 |
Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers | ||
|
| ||
|
IMPORTANT UPDATE: I have written a follow-up post to this entire drama and it’s important that you read it. Thank you. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. This post is something I’ve wanted to express for a long time. So grab some popcorn and your beverage of choice. You’re in for a long one. I was recently called out and attacked by Mark Hopkins over at the blog Mashable with his latest post, Is Twitter Vulnerable To Marketer Attack? Mark apparently got his motivation to make such a post after reading blogger Duncan Riley’s recent post (also directed at me and showing a recent email I sent to my list) Pending Sign Of The Twitter Apocalypse: It’s Being Talked About By Internet Marketers. I think it’s about time that someone actually set the record straight and addressed attacks like these against Internet marketers. On the Web, there has always been this massive divide between entrepreneurs using the Net for marketing purposes and those that aren’t. If You’re Going To Call Someone Out And Attack Them At Least Get Your Facts Straight Both Mark and Duncan referred to me as an “ebook salesman.” That’s pretty interesting considering I’ve never sold an ebook since I’ve been marketing online for over 15 years. So come on, guys, you’re supposed to be “journalists” so try doing your research first — especially if you’re going to publish something that more or less is a personal attack and tries to put someone down. But even, though, they have this fact wrong about me their implication with this statement is something I’m going to come back to in a moment because it’s important. Both Mark and Duncan attempt to imply that somehow I was encouraging marketers to abuse or spam Twitter in some way. Here’s a tip: Why don’t you actually READ whatever email you’re trying to use as ‘evidence’ to make your case? You may want to reread that email and pay close attention to this sentence: “Observe how others post and you’ll quickly learn the culture, etiquette, and uses for Twitter.” I clearly state that there’s an ETIQUETTE to be used on Twitter. I am not in anyway encouraging people to abuse Twitter. It’s clearly stated directly in that email. Even if that sentence wasn’t included, the implication is still that I am notorious for teaching people to be abusive with their marketing or something. Well, if you would have actually done your research on me (before attacking me) you’d know that I don’t support or teach any Internet abuse of any kind. If you’re not going to take the time to actually do some research about me the very least you could have done is OBSERVE MY POSTS ON TWITTER.
As anyone can clearly see, what I’m encouraging people to do is actually the OPPOSITE of what Mark and Duncan are trying to imply. But they’d know that if they had done their research. Anyone can see the public history of my Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/johnreese So why on earth did these ‘journalists’ not investigate it? Ironically, Mashable has used their Twitter account for 100 TIMES MORE promotional effort than I have with mine. Hey pot, meet kettle. Last Time I Checked Twitter Used A ‘Voluntary’ Messaging System And completely aside from the points I just made, Twitter works by having users opt to follow other users — and they only see their tweets after they have voluntarily chosen to follow that person. This makes it nearly impossible for someone to abuse the system for evil marketing purposes. Certainly some idiot will probably come up with a way to mass-send ‘direct’ messages to people (and Twitter will squash them) but Twitter’s design does not allow people to just blast anyone. But what do I know. I’m not trying to make a living as an ‘expert’ blogger about Web 2.0 services. Mark also took the ‘attack’ efforts against me quite a bit further than Duncan. Mark makes a statement that I’m a “Web 2.0 flopster.” The word “flopster” implying FAILURE. Back to the lack of research factor… If Mark had done his proper research on me he’d know that I’ve been one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the history of the Internet when it comes to creating online projects that CREATE PROFITS. I was a pioneer of opt-in email marketing when I created one of the first auto-reply email services for businesses in 1994. I am one of the few people in the world that can say they’ve created a web site from scratch and using a tiny marketing budget put that site into the Top 500 most trafficked web sites in the world. And, oh yeah, I’ve done it with THREE different sites and I’m currently working on my 4th. I’ve made millions of dollars in a variety of markets - from golf to hobby markets to B2B. I’ve been one of the top super affiliates in the world for companies like eBay, Chase, and other Fortune 500 companies. I’ve even generated over $1,000,000 in AdSense earnings without paying a penny for advertising or playing the “arbitrage” game — and I did it as a ’side’ project. And as most online marketers know, in 2004 I released a training course and generated $1,000,000 in sales in the first 18 hours from the marketing campaign I put together — which ended up creating $1M in net profit within the first 7 days. And I did it without risking a single penny on traditional advertising. So Does That Make Me A ‘Flopster’? Again, it’s all about the research. HOWEVER… maybe Mark was simply referring to me as a failure in the “Web 2.0″ sense? Referring only to projects that are Web 2.0 services. Fair enough. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Mark has consistently ‘hated’ on my BlogRush project. He has bashed it in the past and for whatever reason continues to seem all fired up about it. He implies that the service was a dumb idea (without so many words) and that it failed, was overhyped, yadda yadda yadda. Was BlogRush A Total Failure? Even if it was… WHO CARES? I mean, if an entrepreneur comes up with a crazy idea at 4AM and has the guts to ‘go for it’ and it fails, does that make that person a FAILURE? After all, BlogRush is not even the core focus of the company I’m trying to build. But should someone that has a failed project like this just call it quits? If I had taken that attitude about being an entrepreneur I would have been homeless a long time ago. It’s better to have the courage to try something and fail to not try at all. It’s amazing how many people bashed BlogRush yet most of them had never taken a major risk in their entire life. No risk, no reward. At least I had the guts to invest $400,000+ of my own money to give the idea a shot. Yes, my money. Not money some VC gave me. The Internet would not be what it is today without the courage of entrepreneurs trying all kinds of crazy ideas. As far as BlogRush is concerned, I’ll be the first to admit that it did not work out the way I had hoped it would. I hoped it would be a great service that would provide tremendous VALUE to a lot of people. There were many factors that I didn’t expect when I created the service — such as the amount of abuse, that many people would hide the widget so low on their pages it wouldn’t get much click activity, etc. Then there’s also the issue that most bloggers don’t know how to write compelling titles — which has everything to do with the click-rate. BlogRush also encountered some technical issues and other growing pains. Hey, it happens. But even with all of those problems and unforeseen issues, was BlogRush truly a failure? Well, let’s look at some traffic analytics from Compete.com. In this chart let’s compare BlogRush’s traffic with that of Mashable the super popular blog where Mark is one of their writers:
Huh? That’s weird. For someone calling me a failure when it comes to my little “Web 2.0″ side project it can’t be that bad of a failure considering it gets more traffic than one of the most popular blogs in the world — that Mark happens to works for. And here’s what’s really amazing… this chart is primarily showing unique visitor numbers based on the BlogRush site and NOT on the reach of the widget itself; because the widget is served on other sites. Here’s A NEWSFLASH For Mark: The BlogRush widget has already been served over 540 MILLION TIMES. I think most other entrepreneurs would LOVE to ‘fail’ that badly. Mark also attacks some of the marketing copy that I used for BlogRush. He says it’s nothing but “hyperbole” and overhype, etc. Hehe. I love the irony in the fact that Mark created his post based on a blog title that contains “Pending Sign Of The Twitter Apocalypse.” Great use of hyperbole, Duncan. I actually think that title rules! Bloggers are notorious for their strong usage of hyperbole. Hey pot, meet kettle. Oh, you guys already met. Well, maybe you should get married. I will be the first to admit that we overpromised and underdelivered (so far) with the promises of the copy for BlogRush. Anyone that knows me as a marketer knows that my entire career has been the OPPOSITE. I thrive on overdelivering value to my customers. And again, I admit that BlogRush didn’t work out like I thought it would - no one is more disappointed about that than I am. Many BlogRush users ARE getting the free traffic benefits that were promoted. But most of these marketers have a solid grasp on writing really click-worthy titles; which makes all the difference. But Mark is very passionate about dogging BlogRush, and that’s his right just like anyone else. So, Mark, I’m sorry that it didn’t live up to your expectations. We’ll gladly issue you a full and prompt refund. Oh wait. Somehow I forgot BlogRush was a totally FREE service. But There’s A Much More ‘Poisonous’ Message About Internet Marketers That Needs To Be Addressed I’m so sick and tired of the anti-marketing attitudes of