Warriors -How Do You define Spam?

22 replies
There are a lot of techniques that people in IM utilize and it seems like every other method has some total automation tool. Some people say spin articles and post them to hundreds of sites. Some say concentrate on quality and limit blasting things. Some say advertise anywhere you can and some say respect other sites etc.

Where do you draw the line and call something spam? I was reading a piece today on a site and it identified so much of what I see in IM as spam. Didn't really agree but got me wondering where the lines are drawn for warriors

Outside of unsolicited email what do you identify as spam? Please don't flame anyone's position. Just want to get a sense of where we are at.


UPDATE QUESTIONS

Some interesting opinions have come up so I have a follow up question. If you identify so many of the things that are used in IM as being Spam what do you do instead?

or why do you nevertheless use those techniques. Is it because you think there are no alternatives or what?
#define #spam #warriors
  • Profile picture of the author Laura B
    For me, when I see someone's Twitter stream full of nothing but links, or when a forum member uses their first post to advertise, stuff like that, it's spam. Kind of a hazy line, though, because working hard to make sales can sometimes be looked at as spam. I guess I go with my gut for the most part; it's usually pretty clear whether a person's general Internet behavior is spammy as opposed to good salesmanship. It just has a feel to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author CurtisN
    Useless blog comments and forum posts. Just to expand on the latter, people having a bazillion random links in their sigs which are completely unrelated to each other and the forum(s) they're posting in. Plus, stupid posts such as "PM sent", "interesting...", "i'm interested, email me at imatirekicker@sketchydomain.biz".
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    Curtis Ng (blog) - Product Launch Manager
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  • Profile picture of the author Shane Hale
    Sending
    Promotions
    At the
    Masses

    Hoping out of 4 billion emails someone deposits that Nigerian lottery check

    Stupid
    People
    Attempting
    Marketing
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    • Profile picture of the author cartoonstudios
      nice one Shane, very amusing post haha.. Im going to print at out and put it on a poster on my wall for amusement... very clever... and the lottery check Is even funnier. you have me rolling right now.

      Originally Posted by Shane Hale View Post

      Sending
      Promotions
      At the
      Masses

      Hoping out of 4 billion emails someone deposits that Nigerian lottery check

      Stupid
      People
      Attempting
      Marketing
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  • Profile picture of the author Online Bliss
    Hey Mike,
    I am currently experiencing what you might call
    Cell Phone Spam. Sometimes 27 text messages are sent at a time.
    It is now becoming a popular technique for online marketing but the offline
    sellers are hot on the trail.
    Warning do not put your phone# on craigslist.
    I know, that was a stupid move on my part.
    Never again.
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    You've got it Made
    with the Guy in the Shades!
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  • Profile picture of the author tjcocker
    Everything. From anyone's perspective, if they don't want something, then it's spam to them. This is true for unwanted emails, unintended search results, over-hyped offers, everything.
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    Initrode Consulting -Boulder SEO, Copywriting, Editing, Website design, etc...
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    I only generally have forum posts to go on but I define spam as having absolutely no contribution to either your own knowledge or the continuation of a topic.

    A post can be the longest in the world or the most informative but if it is in completely the wrong place it still doesn't stop it being spam, in my opinion
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    “Thinking is easy, Acting is difficult
    And to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world ~ Goethe”
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  • Profile picture of the author NoGuru
    Spam seems to be in the eye of the bespammed, but here's how I see it:

    For Blog comments: Obviously lots of links with no substance, also those generic "I see what you mean, thanks for this valuable information" comments.

    For Forums: Poaching on other people's WSO's; comments just to get signature links out there. However, I don't mind if someone has unrelated links in their signature if the substance of the comment is appropriate.

    For websites: Here I may offend folks, but most sales pages with a mile of text and a crossed-out price which is never charged, and tons of "bonuses" all valued at over $1 billion dollars (though never sold for that) but you can buy it for $49. To be fair, some might view some of my MFA sites as spam (though they are original content and truthful).

    For email: Half of the aweber stuff I get (I know I signed up to get a free report, but still . . .), plus anything related to Viagra or enlargement, or saying I won something dubious.

    Now, I wish I could get rid of the original Spam -- the piles of junk snail-mail I get every day!
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  • Profile picture of the author Marakatapolis
    Building backlinks is spam, there is no other way to look at it. If a link doesn't come to your site naturally, it's spam, period.

