THAT, Rich, is what is partly causing the ruckus amongst your (very tolerant) readers. 

Now I don't mind a ruckus but if you're going to present yourself as an authority on something and then chalk up areas where you're "less effective" as not working due to "some strange reason" then you seriously have to wake up and humble yourself a bit.  Maybe ask someone who's not so identified with your wealthy inner circle for some insight.

I despise opportunistic thinking (as opposed to strategic thinking). It's been one of my central rallying points since starting Strategic Profits.

Here's why: It's a bug (like a software bug), a thinking virus of some sort, residing in the brains of all those infected.. I say it's a bug because it's flies in the face of all reality. It's a desire to get something for nothing. And that my friends is the one of the initial ingredients to everything bad in this world.

The PARASITE inside must be starved – yet, the opportunist thinker does the opposite – it feeds it.

Good luck, Rich.  Bigger thinkers than you have been fried for attempting to impart this wisdom to the masses.  I think the well-known phrase, "Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger" is wildly popular as a result of it.  Can you imagine what it would be like if you stepped into the center of a real Roman-era gladiator match and said, "What is wrong with you people?  Don't you know this is bad?"

I will give you a hint:  think "lion".

When you focus your attention on a free ride to your dreams – and you pay whoever promises you the fastest and easiest trip, you can be guaranteed only one thing – the destination is never what was sold to you.

So, if you really believe there’s a magic "SECRET" that stands between yourself and massive wealth, or that there are real people (just like you and me) who know the secrets, but for some reason they are “SECRETS THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW”. Then you are either paranoid, scarcity minded, or insane – not three qualities I look for in my friends.

Let's hope any of your friends who are million-dollar copywriters don't hear you talking like that.  You're threatening to put them all out of business since they rely on people being paranoid, scarcity-minded and insane.  And many even suggest negative consequences might occur by not using the product or by using a competitor's version, so it's like someone said in your comment section, you can't be in bed with these guys and then shame their victims, too.

My lord, Rich... working with the victimizers and then shaming their victims.  How dastardly!

So, if I’ve been describing you - I don’t want to be friends with you anymore – it really is as simple as that.

Ouch, you just described yourself and don't even realize it.  You must be paranoid that if all of those PLR-hoarding and MRR-chasing "idiots" continue to chase and hoard that things will become more scarce for you and those who pay you big money to teach them.  Think about it, how can you continue to command respect from prospects if people keep running to PLR and MRR opportunities to bother you enough to publicly call them "idiots."

You once asked,

What’s even more troubling is how unconscious opportunity seekers are to this "blind inner idiot" controlling their actions. Is it only me who sees this? Am I the only one whose perplexed with the inherent disconnect between what people say they " understand and agree with" and what they go running to the back of the room to buy?

Why did you abandon that question?  There is an answer but you do what most people do and try to answer it yourself.  The fact is, Rich, you either understand or you don't.  And if you don't, then be honest about it.  Simply blaming it on your potential customers isn't going to increase your understanding any sooner than sincerely seeking a good source of wisdom.  But instead, you quote another marketer,

One of my mentors, Jay Abraham, used to always say he didn’t want to be anyone’s intellectual entertainment. I always felt I knew what he meant by this. Yet today my comprehension of this statement is 10 times stronger than it was 2 days ago.

There's no shortage of people who take a great piece of wisdom and use it to avoid dealing with their incompetence.  Having written a blog where you not only blame everyone as expressing their "blind, inner idiot", you then proceed to insult everyone again by saying that they didn't understand you the first time... like they don't know when they're being called "idiots" or when you're being hypocritical. 

So ironically, this "enhanced comprehension" of yours results in you becoming someone's intellectual entertainment.  Wow...

A few readers have questioned why I would be friends with Mike Filsaime, and using him as an example of someone who sells "crap".

At first I ignored these comments because they aren't even on the same page of this post. There's a big difference between an opportunity seeker and a sleezy marketer (which is what certain readers were accusing mike of being – which I disagree with 100%). I was writing about opportunity seekers and some of you felt it was a good place to point fingers at Mike and basically accuse him of sleezy marketing.

I saw it but, I ignored it, hoping one of my readers would address the issue for me so I didn't need to get involved.

Well, it seems no one did.  I guess that makes us not only "blind, idiots" but "silent, blind idiots", as well.

First, to make it clear to the readers, I have personally never said such a thing about Mike.  However, it would be yet another mistake to just dismiss all of those statements about Mike because they weren't stated as a slights to Mike.  In fact, if you really want to take responsibility for your actions, you'll realize that Mike was doing just fine in whatever part of the world he is in, and wasn't even in this spotlight until you pronounced yourself high and mighty by referring to PLR and MRR-chasers as "idiots."

THAT is when people brought up your association with Mike Filsaime who was once a big player in the PLR/MRR market.

So it's understandable that you think such accusations "aren't even on the same page [as] this post" because you saw them as an attack on Mike when they were really questions about your hypocrisy.  And since you didn't see yourself as being hypocritical, you couldn't possibly have understood why people brought up Mike.