writers, pundits, and others on the Internet. It’s been going on since the Web started to take off in 1994/1995. So many of these people make it out like all Internet-based marketers are only selling scammy, rip-off garbage. And while the Internet is certainly filled with all kinds of jackasses that spam and abuse every known online service and tool there is, not enough ‘credit’ is given to marketers (like me and most of my customers) that have great marketing and success online and do things the RIGHT way. And not enough credit and attention is given to the fact that if it wasn’t for Internet marketers there would be no Internet or Web 2.0 as it is today. MONETIZATION IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE INTERNET. Without all of the affiliate marketers, affiliate merchants, small bloggers, advertising networks, marketers buying PPC traffic, and everything else that is a part of the “Internet Economy” 99% of what’s on the Web today would not exist. So for Mark, and any others that seem to take this anti-marketing attitude, the next time you cash your paycheck you should take a moment to realize it wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the very marketers that create and sustain the economy of the Web. Heck, just take a look at many of the ways that the Mashable blog is able to generate revenue — many of those programs and networks only exist because of marketer activity. So if you kill all the Internet marketers, YOU KILL THE INTERNET. As far as the spammy and abusive marketers go, it’s unfortunate and it pollutes the Web. Thankfully, the Internet has this great darwinism effect where those that don’t provide value end up getting destroyed. Junk and scammy crap will always end up in FAILURE. The ‘problem’ is that so many new junk peddlers take the place of the old ones. One more point I want to make… Mark and Duncan’s efforts to call me an “ebook salesman” is being done in a negative light relating towards selling information to teach people how to make money in some way. This is another common anti-marketing attitude that has existed online for ages. So many people are put off by marketing or promotion for anything to do with “making money.” Even, though, there are hundreds if not thousands of fantastic products on the subject that are truly helping people. To realize this, I only have to take a look at the success stories created by my own teachings and what they’ve done for thousands of individuals and their families. Are there tons of people peddling utter garbage and worthless “I’ll show you how to press a big red button and get rich” crap online? Unfortunately, YES. But to stereotype anyone and everyone that publishes or provides marketing or business advice is PATHETIC. And that is primarily what happens when it comes to the anti-marketing attitude. A Quiet Revolution Is Forming These anti-marketing folks need to realize something… The world is changing quickly. Economies are evolving. More and more people around the globe are realizing the benefits of having their own business online. The ‘marketing’ uses of the Internet are only going to GROW. And it’s actually going to make the Internet even STRONGER and more developed. As the needs to increase monetization are created it will spawn more innovation online. The survival of Ideas, Sites, Services, and Companies on the Web are ALL dependent upon the activity from Internet marketers. I just wish more people would start to realize it. * I would like to encourage my fellow Internet marketers to spread the word about this post. Thank you.
|
|
« TrafficJam.com Gets A Facelift! | Don’t Spam Twitter Or You Will Die A Horrible Death » |
June 19th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
[…] Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers Filed under: Soap Box […]
June 19th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
besides pr0n and games the internet was made for marketers and money makers.
Amen John!
June 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Ahhh So PAWNED!
What is mashable anyways?
I thought it was some potato company.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I was confident you would and COULD articulate an
excellent response based on hard facts.
But this has made me far more that glad I said what I did
than I anticipated.
Well done. Long live your pen.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
John,
Actually, this publicity could get you a lot more exposure -> a lot more customers!
Look at the silver lining…
June 19th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Thank you John. Your response is exactly what I would expect from you, level-headed and informative.
The viciousness with which those that disdain Internet Marketing attack our industry is actually becoming alarming.
Let’s see how they feel when our economy hits rock bottom and they have to find a way to support their families.
Internet Marketers might not appear so slimey then.
Sharon Bray-McPherson
@sbraymcpherson
June 19th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hey John,
Super awesome post!
Dang… blogrush.com is getting a TON of traffic!
~Brett
http://www.FreeTrafficBigProfits.com
June 19th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Without having read the other articles (I can guess what they say) I see the point they are making: While you are clever enough about doing it right, it encourages other lets say more stupid people to spam the systems.
It is not that they use it - that they use ít so *badly*. Will the loosers be a failure? Yes of course. But I still will have to spend time dealing with it, as f.e. spam filters are not perfect.
Does encouraging stupid greedy people make the net a better place? Nope. Does the web depend on internet marketers? Nope.
Does it depend of clever and smart business people? Absolutly.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
John,
Mashable sure doesn’t mind monetizing their pages. So I believe they could be called hypocrits - no maybe better than that hype-o-crits.
Their’s is typical opinion based BS.
Isn’t Jeff Bezos at heart an Internet Marketer? Maybe they should take him on. He sells ebooks too.
Lowell
June 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Great post, John.
It’s definitely encouraging to see the integrity you have, and we are all
benefiting from those of you who were pioneers on the internet, and
who do it with integrity.
Diana
June 19th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Total.Dominating.Smackdown.
Awesomeness.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Congratulations John, not only were you very detailed in your response to their postings, but you didn’t let the fact slip away.
<>
It would have been all too easy (at least for me) to get carried away, but you stayed true and didn’t stoop to their level.
Keep up the great work and thanks for the informative posts you do for us.
Xavier
June 19th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
[…] EDIT: You can read John Reese’s response to Hopkins’ post here. […]
June 19th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Excellent Post!! You hit the nail on the head with the points you make, in fact just yesterday I had someone write a post about one of my sites saying he ‘despises’ the fact our site tries to sell something and it is owned by a ‘marketing company’. Like that’s that bad thing?
Of course, the benefit from all this is that us Internet marketers get to enjoy the fruits of our labor, work from home, and enjoy incredible flexibility, freedom, opportunity, and love what we do.
Keep on kicking @#$# John!
June 19th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
[…] http://www.income.com/blog/2008/06/19/wake-up-call-web-20-wouldnt-exist-without-internet-marketers/ […]
June 19th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
They’re perpetuating one of the biggest lies and deceptions in the history of the Internet with such a misleading linkbait article like that, and they in turn say that you are being deceitful? Oh, c’mon Mashable.
There’s a difference between profiting and profiteering. You are not only lumping John and others (like myself) in the 2nd group, but you are also shooting yourself in the foot.
As I said in my article on the whole anti-marketing tirade:
“Make money at the service of others, not at the expense of others.”
http://www.michelfortin.com/are-all-business-people-dishonest/
Seems to me the ad revenue you are generating at the expense of John Reese’s reputation with your article shows us quite clearly which category you belong in. Thank you for showing us your true colors.
You’ve not only lost a fan. You’ve lost a lot of respect, too.
Michel Fortin
http://www.successchef.com/
June 19th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Can you say “scarcity mindset????”
This reminds me of people who aren’t happy unless everyone they see is failing along with them.
I’d much rather be like JR than Mark and Duncan.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Bah-BAM! Great communication based on facts and gentle back-attacks. I couldn’t agree more with your message - and Mark really picked the wrong person to attack. There’s not a more reputable marketer, known for delivering quality - and overdelivering at that - than you.
Very well done and Kudos to you! Thank for the post.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
[…] John Reese wrote a great post here. One of the reasons that inspired me to write this post this morning is because of what he talks […]
June 19th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Ha!
I think this will be a legendary post, very enjoyable to read, thanks John.
I normally like Mashable’s stuff, but now need to reconsider after
that very low quality post.
