FTC Government Grant Press Conference

[itchy]

You forget - for those who run it from outside USA, FTC and its conferences are meaningless. It just means less competition for them.

bingo, not that i run grants but as far as i'm concerned ftc means as much to me as mrs middletons granny knitting night complaining my music is too loud. last i heard the internet doesn't stop at the us border, so they can get to fuck if they think they can police the whole world..

now a network tellingme i can't run an offer or promote in a certain way, that i will respect, no point biting the hand that feeds me.

 

[zimok]

Is there a Canadian equivalent of the FTC? If someone is pushing grant ads in the US, isn't that the equivalent of doing business there, meaning you have to follow their law?

 

[xmcp123]

bingo, not that i run grants but as far as i'm concerned ftc means as much to me as mrs middletons granny knitting night complaining my music is too loud. last i heard the internet doesn't stop at the us border, so they can get to fuck if they think they can police the whole world..

now a network tellingme i can't run an offer or promote in a certain way, that i will respect, no point biting the hand that feeds me.

Erm. Here's a link I found on one of JoshTodd's blog entries.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/03/P064101tech.pdf
A quick excerpt from the PDF

It also has entered into several Memoranda of Understanding (“MOUs”) with agencies
in some countries to enhance cooperation on consumer protection law enforcement matters. The
FTC currently has general consumer protection MOUs with agencies in Australia, Canada,
China, Costa Rica, Ireland, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, and MOUs specifically relating to
spam with the enforcement agencies in Australia, the UK and Spain. Outreach to the 109
appropriate enforcement authorities in developing nations must also be a priority on the
international consumer protection agenda. Wrongdoers within these countries are a significant 110
source of harm to American consumers, and consumers throughout the world.

 

[indianman]

Erm. Here's a link I found on one of JoshTodd's blog entries.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/03/P064101tech.pdf
A quick excerpt from the PDF

That's a good "wish list".

If it is a case of **extreme** SPAM or ch1ld p0rn, many countries will cooperate.

But if FTC wails about "deceptive advertising practices", as in this case, they'll be told by most of the countries to go pound sand. That is the reality.

And the truth is, they know that very well.

The "MOUs" are of course good to frame and keep at FTC headquarters.

 

[xmcp123]

That's a good "wish list".

If it is a case of **extreme** SPAM or ch1ld p0rn, many countries will cooperate.

But if FTC wails about "deceptive advertising practices", as in this case, they'll be told by most of the countries to go pound sand. That is the reality.

And the truth is, they know that very well.

The "MOUs" are of course good to frame and keep at FTC headquarters.

Good to know. It's pretty hard to pick out how this organization behaves on paper vs. in practice.

 

[schockergd]

What would be a good disclaimer to run on a blog/flog concerning the accuracy of the information given? There has to be some sort of disclaimer to use.

 

[invisible777]

What would be a good disclaimer to run on a blog/flog concerning the accuracy of the information given? There has to be some sort of disclaimer to use.

Howbout...

"Disclaimer: I'm a loser who can't sell products online
legitimately, so I created a fake blog with fabricated information and fraudulent testimonials to try to trick you into purchasing the products I have on this page. I'm also making the entire affiliate marketing industry look like one big scam, but just so long as I make a buck as I destroy one vertical after
another then who cares?"

 

[medicalhumor]

I see Google is still taking advertising $$$ and displaying ads for Gov Grants.

Just google "Governtment Grants" - WTF?

 

[medicalhumor]

also seems a little suspect that Facebook had just recently opened up their floodgates to these ads. I would assume that the FTC and Facebook have been in contact over this longer than just the last few days. It seems that Facebook opened up these ads on purpose to allow the FTC to open their net to catch more affiliates

 

[Rage9]

I see Google is still taking advertising $$$ and displaying ads for Gov Grants.

Just google "Governtment Grants" - WTF?

I don't see why your surprised. There are legitimate Government Grant offers that don't use the whole obama / stimulus approach. I'm sure they'll be manually reviewing and pimp slapping. Wait for it.

 

[webtrend]

Not saying they are for sure, but you can't see that lasting for too long as Google will slap the fuck out of them soon anyways.

Oh Really? You seem to have a lot of confidence in Google slaps.

Last major slap was on diet/acai blogs. What good did it do? It only lasted for a couple of weeks. Now the blogs are back up again both on search and content.

 

[Webwonder]

Howbout...

"Disclaimer: I'm a loser who can't sell products online
legitimately, so I created a fake blog with fabricated information and fraudulent testimonials to try to trick you into purchasing the products I have on this page. I'm also making the entire affiliate marketing industry look like one big scam, but just so long as I make a buck as I destroy one vertical after
another then who cares?"

Well put.

It would be nice if there was a way to report the affiliates running these blogs to their networks. I don't want to be a snitch but these idiots deserve to be kicked out. They are ruining things for everyone else.