And that has allowed you to divert ATTENTION away from what, I'd bet, for most people, is the offending matter:  that you have coached people who have not only raised a whole internet marketing generation on the virtues of MRR and PLR but who have also profited from it handsomely... and without which, you would have not been paid, or had enough attention, to be running around calling non-Schefrenites, "idiots."

Yes, it’s true Mike Filsaime IS a close personal friend of mine. In fact, I feel extremely fortunate to be such close friends with Mike.

He was the friend that pushed me just enough to convince me to release the Internet Business Manifesto, He was the friend who believed in my message so much, he called all of his affiliates to personally get their commitment to mail for me. On top of all that, there’s even more. On my long list of well known clients – he was the ONLY (yes –only) guru who ever gave me credit when he was on stage in front of hundreds or thousands of marketers.

So, you can probably understand, when it comes to Mike Filsaime I am more than just a little biased.

I am, too, Rich.  I've spoken with Mike on several occasions.  My strongest impression of him is that of a really nice guy with a big heart who has helped many people.  But there's 2 things you don't seem to be quite comprehending here:

  1. That makes him a good salesman and then, quite possibly, a good friend.  It doesn't mean that the people who wrote on your blog were wrong.
  2. It doesn't address the fact that you called those who didn't get your sales pitch "idiots" for being conditioned by sales tactic and techniques that have been heavily used by some of the people from whom you've learned and with whom you've worked.

That's all people were saying and they brought up Mike as the most obvious example that came to mind.  They didn't expect that you'd get all distracted and twist the whole affair into a defense of Mike no more than you expected they'd get offended at you for suggesting they, and others in their midst, are idiots for still believing that PLR and MRR can be profitable.

But I am not only friends with Mike Filsaime because of what he’s done for me. In fact, there’s a bigger reason. I’ve got massive respect for Mike, he’s and I are very different types of people - in fact, sometimes I wish I acted a little more like Filsaime.

Mike’s an action oriented guy that gets things done fast. It’s that quick “get it done” quality that makes Mike one of the most successful guys in our industry and someone I admire.

Rich, Mike is doing well and knows who is friends are.  Commenters on your blog wanted you to address the fact that some of those from whom you've learned and with whom you've worked are partly responsible for conditioning those to whom you clearly referred to as "idiots" and, unfortunately, as I'd said earlier, you're attempting to supply the solution to a problem titled, "Mike is a bad guy."

And that wasn't the problem.  The problem lay in your having triggered it all.

Now, I am not going to defend every product he’s ever produced, it’s not my job to, and that’s not how I judge someone. I am also not going to defend his good reputation because a few like to question it. Anyone can do a google search on Mike, and make up there own mind.

A Google search is not the definitive measure by which one should make up their mind.  I hope you don't tell that to your high-paying clients.

I think I would NOT be a friend to Mike to allow this blog post to go off topic in such a way where the facts are just not stated correctly and I wanted to let my readers know that I think Mike's products are great I happen to know he really cares about his customers and the value he create for them.

You would NOT be a friend to Mike if you do not take responsibility for having called your unconverted prospects "blind, idiots" for doing what Mike, and others, had once been doing and/or selling themselves.  These "blind, idiots" saw (and continue to see) PLR and MRR putting food on the table TODAY.  And while your teaching might be of immense value, they see it putting food on the table TOMORROW and, by nature, people struggle with "faith" and tend to gravitate towards that which they can put their hands on TODAY.

Imagine you are faced with a hungry animal that has a rack of lamb in its mouth.  Your job, in essence, is to convince that hungry animal that it will have X times more food DELIVERED to it day-after-day for many years to come if it just drops the small amount of food in its mouth TODAY.  That's not easy.  And blaming the hungry masses is not the way to do it.

He’s one of the good guys and I refuse to have a few point to one out of his over 100 products as proof of anything.

It wasn't proof of anything.  It was a point-of-fact that made it possible for your readers, and therefore, POTENTIAL CLIENTS, to question what they found to be a massive discrepancy in your characterization of PLR and MRR users as "blind idiots."  Mike Filsaime did what any experienced marketer should have done.  He groomed his lists and continually refined them down to smaller and smaller lists of more capable people who were willing to pay more for certain kinds of information not everyone else could use.

That wasn't the problem.

The problem started when you referred to all those "left behind", the ones who couldn't make the cut and who either couldn't use or afford the next level of guidance as "blind idiots."

To put it in terms you've used and can, therefore, hopefully understand, "Am I the only one seeing this?"  Or better yet, since you trust Mike and Jay so much, why don't you go ask THEM if it was a good idea to call ANYONE an idiot... that is, without having the solution to their idiocy immediately for sale and at a price they could afford.

Tsk, tsk.. shame on you.  As a marketer, you should have, at least, had a solution for their idiocy.

(Wilber, quoted in "Rational Mysticism" by John Horgan): "You get this experience: 'Oh my God! I am one with God! Oh, this is amazing! Nobody's EVER had this experience in the entire history of the universe!' But the personality that you had before you got your satori is the personality you're stuck with. If you're a geeky little toad, then you're gonna be a geeky little toad that thinks he's God. And then it's going to be really hard to get rid of your geeky toadness, because nobody can tell God what to do... There's nothing wrong with having a healthy ego; it helps you get things done in the world. But when gurus proclaim themselves to be perfect masters no longer bound by human ethics, things start to get very, very ugly.