But this is a great response, I especially like the comparison
between mashable and blogrush, ha!
For me its difficult to understand there is so much resistance
towards people who really know marketing
Thanks for the post,
Lasse
@lasserouhiainen
June 19th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
John,
You raise some excellent points, things that I was thinking as I read the Mashable post.
My current thoughts are too long for a quick comment, so I think I’ll respond on my blog. BTW, several of my blogs have benefited from BlogRush traffic - which has helped magazine style writers learn how to craft effective Web 2.0 headlines. So, thanks!
Y’know… as in conversation. As in what blogs & twitter are designed for. Building community, having conversation.
As with the smarmy spam “marketers” posing as gurus, there will always be smarmy “bloggers” posing as journalists. In both instances - neither smarm knows their craft.
Sincerely,
Meg Meyer
June 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
* STANDING OVATION *
Fantastic post John. This reminds me of the flack pornographers get… people love to equate purveyors of adult entertainment with pedophilia. It’s sickening. Truth is, the Internet got a lot of it’s early momentum thanks in part to the mainstream adult entertainment industry. Even today, the Internet is a flourishing outlet for people to explore every imaginable sexual proclivity and fetish.
The dig that you’re an “ebook salesman” (read: scam artist) is despicable, and a canard. Bare in mind, there are a lot of jealous losers out there who wish they could be self-employed. Dude, reading what those a–holes wrote really pissed me off, but you know what, whatever. One day John, when you file as S1 and take your little company public, or get acquired, those f–ktards can look in the mirror and realize that they never reached their full potential in life because they didn’t take risks.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Excellent post delivered in a classy manner.
Bravo.
Tom
June 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Great post, and completely necessary. It would be nice if you didn’t have to waste a couple of hours of your time putting together a defence against idiots like this, but sometimes you have to fight your corner. Or in this case, *all* our corners.
I’m nothing to do with the “make money” niche, but I’m still offended that they lump all us info-product creators/sellers together as the collective devil.
I’ve learned more through online info-products in the last couple of years than I have through any other medium (the make money/IM area included).
If that guy had actually taken a look at your Twitter account (or even glanced at it for a moment) he would have realised his beliefs were downright incorrect.
Shows what kind of guy he is, I guess.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Well those two want to make internet marketers souund bad but it seems to me people who try to make something bad or a person bad, when they are not, are jealous. So could they just be jealous of John because he has succeeded and has for a long time? Could be. Who knows. I know I only read a partial of the one post and it bored me to death so didn’t finish reading it. The other I didn’t read.
But John, kudos to you for telling those two ignorant idiots how it is. Sorry but anyone who doesn’t do their homework first is ignorant. They would have just been better to not say anthing at all since they couldn’t get their facts straight.
Heidi Ross
June 19th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
BlogRush, despite all your attempts to spin it into something depicting a “Rush of traffic to blogs,” while may be getting lots of traffic to the widget, has never delivered anything coming close to your claims. Almost all your missives are filled with hyperbole, incorrect facts, and sometimes outright lies. You want to get on me about fact-checking?
Your call, John.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Over 50% CTR for BlogRush!
John, I figured I would share - here is a screenshot of one of my posts that got well over 50% CTR through BR:
http://www.howtospoter.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/blogrush-ctr.gif
And here is original post if someone actually want to verify:
http://www.howtospoter.com/web-20/seo/seo-for-wordpress
Alex
June 19th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Being new to the world of the web.
Knowing that business on the web is vastly different than face-to-face…. I don’t get the bashers… envy? foolishness?
Who knows… thanks John for some polite straight shooting.
Michael
June 19th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The root issue:
The key word you used in this entire post is “entrepreneur.” Your critics in this case are journalists.
Entrepreneurs are active at their core. Journalists are passive observers. Therein lies the problem.
The “critics”:
Duncan Riley has started and run some pretty popular web sties, but a web site doesn’t require hundreds of thousands of dollars to start. A web site is NOT a business. Sadly far too many people (including internet marketers fall prey to this thinking as well.)
As far as Mark, not sure what he’s done other than write and hold a job. (if he’s done more, I’m open to enlightenment on those entrepreneurial accomplishments.)
Their bias correct?:
Mark & Duncan do have a point when it comes to their concerns though. The bias exists against internet marketers as a whole because many IMers DO go off half-cocked molesting everyone they can get their hands on in a particular communication channel.
The real solution:
That can be changed, but only when IMers, or any other type of MLM or affiliate marketers realize that they need to be running a BUSINESS.
If someone is selling their own products & services, they need to realize the fact that people buy WHO you are before the buy WHAT you’re selling. And if they do not have their own products or services and are just pure “marketers” — then they need to get with the truth that they alone are the business.
If marketers don’t get this, Mark and Duncan will not be the only ones sitting around pontificating and passively watching the marketplace go by.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Excellent response, John.
You said: “So for Mark, and any others that seem to take this anti-marketing attitude, the next time you cash your paycheck you should take a moment to realize it wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the very marketers that create and sustain the economy of the Web.”
I agree. It’s a marketer’s ability to create value and find higher and better uses for resources that allow the Internet to exist as it does.
I find the “anti-marketing attitude” is alive and well in the debt market. But it’s hilarious… because all the bloggers in that market get paid on the ads that run on their sites!
They want to have their cake and eat it too.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
[…] JOHN REESE… […]
June 19th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Unfortunately socialist boobies like the Mark and Duncan you refer to have been around throughout the ages. Sales and Innovation combined have ALWAYS been what drives society forward.
And the whiners are always decrying those who sell.
They just don’t get it.
John I suggest you send Mark and Duncan autographed copies of “Atlas Shrugged” (and if you really want to make a point, address them as “To Ellsworth Toohey”).
June 19th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Excellent sentiment with perfect execution!
June 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Hey John –
What a wonderfully crafted response to an insanely hypocritical attempt to bash the lifeblood of the Internet - the marketers who keep it moving forward! Hoo-yah… check, and MATE!
Mashable just got squashed…
Rock on,
Lee Collins
June 19th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Rock on, John! I practically jumped out of my chair cheering when I read this! (And practically leapt through my computer screen to slap Mark Hopkins upside the head when I read his ridiculous–and obviously envy-inspired–sabotage of you this morning.)
For those of us who DO know about you and the marketing products and advice you put out there, it only took reading less than a paragraph of Hopkins’ uninformed and malicious post to get it that he hadn’t done his research. Nor had Riley. (”Ebook salesman”…WTF?)
I’m a fan of Mashable, but that particular post did not sit well with me at all–and had me questioning the journalistic integrity of previous posts I’ve read there in the past.
I typically feel that cheap shots like those of Hopkins and Riley are not worth responding to, but in this case, I’m glad you took them on and set the record straight. And set it straight, you did.
Way to go!
~Julie Perry
P.S. “Hey pot, meet kettle.” – Hilaaaaaarious!
June 19th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Great post John…
Spreading the word about it now!
-Ryan
June 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Internet Marketer Fires Back at “Journalists”…
When they claimed he was ruining Twitter & Web 2.0 - he responded with the facts.
……
June 19th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Hey John,
Idiots like this are the same ones saying, “He gave away Brad’s BMW for a tax write off”… i’m not sure if u seen my ‘tweet’.. but, Mark’s a hater- and i guess we have to get use to it b/c they’ll always be there.. but, it’s AWESOME to put ‘them in their place’ from time to time- and that’s exactly what you did!! Always loving wat ur putting out there
-Ryan
June 19th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
[…] take my word for it folks. Read John Reese’s grilling of Mark’s canard about Apocalypse […]
June 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Kudos to you John…. You rock and positivity wins everytime..
