A while ago, sometime last week, I was having an online discussion chat debate cat-fight slamdown bitch-session (OK, just a flat out) argument with a fellow (I assume was a fellow since the language used in their hotmail emails was rather masculine) on the virtues of Social Media verses old Web 1.0 methods of SPAM.
Of course I took the Social Media side of this joust,which, yes, he took the Spam side since he was a SPAMMER..duh!. It is rare that anyone would admit they are a spammer these days. This person did not want to admit it at first and only after about an hour of his insanely wild method of rationalization the situation, he revealed he was a spammer. This resulted in him deeming me a “total loser” and his method of marketing being superior since it results into generating millions of dollars.
Yes, I agree with you. If his method of marketing, which 1., was based on sending thousands upon thousands of emails to addresses bought from a direct marketing firm, and 2.,sending out junk links in posts on every social site created, to millions of honest working people, all of which was allegedly making him a remarkable amount of money, then WTF is he debating with a ‘loser’ like me?
OK. I am aware you are more interested in finding out where this fool came from so you can quickly react by setting up guard in case you are confronted with him/her. However, let me first say, that his/her identity was not able to be determine exactly.
OH, sure, actually getting to talk to an admitted outlaw of the internet was a momentarily a thrill and at first I felt was a ploy to lure me into his spam feast. Sure, I naturally took precaution by using a deposable email address like they do to communicate which may be what broke down the wall and making him comfortable to thinking that I must be a “fellow spammer”. His/her finding out I was not naturally set off the debate. The caution I can give you here is to tell you were he/she resided which I am sure you, as I, will not find too surprising.
The most interesting thing about this incident is how I came about finding this individual. As you are aware, I am a true social mediaist. I am a strong advocate to the marketing of my business face to face. If I cannot get to know my customers then I am not comfortable in doing business with them. Yes, like you, I need thousands of customers so I need to meet thousands of real people. To some that sounds unachievable, but is it?
Social Media, in its rawest form, (as negative as it may sound), is really a form of multilevel marketing (which, for product sales I absolutely hate). If I get to know you better and you trust me and what I offer the market then you are going to tell at a least one other person of what I do, if not hundreds. I don’t know these people you know unless they tell me they know you. At that point you have initiated the prime directive of social media. My reaction is to tell my hundred or so close friends about you and your hundred or more friends and the networking just in that one encounter resulted in at least three people making a connection, but more like hundreds were effected. Now, I didn’t spam anyone, did I?
Well, it was one of these conversations I was having in a blog awhile back that drew out a comment from someone in Facebook. OK, that is not unusual. Then I got a @reply from that some person on Twitter. Moments later I got an almost word for word remark from FriendFeed. A few minutes later a gaggle of comments, link-backs and other contacts to my blog, my Facebook, LinkedIn, FF, Twitter and other accounts came in all within about a five minute span of time. All from different usernames with the exception of the one that came form FB and Twitter..they were exact so I lit into that one common denominator using an HOTMAIL email I created figuring I might be wading into some crap.
BINGO, I got a reply which at first looked like some encrypted code message I equated as some sort of secret cyber handshake. Wanting to get to the bottom of this quickly I bluntly ask..How are you? This must be the secret password because the chat started.
It did not last long..three volleys over an hour and that was all for him/her to determine I was a “loser”. I was able to confirm that his/her main residence was Facebook and Twitter from the remark made that Facebook provides a better hunting ground than MySpace since FB houses a more open younger environment. As for Twitter…”It’s just so easy and tremendously profitable” .
Not since the age of the Pop-Up ads and the dancing American Idol figurines have I seen such a warped prospective of modern day marketing of worthless products..or better yet, philosophy of life. Who are these people? Why do they think the way they do? Better yet, WTF am I doing talking to them?
All good questions. The answer I determined from being out here for a few years is Spammers are are very sick and lazy people perverted on values of life and business. AND, I am not really sure why I even bothered make the contact to one other than to learn more about who it is that is causing so many people (yours and my potential customers) to leave the internet.
OH, well! This ordeal produced a blog for me to write which I felt would help you to be better aware of what is going on out here and to paint a clearer picture of how things should be instead of how they are looking. Hope that helped and if not…let me know how I can help.