It happens all the time. Not SOME of the time. ALL the time."


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

Wikipedia - Google's Anna Nicole Smith

Remember that old set of Encyclopedia Britannica you have... somewhere downstairs? growing mold? up high, on a dusty old, shelf? Remember that one?

Don't Throw Those Old Encyclopedias Away Yet!

It seems there's another juicy bit of controversy going around.

The case I'm about to make is SO nefarious and worthy of extreme scrutiny that I'm surprised it hasn't been raised before in much greater detail.

My Assistant

Beginning with Fantomas' Fantomnews, Ralph Tegtmeier refuses to pull punches in both the name and the writing of his article, "The Spammer’s Guide to Wikipedia Hacking", a pretty-much, tongue-in-cheek look at how Google blindly throws its ability to manipulate search rankings behind a site that is uber-ripe for gaming,

"If you though that Wikipedia was a mildly nutty but essentially benevolent amateur community effort at an unprecedented scale, leveraging the wisdom of crowds to create an immensely useful repository of human knowledge - well, there’s no need to rethink that view as long as you know that you’re dealing with a venture that’s wildly unreliable and inaccurate in too many respects to seriously compete with the professional setups such as the Encyclopedia Britannica and others."

Of course, I'm going to take it a step further and say that there's nothing mildly nutty or essentially benevolent about it. It's EXTREMELY nutty and very dangerous. In case anyone hasn't quite noticed, there's a cute little Kumbaya-type slogan on the very top of Wikipedia's front page that goes like this:

Just In Case You're Brainfogged By All the BS Floating Around the Net These Days, Let Me Spell It Out For You:

SOCIAL ENGINEERING. HI GOOGLE.

Remember that AT BEST, Wikipedia is that "mildly nut bunch of essentially benevolent amateurs"? Well, at worst, it's an "extremely nutty bunch of amateurs with a naiveté that is essentially dangerous." Just how in the heck do these nutty, naive amateurs imagine that YOU can change the world just by donating money? Even at its very outset, that premise is speculative and borderlines on the ridiculous.

In Fact, Guess Where I Got This

"Before one can engage in social engineering, one must have reliable information about the society that is to be engineered, and one must have effective tools to carry out the engineering."

If you guess Wikipedia, you get a cookie and go to the head of the class. More precisely, it was in a sub-heading of "Social Engineering" titled, "Social Engineering Through History". But doesn't it all just sound so nice?

wikipedia YOU can change the world on DIGG

But, one very astute Digger, in response to the Digg pictured above wrote,

I'm not quite sure developing countries need Wikipedia on DVDs.
I'm not quite sure how much different Wikipedia on a book is different from an encyclopedia.
I'm not quite sure how much information you'll be able to fit on a pamphlet.

So you see, when you're sitting at home feeling pretty much like a powerless geek, the mere idea that donating $5 to Wikipedia can somehow transform you into a revolutionary for social change is understandably attractive. But like our "comrade digger", we, too, can avoid being sucked into a "social engineering funnel" if we just take a few seconds to put our precious grey matter to use.

Do you understand? Even just for starters, it reeks of such incredible juvenile thinking. Is there anything wrong with Britannica other than it doesn't employ nutty people who are essentially naive about their pawn-like contribution to social engineering? Or that socialists everywhere hate the fact that Britannica is a capitalist company that pays taxes in the U.S.?

Slow and Steady Wins the Race and with a Consistent,
3,600 Alexa Ranking, Britannica Ain't No Slouch

What is the Best Online Encyclopedia?

Which Brings Us Back to Google:

The Company That Censored Search Results for the Government of the Peoples' Republic of China

If Wikipedia is so awesome, and so capable of changing the world - and if Wikipedia, due to it's SugarDaddy, Google, is experiencing an impressive Top 10 traffic ranking in Alexa, then why, pray tell, are there only 26,000 donations?

After all, WE can change the world, right? So why aren't WE?

I'm not quite sure developing countries need Wikipedia on DVDs.
I'm not quite sure how much different Wikipedia on a book is different from an encyclopedia.
I'm not quite sure how much information you'll be able to fit on a pamphlet.

I think it's a safe bet that there's a LOT more who aren't quite sure from where he came. Oh, I'm sure, when that first Wikipedia DVD hits the streets of Chad or Madagascar, there'll be no shortage of news-hungry outlets covering it, but will it really be changing the world? No, it won't. If it were... if it could, there'd be no need to reinvent the wheel. Truly benevolent, non-nutty minds would just go to Encyclopedia Britannica and impress upon them their concept of changing the world by spreading DVD encyclopedias all around impoverished nations (accurate, non-gamed encyclopedias, mind you). But it's not about changing the world. As you'll soon understand, it's about "dreaming about" changing the world.

Btw, isn't that why nutty people think radical Islamists hate us? Because we spread our influence all over the place in the belief that we're doing good?

Do Wikipedians think they'll want copies of Wikipedia DVDs in Saudi Arabia? Yemen? Syria? Iran? Maybe Al-Qaeda would be more accepting of Wikipedia's world-changing DVDs if only the U.S. would get out of Iraq. I'll bet there's a bunch that actually believe that.