We often get a bad rap from some angles…
Keep shinin
Jamie
June 19th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
[…] to my RSS feed. like everyone else has. So you don’t miss anything…It’s exactly because of arguments like these that I have been changing over the whole way my business is […]
June 19th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
You know what? You do what you do and you are good at it. People follow you on twitter and read your stuff because they respect you, and that’s all that matters. These guys wouldn’t bother to slam you if you weren’t worth writing about. Let them wallow in their own issues, and keep up the good work!
June 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
It’s the world we live in where those who have not, despise those who do.
Jealousy, envy, hypocrisy? Whateva . . . but last time I checked, weren’t they both hocking products, e-books, and look-at-me marketing?
You certainly didn’t have to defend yourself but at least you did it with honor and integrity, something lacking in most IM’s today. I look forward to your next “failure”; mashable or not!
Ooo yum-mashable–
Peace and Love
Jorge
http://www.uami.org
June 19th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
To Mark Hopkins (who posted in the comments above) if he comes back:
You’re preaching to the choir. I clearly stated the service did not live up to the marketing like I had hoped. And, yes, you’re 100% correct the service did not “create a rush of traffic” to every single user’s blog. As I just said, I admitted that the service hasn’t worked out. It certainly had the potential and if the CTRs on the headlines were higher it WOULD have generated a lot of traffic for people. While it certainly generates a lot of free traffic for some of the users, it doesn’t generate a lot for most and therefore I am not disputing that the service isn’t working as promised.
But to say that I’m using ‘downright lies’? GIVE ME A BREAK. The headline on the site itself (which we plan to modify) IS indeed aggressive as has already been stated. But to say I’ve been using lies is ridiculous. Every piece of communication I’ve ever sent to the users has been completely honest and had expressed what we felt was happening.
I explained all the abuse the service was getting and the other issues with the low click rates. I also explained that as we were making changes it was doing to greatly improve things. Every major change we made (starting with hand reviewing blogs for quality) DID indeed improve the overall network and raise the overall average traffic to each member.
However, it still isn’t sending as much traffic to some blogs as we would want. Again, I have admitted that the service isn’t working as well as we’d hope and we’re doing our best to improve it.
But again, “downright lies.” Come on.
-John Reese
June 19th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Great post.
Honest reply to a rubbish accusation
Asbjorn
June 19th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
[…] Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers […]
June 19th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
U tore it up John…
MUCH RESPECT!
June 19th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Very much to an important point, John.
I agree with JP Micek, above, in that perspective is essential. And without the experienced (and active) vantage point, the comments of journalists railing against the real, practical, and necessary elements of commerce USED INTELLIGENTLY are like someone who only watches PBS because there are no commercials, not because they derive more entertainment value from the offerings.
Yes, some marketers use social media as if it were an infomercial. That is a legitimate gripe and I also resent many big-named marketers who have lost all subtlety and balance in their attempted commandeering of social properties.
But, by definition, social media is, well, social — and the marketers who understand that it provides a valuable (and immediate) opportunity to show who you are and what you believe as well as LEARN WHAT MAKES OTHERS TICK reap the benefits of developing a relationship first and then letting business build through it.
That’s long-term, repeatable, business. And it’s also ongoing personal growth through interaction, sharing, and listening to others. Gee, isn’t that also the definition of friendship?
Commerce is an essential component of our society. Without it, most things will cease to exist. In balance and approached intelligently, it need not be bothersome.
An hour of American Idol might contain 30 minutes of commercials, yet it has a huge, loyal viewership. Why? Because we enjoy investing ourselves in the contestants, the judges, and the host. (And also because Tivo makes bypassing commercials easy.)
If people want to turn away from the infomercial-like approach of some marketers, great! They’ll get the message soon enough (at least, so we hope.) But the value of a relationship, especially one formed so easily through social media, is immeasurable. Any business that takes place as a result is likely to be mutually beneficial, too.
What critics fail to realize is that they also grow from observing, interacting with, and contributing to others. If all they see is an infomercial, that just displays their own limitations. They shouldn’t waste their time with social media in the first place because they simply don’t get it.
@DrTodd
http://www.MapYourAptitude.com
June 19th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Hi John,
it is good for you because you get this free exposure before TS 2.0 launch, which will launch on July 3rd, right?
So you prefer printed manuals over ebooks? Should I sell printed books instead of ebooks?
June 19th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan of blogrush. But here is what I like about John, and I’ve never met him. He’s a strait shooter and he knows his stuff. For some reason, I just like him and hope to meet him someday, I think he’s quite down to earth.
When I first got deep into this biz many years ago, I fell in the same trap as many others “guru” bashing , guru hating…. But then I really started to watch John and read his stuff and you know what, I’ve become a fan. Heck I still can’t stand some “gurus” but the deeper you get in this business, the more knowledgeable you become, the smarter you get, the more you learn, and you start to see right through the ones that don’t know what they are talking about. The ones who are “there” but shouldn’t be and there is a few…
John needs to be where he is because he has got the goods. He’s got the heart and the knowledge to help a lot of people become better marketers because god knows people need that knowledge.
John is prone to be attacked because he’s extremely successful. I’ve said this to John before and I’ll say it again, it never fails ” jealousy breads contempt, contempt breads anger, anger breads hate, hate breads flaming blog posts.”
Mashable used to be cool in my book but that’s it for me. Besides the excessive 20+ ads on the page are pretty annoying. Of course, you could have learned this from studying John Reese and other Internet Marketers even smaller marketers, much smaller than John Reese could have taught you this. But go ahead, plaster your page with a few more ads.
John, my offer to go Fly Fishing is still on the table.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Haha, forget him John. You shot Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins down in a ball of flames and he’s got nothing - no further need to defend yourself.
After everything you’ve said in this article all he could come back with was resaying what he’s said again with no further explanation and then spit out the cool line “Your call, John” as if he’s made a valid point?
Let’s weigh things up…
How many happy subscribers does he have to his personal blog who would stick up for him like the load of us are doing for you here?
How many sales of fantastic products (proven by hundreds of testimonials for them) has he made over the last few years to help others make money and improve their lives?
How successful is he? (actually proving he knows what he’s talking about)
Oh, not a lot for all those - guessed so.
While you’re helping others (and quite rightly making great money doing it because you’re providing a service that is worth it) he’s popping off sub-par, unresearched and uninformed articles about stuff he is clearly ignorant on.
And he’s saying you’re false and basically a scam at what you do?
Anyway, you’ve made some super-valid points and made it clear he’s an idiot who can’t even be a decent journalist letalone human being.
Keep delivering the top-quality products and services you always do that have leads thousands of us to listen to, buy from and respect you. We’ll continue doing that - not following him.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Well written as usual John. A very well written, well researched, and well executed response to gutter journalism.
Cheers,
Nez
June 19th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Thank you, John, for keeping a level head and using facts to express a point of view to journalists who have chosen to ignore the facts.
Using Twitter as a tool in your overall business marketing plan is just smart, doesn’t matter what kind of business. Learning from you, John, someone who has a history of success and profit, is just smart, again, doesn’t matter what kind of business.
As businesses of all kinds become businesses online, learning internet marketing skills is an important part of the overall success plan. My hope is that they learn from you, John, instead of some of the less than successful or less than profitable wannabees.
Thanks so much!
Bonnie
June 19th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Nicely rebutted, John!
Mark is obviously unable to see the big picture (nor do his research) when it come to your work (note how he keeps nit-picking about BlogRush), and is unable to see the big picture when it comes to internet marketing as a whole.
His loss, our gain.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Great post John ! And a very apt reply to people talking rubbish.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
[…] rebuttal shows his class and coolness in light of such ridiculous […]
June 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
A very well written response indeed, John.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Excellent response, John! A very well-thought-out, level headed and logical response - I admire you for that.