    That said, I only consider blasting random emails as spam, I have no problem "spamming" peoples sites for backlinks... as long as I am not obnoxious about it. Sometimes I am paranoid of backlink building, but it's a necessary activity in my opinion.
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    • Profile picture of the author c0rv3tt3
      I see it as anything that's unrelated and being delivered at a high amount, too quickly. Anything where your just visiting a site to put your link up and leave.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
        Originally Posted by c0rv3tt3 View Post

        I see it as anything that's unrelated and being delivered at a high amount, too quickly. Anything where your just visiting a site to put your link up and leave.
        Yeah I share that perspective as well. historically its what people hated about email spam. I've had some inquiries from people who saw I was interested in something and they felt I might have a use for their product so they emailed me in a personal way. IF they are personable and it happens once in awhile I've never made a big deal of it.

        the opposite of that is when people don't give a rip and blast you. I tend to believe that anything that is a mass auto blast on that basis alone qualifies as spam.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by Marakatapolis View Post

      Building backlinks is spam, there is no other way to look at it. If a link doesn't come to your site naturally, it's spam, period.
      Well for a different perspective (but this isn't about just backlinking) I think anywhere where your links are welcome cant be spam. For example if you sign up for a list and get emails I don't really understand how that is spam. You agreed to receive emails. So if you use sites that ask for your website urls and like business sites where people network or where you have a reasonable chance of particpating. I've never seen that as spam.

      but thats just another perspective
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    • Profile picture of the author caliray
      Originally Posted by Marakatapolis View Post

      Building backlinks is spam, there is no other way to look at it. If a link doesn't come to your site naturally, it's spam, period.

      That said, I only consider blasting random emails as spam, I have no problem "spamming" peoples sites for backlinks... as long as I am not obnoxious about it. Sometimes I am paranoid of backlink building, but it's a necessary activity in my opinion.
      I tend to agree with this, but Google encourages backlink building due to the important they place on backlinks. I'd never have gotten to page 1 of Google for my main keyword unless I'd done a lot of backlink building on dofollow unmoderated pages.

      However, I always take time to read something of the article or subject where I'm commenting and try to add something even if it's just my opinion.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
        Originally Posted by caliray View Post

        However, I always take time to read something of the article or subject where I'm commenting and try to add something even if it's just my opinion.
        I think alot of places are like Warriors forum. Provided you put some thought and add some value they don't don't see the links in the same spam light.

        What about articles? can that be spam if you do it on a large scale with near worthless articles? Or is that something different?
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  • Profile picture of the author butters
    I draw the line at this, if I sign up to someone and they offer, lets say, how to groom your dog ebook and 3 weeks down the line I get how to make a million dollars in a day, that is considered spam to me. Basically, when they start offering me stuff which has nothing to do with the original opt in.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    There are so many ways that Internet Marketers have created to spam.

    Twitter: largely streams of commercial offers.

    Craigslist: try buying something and watch all the spammers hit you with their CPA offers rather than the item you wanted to purchase.

    Article Directories: How many articles can you find that you'd actually like to read? Spinning hundreds of articles on the same topic, or just submitting many low quality articles for the purpose of the links is nothing but spam.

    Forums: You see it here all the time .... really stupid posts just to get post count up and to make your signature visible to others. People coming here and on the first day, their main concern is how to post a WSO. They haven't added any value to the forum and few will trust them or buy from them, but they're hell bent on getting a WSO up.

    Email: I sign up for a list, probably because of something I bought and here it comes. This clueless "marketer" thinks it's perfectly ok to send me 2 emails in one day and at least one a day the other days. Permission or not, this is a spammer and I get rid of him/her in no time.

    Facebook and other social networks: Hundreds of people want to be my friend. They don't know me and I don't know them, but they really are a friendly bunch, aren't they? Can't wait to be my friend so they can post crap on my wall, message me with their crap offers, etc.

    Blog Comments: Get real. Do you really think that I don't delete the "What a useful post. I will bookmark this site." Or the "very informative post" from Mr. Colon Cleanse. Well, Mr. Colon Cleanse ... glad you liked the post, but you're gone.

    That's just a small list. I'm sure there are many other ways that "marketers" have found to try to shove marketing messages down everyone's throats while adding zero value to the sites they invade like locusts.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyson Faulkner
      I would classify SPAM as anything that qualifies under 2 categories:

      1. It doesn't provide value: So many people post a billion spun articles all over the web in an attempt to get backlinks by fooling Google that other people actually enjoy their content.

      2. Sender doesn't have permission: Apart from spamming the internet, this one is more personal. These are the messages you get everyday from viagra pushers sending email from a different domain everyday.

      Or if someone buys your email address and starts sending you email without asking first.

      IMO if you sign up for someone's list, they have permission from you to send you anything they want (within reason of course, if you sign up for an IM product I would say it's spam if that guy starts pushing vicodin on you). And as long as you have the option to unsubscribe, I wouldn't call it SPAM.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    Spam -

    Once known as unsolicited bulk e-mail...

    But has now morphed into unsolicited bulk abuse of a variety of electronic messaging systems...

    If it's electronic, and a messaging system, the abuse of said system is known as SPAM

    IMho... of course

    Jay
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    Bare Murkage.........

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  • Profile picture of the author Nicola Lane
    I will apologize in advance - but I just can't help myself.

    Spam is a canned food product from Hormel!
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    I like to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brains fall out

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  • Profile picture of the author BonganiS
    Any contribution in any forum that does not add value is Spam. This includes forum posts, articles posted where they not unexpected. Violating certain restrictions in forums is also spam.

    Elphas
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