The Truth Is More Likely That...

Anna Nicole Smith is Like Wikipedia
Wait, isn't that the Nazi salute? ;-)

...it wouldn't matter if, even a year after this article, there were 100,000 donations made to Wikipedia. Because, if we take the quote with which Wikipedia so kindly provided us earlier...

"Before one can engage in social engineering, one must have reliable information about the society that is to be engineered, and one must have effective tools to carry out the engineering."Social engineering (political science)

...we can begin to see why Google plays J. Howard Marshall to Wikipedia's Anna Nicole Smith. Wikipedia doesn't know jack squat about the society that is to be engineered (in this case, the whole world). But once again, we have to thank those mildly nutty, borderline dangerous, naively manipulatable bunch of Wikipedians for helping us find a quote to couple with the previous one:

"Social engineering (security) is a collection of techniques used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery for information gathering or computer system access and in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim." Social engineering (security)

And that, of course, is where Google comes in.

Conclusion

Some may chalk it up to a difference of styles... or "professional courtesy", when well-known personalities in the SEO world acknowledge such odd results in a more toned-down or tongue-in-cheek way:

"By fixing the above issues, they may very well rank for the remaining 11 keywords." Aaron Wall, When Will Wikipedia Rank for Everything?

"From my perspective, there may be slightly less of an incentive for spammers to hit Wikipedia pages in the short term, but no less value to serious marketers seeking to boost traffic and authority by creating relevant Wikipedia links." Randy Fishkin "Wikipedia Finally Makes the Right Decision"

But, you see, this isn't just SEO - this is big-time social engineering on the part of Google. Rather than BUY Wikipedia, which they can't anyways, and screw it all up with their "Do No Evil"-style of evil, they just get Wikipedia drunk with lots of Google juice. And just like J. Howard Marshall gave Anna Nicole money and Howard K. Stern (allegedly) gave Anna Nicole drugs, none of them really cared WHO she slept with as long as she'd flash them her ta-tas once in a while.

I'll say it again - Google doesn't care about you. The only thing they care about is serving ads - the more targeted the better. And as long as all the mildly nutty, essentially benevolent, little do-gooding Wikipedians think that their 26,000 donations "to-date" are going to help them spread Wikipedia goodness all throughout Chad and the Ivory Coast, then we can thank them for helping Google to better "serve" (read: game) us.

food not bombs but not dvds either

EARTH TO GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA...!

ILLITERATE, STARVING CHILDREN CAN'T READ OR EAT DVDS.

AND JUICING UP WIKIPEDIA SO YOU CAN STUDY US EVEN MORE IS EVIL.


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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An Internet Marketing Contoversy Blog Thanksgiving Poll

In keeping in line with the tradition and title of this blog, "Sam Freedoms Internet Marketing Controversy Blog", I'd like to extend to YOU the opportunity to be heard in a way that very few marketers or bloggers, in general, would dare allow.  But first, in honor of the Thanksgiving tradition, I present to you...

An Internet Marketer's Top 10 Reasons to be Grateful:

  1. Mastercard

  2. Discover

  3. Visa

  4. Amex

  5. Paypal

  6. 2CheckOut

  7. Blogger

  8. Sphinn

  9. Black Hat SEO

  10. A Sense of Humor

Now, as promised, here's your chance to speak out... no wait... it wouldn't be a good blog post without a couple of obligatory Thanksgiving videos.  But I must caution you, these are Sam Freedom Internet Marketing Controversy Blog type choices, so please empty your mouth of all liquids and shelter your childrens' eyes:

Sam Freedom Hand-Picked Thanksgiving Videos

Will It Blend?  Thanksgiving Dinner

Celebrity Bric-a-Brac Theatre:
The Story of Thanksgiving

Ok, and now, as promised, your chance to speak out...

Internet Marketing Blogger's Holiday Poll

Q.  Assuming you celebrated any given holiday in question, what do you think of marketers wishing you a happy holiday?

TO EVERYONE WHO CELEBRATES IT....
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

And if not...

MAY GOD HAVE MERCY UPON YOUR SOUL!

Ok, we now return you to your regularly scheduled fleecing...


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Corrupted Wish for Internet Marketing and SEO

"Corrupted Wish" threads are popping up all over the place.  You usually find them on MySpace or Facebook.  In short, "corrupted wish" is a fun game that forces you to be creative and see things in a new perspective.  It's not a new game but I'm giving it a new "internet marketing", "seo", "blogging" twist.

How it works
Corrupt the wish of the person above you, then make your own wish.

Examples of Corrupting a Wish
Person A: I wish I could have top listing in Google for all my competitors keywords.
Person B: Wish granted, but you are banned from using the internet ever again.

Person B: I wish this post goes hot on Sphinn.
Person A: Wish granted, but now you are broke from paying shills.

Person A: I wish my BlogRush widget actually brought me some traffic.
Person B: It does, but John Reese accuses you of gaming the system and kicks you out.

Person B: I wish I could write awesome articles
Person A: Wish granted, but both your arms go numb.