Mark’s post, in particular, did not sit well with me. I am always offended by uninformed, poorly researched journalism; but I was even more offended with Mark’s post because it was so stereotypical! (Not to mention, complete rubbish as well!)
Loved your pot-kettle quips - very appropriate.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Bravo, Bravo, Bravo (applause).
Well said!!!!
It IS time someone stood up…..thank you very much!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Well nobody here pays any attention to these turkeys. We still love you!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Wow. Seems to be a lot of bashing going round on the Web lately. But you can hold your head up, you have to be successful to be Bashable by Mashable.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Ouch! That’s a lot of traffic thrown his way due to all this uproar. I’m hopeful most people can laugh it off as just another idiot spouting off at the pie hole without researching first.
Perhaps the extra publicity and actual research by the readers themselves will give you just cause to send him a thank you in your next blog post.
XOXO,
Janet
Twitter : showpup — go ahead, John, sell me something! *teasing* (sorry, couldn’t resist ROTFL)
June 19th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Why do you always type in caps? It looks like you’re talking to people with low IQ.
-= CountRob =-
June 19th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
[…] comment in response to a Mashable blog post attacking Internet marketer John Reese–who counters that attack on his blog. Here’s my […]
June 19th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
John, forget the haters. Those negative thinking types of people only want to bring you down. And, I am sure Mark will try to make some other post or whatever to *try* and make you mad. When this happens just laugh.
Just keep shinning John. He’s a bully. Only wants you to keep talking about him because then he knows he’s bothered you and then maybe he wants to pick up more readers this way (so sad if he’s doing that). That’s low how he’s acting and he’s painting an ugly picture of himself.
It’s no fun when someone tries to destroy your good name, so it’s good to see that not only are you defending your good name, but you are also defending all the Internet Marketers out there. For that everyone is grateful.
As far as Blog Rush, it’s not bad it’s only sad to see people trying to cheat the system. Anyhow, we can’t wait for TS 2.0. So, back to work for you bro! LOL!
~ Lisa
June 19th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
“Never argue with an idiot. They just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” - Unknown.
Well played John.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Gotta love the come-back! Awesome post. I love it when people with an attitude/ego get schwacked by the good guy. Truth hurts sometimes!
Steve
June 19th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
[…] & John Reese’s sledge hammer response. […]
June 19th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Now, lets everyone unsubscribe from John Reese’s blog because he’s all about making MONEY and you shouldn’t be distracted by that.
Moving On….
First - How about a little Innovation, there Mr. Mashable?
Ya know what I mean? How about making a web site that isn’t a fancy aggregator (with opinions - oooooo) about OTHER PEOPLES ACHIEVEMENTS or NEWS. Do you have anything to offer, or you just surfing off your RSS feeds?
I just want to get this straight… Mashable thinks that because it can publish Opinions (you know, those things that are a lot like sphincters) about other sites, companies, and peoples accomplishments…. that makes them an (cough) authority?
In what sense does it make them an authority? Because they have a fancy pants Google Serp “Authority” Listing when you search their name in QUOTES?
Because they have an ad-rotator that displays banners from movers and shakers like “eventbrite” and Sun who are paying remnant CPM rates?
Is it the bleeding edge “photo sharing”, “groups” or the .php powered “marketplace” part of their web site that makes us mere mortals who can only generate a few million dollars in a few days quake in our boots?
I’m sorry - just not seeing the Innovation… Or any sort of CLASS for that matter.
And isn’t is bizarro (or at least ironic) that I’m still waiting for the day that an honest IM authority wastes their time and subscribers attention on an unprovoked attack on… oh I don’t know, ANYONE!
That’s interesting, isn’t it? It sure seems like there are a lot of Wannabe’s out there that have created their glory, fame, and fortu… (oh wait - no earning allowed) by ATTACKING other people.
You wanna know why you DON’T see guys like John Reese doing that? It’s because it’s not cool. It’s not professional, and it’s not appropriate.
And he’s got better things to do, like INNOVATE THE VERY MEDIUM that this Mashable Narcissist is attacking him from.
Little men with little ego’s who have blade servers at RackSpace. That’s all these people ever turn out to be. Dull Flashes in a duller cesspool of arrogance, jealousy, and their own short-comings and failures as entrepreneurs.
Here’s a HINT Mashable: Step 1 - ADD VALUE of your OWN
Step 2 - MAKE IT ACTIONABLE
Step 3 - BE ACCOUNTABLE - don’t hide behind the “It was just my opinion” excuse.
Step 4 - NO ONE ASKED YOU to be ROBIN HOOD with a blog. This business is self-regulating. The idiots don’t last long, and the pool of people is too small for Shenanigan-like activity to go unchallenged.
Meaning - NO ONE NEEDS your POORLY RESEARCHED ONE-SIDED VITRIOL.
Stop Condescending to your readers - they’re smarter than you think. And by the looks of your fact-checking - they’re smarter than you.
And to my friend and partner John:
AMERICA! FV*K YEAH!
June 19th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
That guy is a journalist? A real one? …like college and all?
My
favorite
part
was
about
his
paycheck.
~Eric
June 19th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
John,
Thank you for sharing this message and your professionalism on an attack without basis. I admire your integrity in using facts to express your views. Obviously they pick the wrong person.
cynthiap38
June 19th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Hi John,
I have a soft spot for you as a marketer and your blog because you were the first person to ever reply to one of my tweets.
Now in that retweet you didn’t try to sell me the blue pill or the wang enlarger…it was a straight out and honest conversation which I appreciated and made me want to keep following you and your activities.
Honestly if the mashable guys had simply checked your tweet history like you suggested they would have seen that and many other honest conversations taking place.
Oh and to Andy Jenkins…your sign off cracked me up! There’s the reason I’m in Stompernet..your sense of humour.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I always had my doubts about Andy Jenkins but that post just flipped me.
amazing.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
[…] like to hear the perspective of someone who is both a good human and a great marketer, you can read his reply to these guys. Calling John an “e-book salesman” is kind of like calling Tiger Woods a […]
June 19th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Hi John,
It is not nice to be attacked and your integrity called into question.
And it’s a shame that so many out there still make others wrong for wanting to make money - it’s just a form of energy in the equation of ‘value exchange’.
Such accusations feel scarcity and fear based; as opposed to an attitude of abundance - which is not mutually exclusive to having integrity.
Anywho.
My mantra in times of adversity is to remember who you are - the person you like being - and be that person; choosing not to engage with the negative stimulus being sent your way.
Here’s to Yours for Online Profits!
Caro
June 19th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I love the fact you were able to piggyback like crazy on this. Brilliant job of getting massive exposure. It’s always great to watch things backfire on angry people.
June 19th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Hey John,
So that’s why you’ve been up at odd-hours in the morning!
I can see that these mash-potatoes people have a green-eyed monster looming behind them. Unfortunately, they have found a very good way to get negative publicity since they couldn’t get positive publicity.
In the good old days, we called this spreading “FUD” (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt). In off-line marketing, you spread this when you know you could not win or match your opponent. Them mash-potatoes are nasty!
Heck, they’ve probably never ever seen or read a copy of “The Reese Report”. And do they even know what e-books are??? since they said you sold them….Heck, if you ever did, I’d probably be queueing up to pre-order copies of them (:-)
Anyway, this is by far a small, insignificant adversity in your path.
You just keep on being John Reese! We love ya!
And let them be an in-correct, un-exciting glob of un-abled sledge-hammered mash!
Meng
June 19th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Twitter is an “opt in” web enabled messaging system.
You “choose” who communicates with you - It can not be hijacked by anybody.
As for people that knock marketers I know plenty and I make more money than most
of them them too.
