ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Hype! Has The Internet Gone Too Far?
I remember back in the 1980s (history for many of you reading this), I had a friend working at the University of California who had access to the Internet through the University system. It was new, it was esoteric, it was for academicians, nerds, and professional scientists. Another friend, a salesman, pondered the commercial possibilities. "Sales and marketing," my University friend intoned, is "strongly frowned upon" by the Internet community. Fast forward 20 to 25 years. What happened? A system designed for researchers and academic communities to discuss ideas has become one of the primary means of communication for individuals throughout the world. It is the great leveler: a Bosnian peasant, a Kenyan tribesman, an urban ghetto adolescent, with access to a computer, is on a level with global corporations and top decision makers. The world wide web has created an unprecedented opportunity for verbal intercourse, far beyond anything that has historically been available, for anyone, even the rich and powerful. Blogs, personalized and updated, perhaps several times a day, allow the most humble their day in the sun. What have we done with this new weapon with its potential to unite the world and give every individual, no matter how powerless and lonely, the chance to interact on the world stage? We have commercialized it beyond any reasonable "make a sale" level. We have created the ultimate international snake oil salesperson. We have taken the "great communicator" and transformed him into the "great con." How did this happen? The desire to sell something - anything - morphed into simply the desire to sell. Join any traffic site, SEO group, PR Newsletter, or Internet Forum and you will be immediately inundated with messages about selling. Is there anything wrong with trying to sell a product? Of course not, that is what makes the wheels of commerce go round. I have no objection whatsoever to someone trying to sell me something - that is their job and I respect their right to pursue it. What totally sickens me (how about you?) are the people who are not trying to sell me a product but are selling "how to sell." I belong to several traffic exchange sites (I willingly admit that I'm trying to sell a book) that require me to spend 20 to 30 seconds on other exchange program websites. I have no problem with, and actually admire, someone trying to sell me something, whether I want it or not. I even find myself sighing with relief when I reach a site selling an actual product, whether a bottle of pills, a newsletter, a gift, or an e-book. What frustrates, exasperates, and eventually disgusts me, is the webmaster out there who is not really selling anything tangible, merely selling the reader on selling. How many ads have you encountered that want you to sign-up for "The List," "Marketing Secrets Revealed," or "Make $___ within 48 hours without lifting a finger." How many times have you clicked on a link only to find the same theme: how you can make money off everyone else? If everyone on the net is there to make money, from whom are they making their living? Is there really a vast population of the unwashed, sitting quietly reading their emails and surfing unending Websites, who exist just to buy stuff from these overzealous marketing gurus? Or does the money simply rotate as marketers buy from marketers toward the supreme goal of becoming a better marketer? We live in the information age where knowledge is power, the details of both history and today's world are only a mouse click away, and the ease of access to almost everything approaches the speed of interplanetary travel. What productive use have we identified for all of this data? Future archeologists, digging through our abandoned middens and long forgotten dumpsites, may finally stumble across our great weakness: that making money is the be-all and end-all of life. Shaking their heads in regret, they will publish their findings, reporting on a great civilization that eventually collapsed under the weight of its own hype. Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the effects of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of an interactive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://drvirginiabola.blogspot.com
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Becoming A Successful Internet Entrepreneur You're motivated to run your own business, aren't you? Sneak Up On Your Competition Dear Internet marketers: After going through a couple of months of frustration, I finally came up with ways to "sneak up" on my competition. I thought I would save you a lot of time, money and hard work and share, my experiance with you. First allow me to state a fact: Success = Commitment = Time + Money. Think about it. If money is an issue then time increases to have success increase. Or, if Time is an issue, then money needs to be spent to maintain a path to success. The ideal commitment would be to have an equal mix of both Time and Money. Here is another fact. Something for nothing = nothing. Please allow me explain. If you receive a no cost offer, and make no attempt to investigate, and learn more about how it will benefit you, you have no commitment and nothing for joining. In other words, read training tips. Set up your