Person A: I wish I knew how to milk Twitter for millions!
Person B: Wish granted, but you go psychotic from all the tweets.

Person B: I wish Yaro Starak would feature me in one of his articles!
Person A: Wish granted, but he portrays you as the biggest jerk in the world.

Person A: I wish Andy Beard did all my site optimization.
Person B: Wish granted, but he optimized it for "pedophile."

Ok, so here goes...

I Wish Everyone Sheds Their Lurker Status and Plays Along.


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Free Internet Marketing Ebooks - Caroline Middlebrook Is At It Again!

Caroline Middlebrook is at it again...

In "Why I'm Angry with Caroline Middlebrook And Her Big Juicy Guide to Twitter", I pretended to be dismayed as a fun way of saying, "Ya better hurry up and pick up Caroline's Twitter Guide before she changes her mind!"

This time she's giving away the house.  Ok, maybe not the house.

But, in an effort to become better known and, therefore, better "visited", she's compiled a list of free ebooks by well-known marketers and put them all in one place for you in, "Free Internet Marketing Related Ebooks". 

So What's The Catch?!

There's no obvious catch and Caroline certainly doesn't intend one but there's a cautionary tale told between accomplished internet marketers about the perils of conditioning people to become "freebie seekers."  Although, I've always said, "Inside every freebie seeker is a customer waiting to be born."

Later, as my experience grew, I added, "And inside every customer is a business owner waiting to be born..."

So there's nothing wrong with giving out a bunch of freebies if it's done in good measure.  Besides, with my very first website, "Sam Freedom's Sharing the Love!"...

Who Am I To Call the Kettle Black?


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The Ridiculously Simple Solution to Blogger Error Codes When Installing or Publishing a Template or Layout

"Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird...It's a Plane... It's Superman!"

No it's not.  It's Blogger publishing error codes.  And at last count, there were at least 5 error codes specific to New Blogger that seemed to provide the bulk of the angst plaguing both newbies and techno-geeks alike.  The error codes all seem to occur during an attempt to either install a new template OR publish one with new mods.  The errors include, but might not be limited to:

  1. Error code bX-aigizw;
  2. Error code bX-bl6ew0;
  3. Error code bX-8o4rmd;
  4. Error code bX-88j389; and,
  5. Error code bX-1n3uk8

As I ran face first into a couple of these blogger error notifications myself, I surfed on over to Google's "Blogger Help" group to immediately begin an inquiry.  Once I arrived, I found no shortage of the usual cries for help by countless bloggers seeking solutions to the very same set of demonic error codes.

But Then I Noticed Something Peculiar

Actually, I noticed a few things that were peculiar.

First, there were no solutions!  There were a handful of replies by the usual good Samaritans who really wanted to help but, as you'll seen see, they were doing so in vain.  Many responses focused on whether or not the blogger template's XML code was clean or properly installed.  While others suggested that maybe the blogger had too many widgets or had somehow duplicated widget IDs by "pasting the template code" into to the save window rather than uploading it.

(But remember, that's just filler text because none of that mattered.)

Second, inquiries about blogger publishing error codes were rarely ever followed up with a second inquiry and definitely not with a third.  If any of us had a problem publishing our modified templates or installing new ones, we'd be bouncing all over the map trying to find an answer.  Yet in almost every instance, there was the initial complaint, then maybe a follow-up the next day.  And then.... crickets.   Cheep, cheep.... cheep cheep...

So, No Solutions, Yet Few, If Any, Follow-Ups Equals?


(These poor, poor, people all have a bad case of
Error Codes bX-aigizw; bX-bl6ew0; bX-8o4rmd; bX-88j389; and, bX-1n3uk8 )

But wait.  There was a third thing that was peculiar:   no solutions, no followup and.... no solutions anywhere on Google search results! 

Everyone with an error code problem of ANY kind knows they can usually just run right over to Google, plug in the error code (and sometimes another word or two) and, voila, 8 zillion results come up from techno-droid forums and blogs all across the universe.  So isn't "no solutions, very few follow-ups and no solutions on Google search results" just a tad bit unusual for a blogger publishing error code that seems to trouble so many unsuspecting bloggers?

So Then What Is It?!  And Why Does This Have to Be So Eerie?!!

"WHEN IN DOUBT, REBOOT!"

I won't go into complete detail as to how I troubleshot this thing.  It's enough to just say that I had like 20 tabs open across 3 windows on Firefox and another 5 windows open on IE (because you can only log into one gmail acct per browser).  I was going to do a full reboot but wanted to see if it would really be enough just to free up a bunch of resources and after shutting down both browsers and restarting FireFox, there were no more publishing error codes and my blogs published like a charm.

IN CONCLUSION

To answer Aditya who, in the first comment on Improbulus', "Blogger Error Code Blog" post, asked...

""How can an error exist that the programmers don’t know about? Shouldn’t errors on an implemented system be known? Otherwise how is the system running?"

...the answer is:  Because they weren't following Chris Ortman on Twitter.  Had they been, they'd have solved that "problem" in no-time!

(Btw, if you have a sense of humor, then take 2 seconds and follow Chris Ortman on Twitter.  He'll just start getting massive follow notices out of the clear blue for no apparent reason at all and it'll boggle his mind.)