Its like some body thats smokes knocking people for keeping fit.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I am not sure what the exact charges being levelled are, although “apocalypse” and “vulnerable” are pretty emotionally charged words.
Is the “damage” being done because John or some other marketer is using twitter as a branding or marketing channel?
Gee, I hope it doesn’t generate into one of those “pure blogger” (ie: if you are a blogger, you should not “corrupt” yourself by making $$$ off your blog…goddam!!!).
-
If that were the case, we might have to let frivolous twits about burning popcorn or being stood up by a boyfriend populate the airwaves.
-
Anyway, the foundation of these “spam” accusations seem to be predicated on the fact that twitter users are morons who can’t hit the button to unfollow and that they’ll continue to read useless drivel ad infinitum.
Maybe they should go pick up a copy of Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing or Cialdini’s Influence and get a clue.
PS: Ok, I missed up my trackback and I have no idea how to fix it.
If anyone might be interested in my thoughts on the issue, visit:
http://www.whoisandrewwee.com/social-networking/will-john-reeses-marketing-tactics-break-twitter/
June 19th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
[…] Twittersphere, John Reese (founder of traffic funnelling pyramid scheme BlogRush) decided to “set the record straight” on his personal blog. Unfortunately for John, much like in his marketing verbiage, he was […]
June 19th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Well done John. Nothing irks me more than people just bashing, name calling, making accusations of another person.
Napoleon Hill once said… As soon as you’re on the road to success there will always be someone there to trip you up.
If people only knew the amount of work and effort that you put into your content they’d be amazed.
I know that you’ve put in 6-7 hours writing just ONE newsletter in order to give the best possible content. You go out of your way to please people and this is why you’ve had so much success in your life. You need to give before you’ll receive.
If only people would only put ¼ the effort into something more positive, this world would be a much better place.
Shannon
June 19th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
John,
The fact that you paint me as some sort of anti-marketing hippie shows only your ignorance and lack of research materials. I routinely flog democrats in my personal writings as being socialists, and have a long history of criticising privacy advocates for trying to break up the various ad networks and abolish behavioral marketing.
To use your favorite phrase: Pot Kettle Black.
I wrote a fairly long response back at Mashable, but to paraphrase, you *are* lying, or at the very least bending the truth. Never sold an ebook? What do you call text files sold on a CD? A book in electronic form isn’t an ebook?
In terms of your improvements - for most users of the system - it never turned into what you could call a rush of traffic. We did a detailed statistical breakdown post several months ago at Mashable. Feel free to re-read that and explain to me how the results of your best case scenario could be considered a rush of members.
If you are truly interested in offering a refund, I can send you a bill for the equivalent amount of ad space a widget your size would cost on my old domain RIZZN.COM, calculated at a rate of $35 CPM for all the traffic I could have monetized with a useful service instead.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s what you meant.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
The sentence: “The fact that you paint me as some sort of anti-marketing hippie shows only your ignorance and lack of research materials.” should read “… research materials used in your blog post.”
June 19th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Internet marketing is NOT a ‘business’.
And ‘Internet marketers’ are NOT always business-people.
Both John Reese and Mashable are saying the same thing - in a different way.
It’s the tale of the blind men describing an elephant… the elephant in this case being the semantic confusion over the ambigious and ill-defined term “Internet marketer”.
As an aside, John Counsel recently taught me this nice distinction.
Marketing is identifying a need and filling it.
Selling is making people want what they need… because otherwise they won’t buy it.
All success
Dr.Mani
Oh, Twitter!
http://www.MoneyPowerWisdom.com/oh-twitter/
June 19th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I’m happy to see you John “Standing For” the Internet Marketing community.
What these “journalists” have said really made me mad!
Thanks JR,
Tamer
June 19th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
The great marvel of web 2.0 and the philosophy that comes with it, is the power is shifting from the professional critics, who in the past had the ability to make and break, to the general public. It also gives a voice to those who are critiqued and criticized to have high visibility responses. John Reese and others like him will be judged by us, the people and will rise or fall on our opinion and our trust, not the words of journalists paid to stir up controversy.Power to the people!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[…] just read this fantastic post by John Reese I think you’ll really […]
June 19th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
John,
I think this is a well written response - and I’m glad that you responded so intelligently.
FWIW - I have the blogrush widget on my blog, and it has generated many visitors to my blog.
(one of my recent posts is ‘hot’ and has >90 clicks, with only around 2000 impressions - that was cool!).
Keep up the great work!
Kenny
June 19th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Mark,
As I just replied to your latest and new slanderous post about me, that CD was made up of video tutorials. My customers also received a 20-page printed newsletter. They also received access to download the files to both if they wanted them. I’d hardly call this an “ebook” which in your reference meant a $20 “get rich quick” text file.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Well said John!
Just one other point these anti-marketing people should consider when “mashing” us all together. There are bad marketers just like there are bad blog writers. Should the world start a campaign against blogs just because some of them write crappy stuff that isn’t well researched?
June 19th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
This is one post I am going to keep to remind people what can happen when journalists don´t do their homework. Well done John. Wish we all had that ability, to be able to come back with so much force.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
5 years of searching and researching all angles of eCommerce and while I am the first to despise the dastardly devils we refer to as snakeoil salespeople it is the individual’s choice and responsibility to seperate between the good and the bad. As a retired broadcast and print journalist I heartily applaud Mr. Reese for a direct hit on the real culprit in this matter, those who paint an entire industry with one broad brush.
I am online hours daily but must say until this was found on Warriors Forum tonight I had never been aware of mashable or blogrush` but this gives me yet another arrow for firing into a couple of blogs myself.
I will defend unto my death the right of that mashable idiot to so recklessly fabricate a “story” of his own thoughts but I will fight much harder to defend the innocent so wrongly accused and slandered by such baselessl and fabricated poppycock.
The challenge is upon all of us to crush the “spin” stories of those who know nothing factual of what they comment toward. Long live Free Speech. Long live Free Enterprise. And long live AMERICA!
Caveat Emptor.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
John,
I’ve heard your name around the Internet Marketing community, but I never really knew much about you. Thanks to Joe Richey’s tweet, I was led to this link. As a newbie internet marketer, I am looking for any way to get more visibility. To me, your email expressed my feelings about twitter - a good way to get to know other people in the business and get the word out about your business. That doesn’t mean we’re all going to post a dozen links a day to products we’re selling, but I like having one place to go to keep up on the people I follow. I don’t have time to visit everyone’s blog every day to see if they’ve updated, but if I see a tweet about a blog post, then I can check it out if it’s something that interests me.
Kudos to you for a very well-written rebuttal, and by the way, I’m now following you on Twitter!
Maureen Gendron
June 19th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
P.S. The few people I have ever had to stop following because my homepage was overloaded with their tweets were the ones who posted about every waking moment of their lives. I have no problem with multiple posts, but when I sign in and the first page is full of one person’s tweets, that’s spam to me, even if they aren’t trying to sell me anything.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Hi John, I’ve not known many of the things about you! Great explanations supported by the facts! Thanks.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:26 am
[…] when I wrote the post is that Reese may actually be delusional and not altogether there up top. In an overboard, bizarre and rambling response, Reese claims that Web 2.0 wouldn’t exist for people like him…and I’m not […]
June 20th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Hey John,
This is actually my first time reading your blog. Great stuff. I will be back for more.
Why?
Because you provide information that is Valuable to me.
I haven’t used blogrush on my blog, but I have clicked thru blogrush links on other blogs and have discovered some great relevant sites because of it. Thanks for that.
Honestly who cares what Raisin thinks. I read his blog today and was appalled.
He makes false claims of “creating satisfactory new media since 1996″. The word “satisfactory” is a lie or at least “bending of the truth.”