 

[windjc]

Well put.

It would be nice if there was a way to report the affiliates running these blogs to their networks. I don't want to be a snitch but these idiots deserve to be kicked out. They are ruining things for everyone else.

O'RLY?

What exactly has been ruined for you? Please be specific. As in, you were making $$$ amount with ABC campaign and now because of blogs you are making $$$ amount.

How much money have you lost? How many products did you want to market that you can't now? How much authoritative scrutiny have you come under because of other peoples blogs?

How EXACTLY have you been so ruined?

If you are going to whine about how blogs are "ruining" the entire affiliate marketing business (which is laughable), I think we all deserve to understand exactly how this is happening.

 

[schockergd]

So, I'm curious out of those who are complaining about flogs , how many are running Blogs for acai.

 

[invisible777]

O'RLY?

What exactly has been ruined for you? Please be specific. As in, you were making $$$ amount with ABC campaign and now because of blogs you are making $$$ amount.

How much money have you lost? How many products did you want to market that you can't now? How much authoritative scrutiny have you come under because of other peoples blogs?

How EXACTLY have you been so ruined?

If you are going to whine about how blogs are "ruining" the entire affiliate marketing business (which is laughable), I think we all deserve to understand exactly how this is happening.

Some people like to think about the longevity and sustainability of their business, not just "making $$$ on campaign A and making $$$ on campaign B".

Also, this may help you:

na⋅ive

 /nɑˈiv/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [nah-eev] Show IPA –adjective

1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.

2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.

3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique: valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.



Good luck.

 

[windjc]

Some people like to think about the longevity and sustainability of their business, not just "making $$$ on campaign A and making $$$ on campaign B".

Also, this may help you:

na⋅ive

 /nɑˈiv/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [nah-eev] Show IPA –adjective

1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.

2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.

3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique: valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.



Good luck.

And some people would like to complain and make excuses and blame others instead of spending their time building a business with "longevity and sustainability". Stop playing the victim and get to work for pete's sake.

We don't need your tears.

 

[xmcp123]

And some people would like to complain and make excuses and blame others instead of spending their time building a business with "longevity and sustainability". Stop playing the victim and get to work for pete's sake.

We don't need your tears.

Are you referring to blog format in general, or the idiots making 'stimulus' ones? There's a big difference.

 

[windjc]

Are you referring to blog format in general, or the idiots making 'stimulus' ones? There's a big difference.

The only point I'm making here is this one. Some affiliates do fake blog landers. They may or may not be punished for it. They may or may not stop it.

But suggesting that fake blog landers are going ruin affiliate marketing is crazy talk. Affiliate marketing is a multi-billion dollar industry. It's not going to be ruined by fake blog landers. Anyone crying about it is simply making excuses to themselves for why they can't become successful.

Companies will always ALWAYS want people marketing their stuff. Complainers need to quit crying and get to work, imo.

 

[Webwonder]

The only point I'm making here is this one. Some affiliates do fake blog landers. They may or may not be punished for it. They may or may not stop it.

But suggesting that fake blog landers are going ruin affiliate marketing is crazy talk. Affiliate marketing is a multi-billion dollar industry. It's not going to be ruined by fake blog landers. Anyone crying about it is simply making excuses to themselves for why they can't become successful.

Companies will always ALWAYS want people marketing their stuff. Complainers need to quit crying and get to work, imo.

The problem is with everyone using the same fake testimony on their blogs. The shit is has been everywhere. If you can't see the problem with that then you are just an idiot. You're probably one of the idiots doing it.

Who the fuck is crying about it? We're just pointing out the problems. Anyone can copy someones page and advertise it.

 

[xmcp123]

The only point I'm making here is this one. Some affiliates do fake blog landers. They may or may not be punished for it. They may or may not stop it.

But suggesting that fake blog landers are going ruin affiliate marketing is crazy talk. Affiliate marketing is a multi-billion dollar industry. It's not going to be ruined by fake blog landers. Anyone crying about it is simply making excuses to themselves for why they can't become successful.

Companies will always ALWAYS want people marketing their stuff. Complainers need to quit crying and get to work, imo.

It's not going to ruin affiliate marketing, but it seems to be making really shitty behavior completely acceptable. People are used to ripping off landing pages. People are used to getting shaved and ripped off by these companies. And it starts to flood elsewhere. I'm just as guilty as most in standing passively by.

On a broader note (not about blogs), these "get tough" answers are fucking bullshit.
(like "Getting shaved? Switch networks whiner")
You know what? Fuck that. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a bare minimum from these companies. And lately it doesn't look like we're getting it. I'm godamn tired of gritting my teeth and just "dealing with" the retardation of others. I'm really godamn tired of getting ripped off. And this "fuck it" attitude is what lets it happen.