And if you want to help bloggers who are desperate for an answer to these error code problems, then link back.  Even though they're only going to suffer for about 18 hours tops, do you really want them to suffer that long when a simple link back could have helped prevent it all?


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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

PayPerJokes Crime and Google Does Evil - My First Review

Ah, sweet controversy is in the air and I just can't tell you how much I love it.

After commenting on Andy Beard's article about Pay-Per-Joke and reading one of his Stumbles about the same, I just had to laugh and finish something I'd wanted to start a few weeks ago.

First, let's get it clear:  Google doesn't care about you.  It's a company that has to pretend to care about you and many of you really believe it does because it provides an opportunity for the godless to feel as if they belong to something much larger and much better than themselves.  I honestly realize how tempting it is to want to believe that Google is good or, in the very least, benign.  But it isn't...

No, I'm Sorry People.  It Isn't Even Neutral.

You see, when technology outpaces the consciousness of those who develop it and, most certainly, those for whom it is intended to serve, then we got a big problem here, folks.

Too Good to Be True?

Not too long ago, a company I'll call Pay-Per-Joke (not it's real name) came onto the scene.  In the only nutshell that really matters, advertisers paid no-name, Q-list bloggers to write reviews about their sites for pennies on the dollar of what REAL reviews from REAL reviewers should cost.  But ever the desperate bunch, many bloggers, who were starved from having believed in the Adsense dream, all went a-flocking to Pay-Per-Joke for their thimbleful of monetary goodness (note: I have to exclude bloggers like Andy Beard from such characterizations, as well as others of his level, who qualify as REAL reviewers.  Even big fish get caught once in a while...).

And for those who can't already tell... the reviewee got not only a review of questionable quality but, more importantly, a quality BACKLINK surrounded by highly relevant, targeted keywords.

Now Wait Just A Gosh Darn Minute...

Now I might not be a rocket scientist, but isn't that a barely veiled scheme to sell links?  Of course it was.  After all a REAL review should be done by someone who actually USES a product or site, or lives and breathes the topic, and not by someone who just graduated from college and only knows how to research a term paper.  In fact, it wasn't too long ago that I pretty much warned anyone passing through in, "Get Your Vaseline Out, Google Is At It Again (re: Paid Links)".  I mean, why couldn't people see this coming?  And do you notice I don't even use Pay-Per-Joke's real name on my blog?  Coincidence?  Because Google is ferreting them out with a vengeance.

When Knowing Too Much Can Get You "Killed."

Andy Beard has shared his thoughts-a-plenty on the Pay-Per-Joke matter even BEFORE his site was eviscerated because of it:

"Now I should point out that at this time Google is interpreting this as gaming PageRank. I personally feel this is the wrong interpretation, but then my own interpretation could be extremely biased. I have been penalized by Google, even though I believe I don't sell PageRank." (Andy Beard, "Pied Piper of [Pay-Per-Joke]". I don't want PPJ's name on my blog even in a link so I left the other links instead.)

There's no doubt in the mind of anyone who knows Andy that he's one of the most knowledgeable, well-informed sources about SEO but what he was up against, all the while, wasn't SEO - what he was up against was mechanics and a bit of psychology. 

Andy has been "technically" right.

"Compensation in whatever form should be based upon the time involved, expertise, and possibly the size and influence of the audience, and not based upon any SEO benefit to a site or service being reviewed."

But corporations, whose main interest is their survival, don't always care about what is technically right (see: "Warning! Big Twitter Is Watching YOU!").  And Pay-Per-Joke was the equivalent of a "Pagerank hemorrhage on the horizon" and Google couldn't sit around and wait for Pay-Per-Joke to get their "ethics department" up to snuff. ;-)

PAY-PER-JOKE WAS A PAID LINK SCHEME, PERIOD.

The fact is, PPJ was a paid link scheme.  I mean, let's just call things what they are.  When I had once dipped my toe into the pool of black hat experimentation, I didn't pretend it was anything else.  So why are people writing 8,000 posts about this matter?  IT'S PAID LINKS AND GOOGLE DOESN'T LIKE THAT.  And all the "technically correct" opinions about it aren't going to change the only fact that matters to Google because Google's primary interest is Google.  It's not interested in people who unwittingly get caught in the crossfire, like Andy, or a bunch of starving young chickadees who were only guilty of chasing after what seemed like a really good meal.

In short, we're all losers in that one, folks.  And, in my opinion, a crime has been committed... just not one that's on the books yet.

FULL DISCLOSURE

This article serves as my REVIEW of Pay-Per-Joke.  Even though Pay-Per-Joke summarily denied my blog...

"Thank you for your blog submission! 

Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your blog because it fails to meet one or more requirements from our Terms of Service.  Specifically, blogs must not have any non-writing periods of 30+days in the past 90 days. After your blog meets the criteria listed in our Terms, then you may resubmit."

...they still fiendishly allowed me, as an applicant waiting for acceptance, to work on the first opportunity:  a review about pay-per-joke.

So what I want to know is...

WHERE'S MY 20 BUCKS?!!??!