I find his information very “un-satisfactory” and I want my money back for my wireless internet usage. I will send him a bill for $35 because I will definitely be dissatisfied for at least the rest of this month with his miserable content.
He also claims to “Contribute to several web communities…” More false advertising and another lie. I believe he “detracts” from several web communities.
Mashable has taken a big hit in my book because of his ignorant ramblings.
So using the word “contribute” is a downright lie and I want to be compensated for that too.
That’ll cost Mark around $1000 because it wasted 10 minutes of my time that I could have spent marketing my affiliate business to unsuspecting folks on twitter.
But because of his false advertising by using the words “satisfactory” and “contribute” I lost that 10 minutes forever on his blog and can never get it back.
I coulda made a million dollars on twitter in that 10 minutes.
I deserve restitution…
June 20th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Dr. Mani -> “Both John Reese and Mashable are saying the same thing - in a different way.”
I could sort of agree with you…but…
I don’t think Hopkins really knows what he is saying and that’s further evidenced by his follow-up posts and commentary on other blogs. He keeps saying this is about affiliate marketing & social networking/web 2.0/Twitter…whatever…but he isn’t even discussing that. He’s just using it as a platform to make personal attacks.
He hasn’t effectively addressed the issue of either blog title:
- Does Affiliate Marketing Mix with Social Media?
- Is Twitter Vulnerable to Marketer Attack?
Would be nice if he could actually shed some light on either of those questions he has posed.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:59 am
[…] You can catch John’s response at: Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers […]
June 20th, 2008 at 2:23 am
What an articulate response to a scathing attack on your person and your purpose.
Someone with your reputation and credibility needn’t really have responded. It’s a bit
like giving the argument some credence.
But it’s to your credit that you took time out of your schedule to stick up for the rest of
the genuine, honest internet marketers out here who ‘aren’t’ as high profile as yourself,
and wouldn’t have been listened to seriously had they made similar points.
Thankyou John,
Pete Moring.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:34 am
[…] You can check out the whole story by clicking here […]
June 20th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Thank you John, for your Facebook foray and for promoting Twitter. I don’t post too frequently myself, but I like to see what others are doing. I have definitely checked out a couple of links, when they have been posted. Twitter is good as an index. I don’t always have time to go to everyone’s site, but I can check in there quickly and see if there’s anything I should look at.
I am still pretty new to internet marketing (not the internet :). Business is business (always has been), and either you have class… or you don’t.
I read the articles at the above links. Sounds like high school or sour grapes.
You are one of two or three that I read to learn from (not meaning there are only 3 to learn from :). I can’t afford you, yet, but there’s a ton of value in what you share openly. You are right about research. I got an eye opener when I looked you up a couple of months ago. It is sad that those two “more seasoned”
gentlemen didn’t make the time.
Hey, if you did decide to sell e-books, they would be worth the purchase.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:56 am
[…] in a blog post titled Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers, John Reese felt compelled to respond to two blog posts in a fairly strong […]
June 20th, 2008 at 6:01 am
[…] See the latest installment here! And the comments continue to pour into John’s blog. […]
June 20th, 2008 at 6:49 am
[…] Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
June 20th, 2008 at 6:59 am
[…] By Internet Marketers tackled the same subject and John Reese’s retort can be read here: Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketer No […]
June 20th, 2008 at 7:46 am
[…] « Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers […]
June 20th, 2008 at 9:03 am
John,
I applaud you. I”m glad you addressed this. Isn’t it sad that people have to slander others to make themselves feel better?
You’re right - you had the courage to step out and try something. More than a lot of people can say. NOt everything is going to turn out as we had hoped, but that doesn’t call for criticism or slander.
What has happened to entrepreneurs having integrity? I feel that is one of the signs of an entrepeneur I would respect.
I feel this happens in the world of sports so often. I hate to hear sports players criticized because they made a bad move or didn’t play as well as people expected. Hey - they are doing better than 99% of the people and because they are in the public eye, every move is watched and any “less than expected” action is criticized. Let’s not bring that into the world of entrepreneurism.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
[…] Duncan Riley at the Inquistr, involving everyone’s favourite downtime service (Twitter), and John Reese, Internet Marketing schlep / god (depending on where you […]
June 20th, 2008 at 10:11 am
What a thorough and lucid response to not only one individual but an entire way of thinking about who’s doing what online and why.
There are entrepreneurs — and then there are scammers. Bottom line, it seems to me, boils down to your intentions.
Good honest folks are too busy making good things happen, to ever dream of spending one second of energy trying to make trouble for someone else. Those who are mucking things up? Well it’s a good thing someone takes them by the collar and gives them a good shake once in a while.
Thanks for doing that, John.
More folks cast in your mold, John, and fewer creeps. That gets my vote, always.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:00 am
[…] read more | digg story […]
June 20th, 2008 at 11:04 am
John,
I have to admit that you have taken the “high road” in this discussion with your follow up post and analysis of the situation as an Internet Marketing professional…
Kudos.
Slowing down, and looking at these discussions from “outside the box” can deliver even higher impact to the readers.
I have been a follower of your teachings for years now…and today 06/20/2008, your stock just went up.
Joseph Ratliff
June 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
[…] Twittersphere, John Reese (founder of traffic funnelling pyramid scheme BlogRush) decided to “set the record straight” on his personal […]
June 20th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Wow.. What a storm in a tea cup! It does appear to be creating a lot of ‘interest’! Nothing like a bit of controversy
As I have met and talked to John in Australia a couple of years ago, I can only go by my gut feels about him - He came across as a man with great integrity, who cared about our success! But above all was very very passionate about internet marketing!
I believe that John’s original idea with blog rush was indeed to help bloggers everywhere get more traffic!!
I also have Traffic Secrets - which is just like a university course in Internet marketing - John is simply brilliant (maybe a little too intense, some times ;-)) I can’t wait for Traffic Secret 2….
This is my opinion, for what it is worth - from some one who has actually met the man..
Michelle Frost (another John Reece fan :-))
June 20th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
[…] Yet that’s how these repeated episodes that have aired on the prime time Internet marketing soap opera channel have played out. Like the recent flame war on Mashable and the Income.com blog. […]
June 21st, 2008 at 2:41 am
[…] elolvasni John Reese kifakadását. Megérne egy teljes posztot. http://www.income.com/blog/2008/06/19/wake-up-call-web-20-wouldnt-exist-without-internet-marketers/ « el?z? | Goldmann Dávid — 2008. 06. 21. […]
June 21st, 2008 at 6:56 am
Do your thing man…don’t let these people try to stop your momentum.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:00 pm
[…] Duncan Riley. Sifting through the comments, there are arguments for both sides. You can read it at John’s blog and make up your own mind. I think the whole thing is a great example of creating “Blogging […]
June 21st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Do bloggers take free speech too far?…
In the last day or so, there has been a lot of air time in the blogging world discussing this war of words between John Reese and a couple of other bloggers Mark Hopkins and Duncan Riley. In Mark’s post entitled “Is Twitter Vulnerable to Ma…
June 21st, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Great John,
Mashable will lose a lot of reputation becos of this.
please kindly have a http://www.sharethis.com button on this blog.
Please add this sharethis button ,kindly john, we cannot share it as such.
thanks
sumit
June 21st, 2008 at 9:34 pm
[…] In the meantime I am going to support a very successful internet marketer in John Reese of which I do use BlogRush John just not on this blog…LOL… and post his response to Mashable, even if this blog is very small with only a small amount of visitors - Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers […]
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 am
John, you didn’t have to go there. You know who you are. Are you okay? If not, just let me know
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:30 am
[…] Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers by John Reese […]
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 am
This is absolutely amazing!!! The rhetoric being tossed around is mind boggling…
Believe me, I have EXTREMELY strong views of some marketers “tactics” but the last thing I would do is slather them all over the Internet with such little research and so many harmful intentions…
It seems to be happening a lot lately and what the masses believe is “Internet Marketing” is so off whack it makes me nearly vomit in my own mouth! My online marketing is simply ONE method of exposure for my products.
