spammers among us

[Island Son]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/show/21589
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(CW)TB

Hey guys,

I interviewed for a guerilla marketing business in San Francisco that targeted web forums.

I was told that if I accepted the job, I was to have at LEAST 50 identities on as many forums as I could muster (they wanted 100 eventually), with a goal of 5 posts an hour. The posts had to be well thought out, and the idea was that I was to establish multiple identities with a history on the forums, so that when the timing was right a well written but subtly placed marketing post could be finessed in. And regular visitors would recognize the post as coming from a long time poster.

They had 12 people working there full time, and were hiring 10 more. You do the math. No wait, I'll do it for you: that's 880 posts a day (if minimum was met). However he said the better ones could do around 8 or 10 an hour. And they had different "verticals" so there was the sports guy, and the games guy, the hentai, excuse me I mean anime guy, etc.

But the most critical point was this: develop and integrate the identity. No random "HEY EB GAMES IS AWESOME BUY THIS" stuff.

Kinda spooky.

Didn't take the job. It was a fucking mill.
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[Island Son]

Wanna know about marketing, ask a Marketer. Here's a couple nifty bits for ya:
1) I have in my possession a marketing plan for NBA LIVE 2004 (don't ask how I got it... ). This marketing plan actually refers to "Hiring viral specialists to advocate NBA Live online via chat rooms targeting gaming fan sites" and "Placing offensive, defensive and PR shills into common gaming chat arenas." It goes on to outline a full page of tactics for said "Guerilla Online Marketing for Core Gamers."

2) I actually hired a company called Hype Council [edit; i took out the link].
These guys do a TON of gaming related stuff -- I actually wouldn't be surprised if it's the company referred to in your news post. Their technique is quite insidious. Let's say they were hired to pump up PA (not like you need the buzz, but whatever...). Using one of the hundreds of shill accounts they have across the net, they post a new thread that says something like "hey guys, I've been looking for some new web comics to read. Anybody have any recommendations?" This is non-threatening, and gets the community engaged. They then wait a couple days and post again, this time with "Well, I asked some friends and they suggested I check out Penny Arcade <insert link>. I thought it was pretty funny, although I didn't like all the cuss words. What do you guys think?" Again, seeking engagement, they now have stealthily inserted the client's link, thereby encouraging trial. It's all very measurable and very effective. You should see the monthly reports you get from these guys: everything is detailed. Spooky.
It's all very insidious and, I'm sure, widespread. So much so that I don't trust anything I read. Unless it's a board where I "know" the posters, I always assume everyone on the board is a shill.

 

[Island Son]

What if you spent your time building up like 10,000 posts on boards and then marketers hired you to advertise their stuff?

Alters for fun and profit!!!

Scary.... ad slime everywhere

 

[stilleto]

i could sell you some pills that help recognize scammers right away.
only $49.99 for a 3 day supply.

 

[needtogetaas]

i could sell you some pills that help recognize scammers right away.
only $49.99 for a 3 day supply.

ill take 3 cycles

 

[blut wump]

Don't trust anyone with more posts than I have.

I haven't seen a Penny Arcade cartoon in ages. We used to have a newsgroup at work and someone had an automated script which would throw up a daily Dilbert and Penny Arcade. Good stuff.

 

[samoth]

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[digger]

I was told that if I accepted the job, I was to have at LEAST 50 identities on as many forums as I could muster (they wanted 100 eventually), with a goal of 5 posts an hour.

And I have people asking me why I'm so down on alters as a general thang....