Sam Freedom"s Internet Marketing Controversy Blog

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Saturday, November 17, 2007

Warning! Big Twitter Is Watching YOU!

BIG TWITTER IS WATCHING YOU.

"5.  ...pages on other websites which display data hosted on Twitter.com must provide a link back to Twitter."

Ok, Here Ya Go - Link to Twitter

The De-Tweetification of Sam Freedom

Those of you who have not warmed up to me yet will find this next bit, doubtlessly, enjoyable.

About 2-3 days ago, it became obvious to me that my Twitter tweets were no longer working.  I'd attempt to send them and they would just quietly disappear into Twitter nothingness.  I thought Twitter, being as bug-riddled as it is, was merely having a youthful version of a senior moment - so I figured a couple hours and she'd be right as rain.

I Was Wrong.

Tweet after tweet became forever lost in the Twitter Abyss so off to Twitter support I went to craft my crafty request....

Turn Me Back On, Now

I mused that, perhaps, one of their over-zealous, support staff had spied my "Further Exploition via Data Mining on Twitter" and began to have hallucinations of young exploited Indian children laboring over piles of freshly woven socks in some underground sweatshop.  So I made it clear that I had included the precise definition of "exploit" in the article which reads "to gain an advantage", which we are all pretty much trying to do anyways.

So I Was Met With The Following

Hello Sam,

Thanks for your email. One or more of these things may cause your profile to be flagged for review:

  1. you've followed a large number of people in a short amount of time
  2. there is a small number of followers compared to number of people you're following
  3. the updates consist mainly of links and not personal updates
  4. a large number of users blocking the profile and writing in with spam complaints

When this happens, we suspend the account temporarily and hide the contents from the public timeline in order to remove the cause of user complaint. We like to keep the Twitter community more based on personal updates rather than links, and ask that you manage your content according to this. I can turn your profile on for your current followers, but we'll monitor the profile and if complaints continue we'll have to turn it off again. Thanks for your understanding in this matter,

Well, First Of All, Twitter Can Go Suck An Egg

Lest some passer-by without a set of his or her own think Twitter "has the right" to do whatever they want because they own it.  Sure, just like I have the right to invite you in my house and then kick you out because you ate only my green M&Ms.  We do, but presenting themselves as "social media" which is largely about "the conversation", they sure fell short of the mark.

But in case you still don't get it, let me dissect that sterile reply for you line by line:

you've followed a large number of people in a short amount of time

No kidding:  "Quick Tip on How to Get Followers on Twitter, Fast!"  Not only was I not hiding that fact, but also never found even a remote reference to any such nonsense in your terms of service; which, by the way, is far out of the way on the bottom of the inner FAQ pages.  And whose fault is that anyways since you not only make it effortless to view everyone's "Following" list but also to FOLLOW them?  Doesn't it make sense that someone we find very interesting might have good taste in who they follow, so that we might want to get to know them, too? 

So instead of interfering with my social experience, why don't you do what the big boys do and either add captcha or respond with a nice notice that says something like, "Hey!  Slow Down!  You're following too fast."  That would be cool.  But interfering with the social experience of innocent users is not.

 

there is a small number of followers compared to number of people you're following

This is just plain disappointing coming from an alleged "social" media provider.  Are you really saying that because someone dares to actually follow a large amount of people before they've gained a massive following of their own, they're somehow violating TOS or tripping red flags?  Why don't you do what the big boys do and rather than interfering with my social experience, at least provide some kind of a heads-up that such a red flag even exists.

Believe me, it's preferable to having the Twitter Gestapo kick down peoples' doors in the middle of the night because their merry band of followers is somehow insufficient to allow them to follow X amount of people.  I guess unpopular Twitterers are pretty much screwed once they follow that Xth person.

It's also not our fault that you haven't given us a way to MASS UNFOLLOW people who aren't following us in return.  To unfollow all those people would take well over a day because you haven't made it possible to unfollow en masse.  But you certainly made it possible to be penalized for not doing it.

the updates consist mainly of links and not personal updates

Now we're getting somewhere.  This point is ap-kray (crap).  It has NOTHING to do with LINKS.  First of all, a lot of MY followers were introduced to Twitter, or my Twitter existence, via MY blog on which I had been ADVERTISING for Twitter pretty much for FREE.  Remember, that's how you got to be so big in the first place.  Second, if this were REALLY about LINKS, then you'd have to shut down Robert Scoble's link dump account and Seesmic and so many other people whose 1000000s of links are passing through the public timeline RIGHT NOW.

So links only bother you unless it clearly benefits you to be associated with the person dumping tons of links.  That's fine, but at least fully disclose that.  Just say somewhere that it's ok for Robert Scoble and anyone else who brought you 1000s of followers to flood Twitter with links but everyone else should be concerned about tripping red flags and getting their tweets shut off.  No problem.  Just make it clear. 

And, by the way, I have no remorse for tweeting 5 or 6 links for the hour or 2 following each of my blog posts.  AFTER ALL, that IS where I met many of my followers.  Links by ME to MY BLOG which has INSPIRED people to some cooler ways of benefitting from Twitter, should be a lot less offensive than 1000s of links by other users going to other sites including competitors.