account so it is functioning properly. You just made a commitment. You have at least invested something valuable, your time. Now you have something. Now build on that. Make a commitment to promote your opportunity. Start your traffic flowing and begin recruiting to have an income. If money is the issue, invest more time with email campaigns that are designed well and SPAM free. Now the sneak attack! Drive traffic to your alfiliate URL or website. Use the following: Traffic Exchanges, Banner Exchanges, Link Exchanges, (if you have our own site and control its contents). Write articles, (make sure they have your opportunity link in them.) then, publish them to the internet. Now you really did something and your commitment increased considerably, without spending a dime, but by investing a considerable amount of time. Your investment just became substantially more valuable. Finally, establish a "Brand" name. Mine is Opportunities Now Internet Marketing Services. I registered my brand with the U. S. Patent Office and Arizona Secretary of State as a TRADE NAME. Cost? About $35.00 doing it myself. That was a whileback, I don't know if those fees have changed. I use my "Brand" on everything. Letters, Newsletters, email, site submissions. This is powerful advertising! Now my personal KEYWORD is: "opportunities now internet marketing services" X-Ray Specs, Turning 30 and Achieving Website Success I was writing the final chapter of my book on website marketing a few weeks ago and was wondering how far I'd progressed with it so I ran a word count. 44559 words. What a Billionaire Balloonist Taught Me About Internet Marketing Billionaire Richard Branson, the entrepreneur behind the Virgin brand, is one of the world's most successful and adventurous businessmen. Not being satisfied to run several highly profitable businesses Branson also engages in occasional feats of courage, or stupidity, depending on your stand point! How a Multi-Faceted Approach to Site Promotion Can Secure Your Search Engine Positions Copyright 2005 Tinu AbayomiPaul Online Network Marketing 101A - Basic Must Steps to Follow to be a Successful Marketer This guide is for people who know what network marketing is but still in need of a "boost" to start either because they are lost and not know what to do or they have a really bad mentor. If you feel that this reading is not for you, you are very welcome to view my other articles. Competitor Analysis - How Writing Rubbish Can Give You an Edge The Gobbledygook Competitor Analysis Tip Top 3 Free Marketing Techniques If you have zero budget then this is the article for you. In this article I will discuss the best ways to market your website for free. Seven Strategies To Make Money On The Net Regularly You can attract 1,000's of prospects to you. You only need to be equipped with your own web site and an unlimited product or service to sell. Internet Profits the Smart Way: Let Your Business Fund Itself Although many Internet marketers spend thousands of dollars on Internet marketing resources before turning a profit, it is certainly not the only way to succeed, and in many cases, not the best way. Here are three levels of investment that will allow your business to fund itself. A Person Of Value One of the "secrets" in Internet Marketing is knowing that you need to be patient enough to develop the kind of business building savvy that people want. It takes time. Keys To Successful and Profitable Niche Marketing The market world is increasingly becoming specialized. Instead of offering a wide variety of goods or services, businesses prefer to cater to a select few. Also known as a niche market, serving such a well-defined segment gives businesses more time to focus on their customers' needs and provide them quality service. However, the challenge is competing with bigger brands and how to beat them at their own game by using the key to niche marketing. Traffic, Money, How To Get There Want more hits to your website or someone actually buying? This is a good question. Viral Marketing:10 High-Impact, Viral Marketing Strategies,To Explode Your Sales Hello, do you have any website that is not bringing in a lot of sales? Become a Star: 10 Do-It-Yourself Publicity Techniques to Build Buzz for Your Online Business Public relations is popular because it is very cost-effective and it works. If you send out one press release, for example, and it gets into print, it could generate more interest in your product or service. Personality Profiling Your Prospects for Internet Marketing, E Commerce, and Ebay Ads Do you want me to tell you the truth or just what you want to hear? 3 Steps to Finding More Customers Step one: Knowing your Customer Six Techniques to Triple Your Website Hits Welcome, To All Internet Marketers - How To Get My Business More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers great potential to set up a healthy business for pennies on the dollar. This is good news for internet marketers - but it also means that they need to lift their game. Get Permission to Earn Income Online for Life Today, the internet is an excellent media to reach out to the masses. You should really get to know your market niches. Focusing your marketing efforts to reach that specific audience and the ability to communicate with large numbers of people in a very personalized manner.
|
|
|
|
|
