Last week Search Engine Land posted information about a link building opportunity with Wired that caused a bit of commotion after people took advantage of the opportunity.
…”OK, just about two weeks ago we released our “NoSecrets” video. In that video we gave a bunch of new strategies for using social media sites to build your business. One of those sites was scribd.com…Now this is where it got interesting … That NoSecrets” video went viral… And it was viewed many, many tens of thousands of times. Naturally, many of those people put the strategies to work…. But, of course, with SO many people viewing the video, well let’s just say not all of them used the scribd.com strategy the way they were supposed to*. And just a few days after we released thatvideo, scribd.com made some changes. They posted about those changes on their blog…”
No, I don’t condone spam and even more importantly, I don’t condone stupidity. Anytime I write about a strategy and provide example sites, I try to add a “don’t spam” type disclaimer. Not because I’m covering my ass but for site preservation. I don’t want to add to the demise of open sources, I saw what happened to places like Yahoo! Answers and del.icio.us, and I don’t want to be part of turning those places pink.
Publicly sharing link building information and resources has become difficult recently. With certain tactics on the outs and open sources now fighting back, sharing where and how to get links has become a touchy subject.
So what’s an old Pink Floyd lovin’, granola chewing link building chick supporting a viable 2008 business and a new Lexus supposed to do? Share? Not share? Go underground or worse…regurgitate?
Thanks for stopping by. 
I agree that most of the legitimate internet marketers teach link building skills with the rule that you should not spam.
I like to follow the blog of James Brausch, and he always preaches that the way to long term success is to always add value – and spam isn’t adding value.
He, and several other marketers, also say that websites, forums, etc. should be treated as someone’s home, and respected.
The problem is that, if you give someone advice, you can’t police him or her and make them follow the spirit behind the tactics.
Hey Debra,
you’re right on. I like the way you ‘protect’ the sites you link to from these kind of opportunity seekers.
Eventually those people always spam opportunities. But the true ‘internet marketers’ aren’t to blame. Most of them have high standards and operate completely ethical – without spam and breaking site’s policies.
-Dave
Woah… Pink Floyd, granola, Lexus… I had you in my favorites but now I am grabbing your feed. Peace out.
damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
about a week ago i blogged about a specific question on yahoo answers and how it revealed interesting things about the marketing efforts of two companies. within minutes goons tried to mitigate my observation with brand new yahoo answers accounts.
goons are rampant. not much you can do but continue to help people the way you would like.