Or maybe you are saying that your vision for Twitter should be limited to 100000s of people talking about useless nonsense like how they're enjoying their coffee without ever pointing to an external site.. .well, not too much anyways.  Which is kind of a funny thing since we're on the internet.

a large number of users blocking the profile and writing in with spam complaints

Well, was it that?  And if so, don't those complainers have a BLOCK button?  Were there REALLY spam complaints?  And did you REALLY review them? And why didn't you, at least, send a nice note explaining, "Hey, we've suspended your account due to a couple of spam complaints.  We're sorry but give us a day or two to review them and figure out if they have merit."

But you just shut off my tweets and said nothing.  So instead of interfering with my social experience, why don't you do like the big boys do and tell people to BLOCK or UNFOLLOW someone first and then see if the complaints continue.

Now let's go over the basic terms and see if I'm still a Tweeter in good standing:

Twitter's Basic Terms

  • You must be 13 years or older to use this site.

Check, I think.

  • You are responsible for any activity that occurs under your screen name.

Check.  Except when the devil makes me "do it."

  • You are responsible for keeping your password secure.

Check.  I'll make sure my anti-virus definitions are up-to-date.

  • You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.

Check, but I'm trying really hard to hold back right now.

  • You may not use the Twitter.com service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. International users agree to comply with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content.

Check, I'm no longer acquainted with members of the Medallin cartel.

  • You are solely responsible for your conduct and any data, text, information, screen names, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, links ("Content") that you submit, post, and display on the Twitter.com service.

Check, but if something about this rule drew the red flag, I'd probably have agreed.

  • You must not modify, adapt or hack Twitter.com or modify another website so as to falsely imply that it is associated with Twitter.com .

Check, I'm scrapping the TWAMBLA website I had in mind.

  • You must not create or submit unwanted email to any Twitter members ("Spam").

Check.  But if I actually had their emails that might be a different story.

  • You must not transmit any worms or viruses or any code of a destructive nature.

Check, except the ones you give me.

  • You must not, in the use of Twitter, violate any laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws).

Check.  Looks like I'm moving to Nevada.

So Then What's The Problem, Twitter? 

A little overzealous are we?  Micro-managing things just a little too much, maybe?  Just a big twit in a little roost, huh?

Well, If You Can't Handle the Tweet, Twitter, Then Get Out of the Twittin'...!

Now, If You Want to See Some REAL Spam, click here.


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Friday, November 16, 2007

When Stealing from Bloggers Is OK - A Technorati Moment

Perhaps a better term to use would have been "emulate" but emulate begins with "emu" and I wanted to take care not to offend the few animal rights activists that might be passing through.  So "steal" it is...

So Tell Me, Would You Consider This Site to Be Stealing?

I wasn't asked for my permission and according to this short interview with an IP attorney, that's not ok

So instead of getting my knickers in a bunch, I'm just going to show you a tiny little way of "stealing" that is perfectly ok.  In fact, calling it "stealing" makes it seem a bit dirty but after I'm done telling you what to do, you can shine it all up for me and tell me what you think it should be called.

The Only Thing You Can and Should Steal from Another Blogger

Next time you write an article that links to an article of a blogger you deem competent, consider using the tags they used for their article.  You might find some you never thought of using and as long as they're fairly relevant, you could pick up extra traffic from a field you never thought of before.

Let's take an example...


Shana Albert, SocialDesire.Com

Ok, social media is HOT and Shana's just gone crazy about it.  If you were to find one of her tasty treats worth linking to (ex. "In "Help Me… Social Media is Trying to Take my Life!"), and it was entirely relevant to your "Look How Hot Social Media Is!"-type article, wouldn't it make sense to grab her tags, too?

, ,

And use the category labels as tags, too... why not?

Social Media, Web 2.0, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Blogging, Websites, Web 2.0 Basics, Facebook, Twitter, Time Management

For instance, I wouldn't have thought to use "Social Media Marketing" in a tag, but it's a perfectly good tag.  Though, I'm not sure why she didn't use the category labels as technorati tags, too.  After all, the labels are all relevant and people will be searching those tags on Technorati, so why not?  Maybe there are reasons but, in general, most of us overlook some of the small, simple stuff like getting ideas from tags to relevant blogs to which we link.  And I think it's because we're conditioned to go after the big traffic all the time like at our favorite social sites or commenting on famous blogs.  We don't really think or believe that a few extra, really good tags that we missed could make some kind of a significant difference down the road.  But it can, and does.  I have the stat logs to prove it.

(Note:  Technorati doesn't require a person to actually link to them.  They will pick up ANY tag if the link includes the rel="tag" tag.  Or so I've read...! ;-) )

Conclusion

As I've said before, this is REALLY a numbers game.  If picking up a few extra tags that wouldn't have otherwise occurred to you brings you in even a few extra visitors per month, it's worth the time.  Because each one of those visitors likely has connections to countless other potential visitors and now you know why it's said that the devil is in the details.  This tip is so simple and easy to do.  It's one of those few things that we can actually "steal" from each other without anyone objecting. 

If you're feeling guilty, though, then you might just email the person and say, "Hey, thanks for the tags!"


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