Those who are truly making money with “Online Marketing” are using many more methods than simply emailing a list…
The term Internet Marketer is be used WAY to loosely!
Excellent post John!
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 am
[…] misapplied hero worship was served up a few days ago by Duncan Riley, Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins, and John Reese. John Reese, who I had not heard of before seeing these blog posts, is a businessman who has […]
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
[…] Twitter account to … add to a Twitter account. Still, for a well-rounded read, check it out. Wake Up Call Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers Written on Monday, 23. June 2008 at 11:27 In the cateogry ethics, other_blogs, social networks. […]
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Very professional response, John. It was a pleasure to read.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
That was the best blog post I’ve read in ages! Nice work! A real ATLAS SHRUGGED storyline.
There are producers and consumers, it’s great to sometimes see the producers blast the negative “consumers” who sometimes forget who keeps their lights on!
June 24th, 2008 at 12:18 am
No time to read all the responses here but this response by Mark Hopkins stands out as both stupid, foolish, senseless and pathetic.
In his own words, “BlogRush, despite all your attempts to spin it into something depicting a “Rush of traffic to blogs,” while may be getting lots of traffic to the widget, has never delivered anything coming close to your claims.”
Mark, if you’re reading this, here are 2 reasons why I think you’re a pathetic loser (sorry, I meant PATHETIC in capitals).
1. John Reese have already admitted failing with that project, so saying it here again makes you look like a lawyer who has shamefully lost a battle. And the fact that you can’t reconcile with a human failing means you’re either jealous of his accomplishments (clearly obvious) or you’re too SMART to fail. But c’mon, isn’t it obvious that you’re not as smart as me? At least, I don’t reason backwards like you do. And I fail sometimes (oh, most times) for that matter.
2. Have you ever spent $100,000 on a project? $200,000 or $400,000? See what I mean? You’ve never taken a very major risk in all your damn*d mis*r*ble life, and here you are bashing someone who’s willing to help you add meaning to your life? Unbelievable!!! ### rolling eyes ###
Hear this, Mark. You have bitten much more than you can chew. And this is what will happen. The reversal of your senseless thoughts and wishes. More fans for John and less for you. ‘Nuf said…
~Kola
June 26th, 2008 at 6:48 am
We don’t fall in love when we are in the company of someone, we fall in love when we are off by ourselves thinking about them afterwards.
Its quite clear that we enjoy being in each others company and like having fun together. And its also plainly obvious that a butt naked angel called cupid doesn’t shoot an arrow into our butt.
But it is when you are on your own and you find yourself thinking about someone in such a unique way, that allows you to list all the qualities about them you really like, and imagine yourself with them connecting together with the flow of your personalities, is when a feeling of love begins to take place deep inside of you. And although you may try push these feelings down or talk yourself out of them, you only find it comes back 10 times more powerful than ever before, allowing you to fall into deeper emotional states of falling for this person during moments of the day. With me, according to my experiences with people, theres always potential connections that can be built between us as human beings.
When you recall a time in your past when you fell in love, where you then able to stay cool, in control of yourself and the relationship? Or where you calling that person everyday, always wanting to see them, thinking about them and eager to experience a growing connection with them?
Heres the point: We do not fall in love by “tripping” over or falling into a “hole!” Love is a process we do to ourselves! And there are always new ways to discover how love can manifest between us - to the point where you act upon it right now!
All the best,
Nicholas Finnegan
June 27th, 2008 at 9:19 am
[…] seeing better results with this than BlogRush which John admits was not performing up to his […]
June 27th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
WE ARE NOT WORTHY!
WE ARE NOT WORTHY!
As always, great post John…the Blogrush widget has provided nearly a consistent 5% click-thru ratio with my blog over time as titles became easier to write and blog credibility rose (encouraging more familiarity and clicks because of it). The service has immense value and you’ll obviously only improve it over time.
Critics you write about here are extremely valuable (even though destructively criticizing in this case) by creating a buzz and a worthy response on your end…fuel to the fire only sparks bigger and much better creative content.
Thanks,
Derek
June 27th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
-
IS THIS ALL A BIG SCAM - A Clever Marketing Strategy ? ?
Could this argument drama between Duncan Riley/Mark Hopkins and John Reese
be a clever marketing strategy/ providing drama for us readers? clever marketers can
try almost anything to pull a crowd of eager, anticipated visitors/fans just like
yourselves.
What do you all think?
-
June 27th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
WTF is mashable???????????????
June 28th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Hey John,
I just did a post on my blog to help spread the word. Leave me some comments. http://www.terrytaysecrets.com/will-the-internet-exist-without-internet-marketers/
Thanks.
~Terry
June 30th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Michel Fortin said it best up there… Mashable is trying to use Marketing tactics — without CLAIMING to be, and rather actually LYING about doing so - in such a way that it’s pretty disgusting.
Linkbait, lies, distraction, etc…
While they lie about they’re purpose for calling out Reese, they’re coming off as the door to door vacuum salesman (a job that is much more truthful than the tactics behind their recent blog posts).
In reality - all blogs are distractions - but few actually set out to purposely do so in hopes to use their deceitful tactics to win over unknowing readers.
And to think that I was actually a reader of that site at one point in time…
“anything for a quick buck” fits their marketing.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
The internet represents true capitalism. It’s a free for all just like any open market. It’s going to be used by anyone with an interest. If your interest is internet marketing-why can’t Twitter or any other application be used for that? If your interest is developing communtiy vegetable gardens, charities, hobbies, etc it’s perfectly normal to use Twitter or any other media available to promote your interest. Why the anger at internet marketers in particular? If you don’t like to read content from marketers then just click away and read what interests you. It’s that simple.
The emerging markets of the world-India, China, Middle East, etc. will probably be entering the internet marketing “space” also. With consumer prices rising you’re going to be seeing a lot of people attempting to generate money on the ‘net. Hopefully quality will rise to the top and the rest will fall away.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I have always found John Reese to be someone of incredible integrity and a tremendous marketer.
JOhn I look forward to connecting with you again in the near future.
How is your dads golf invention coming?
Larry Benet
The Connector
July 1st, 2008 at 9:30 pm
John, no offence mate but you are an ebook sales man.
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
MuVar is an awasome software to work with.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Great post and well said. I just came across your trafficsecrets promo video, was blown away, and decided to google you, than from this post. I am not at all familiar with the Twitter culture and ethics however it seems clear from what I’ve seen of you you are what I call an “ethical” Internet marketer.
I also started Internet marketing in 1994 (I would call it guerrilla marketing in my case) and retired in 2000. The point is this judging from his post the war that was going on in 1994 still rages. You are absolutely correct in that business, entrepreneurs, and Internet marketing have played a huge role in with the Internet is today and more importantly what will evolve to in the future.
I’m sure you already know John the fastest way to come under attack is to get out there and become successful, that I’m afraid will never change.
I fully intend to take your course as I’m certain it will fast track me regards present Internet marketing conditions.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:21 am
No doubt some of the ire you garner is probably caused by your slickster marketing style.
What ever happened to “John Reese quits IM forever?”
You’re a smooth talking, not-quite-snake-oil salesman. I say not quite because your products
do provide value to the buyers. Your marketing however, is near “con-like.”
You use an extremely well polished “I’m really your friend trying to help you” sales pitch, and
all the people who are going to jump all over this comment have bought into your smooth
talking marketing babble.
The net-net is, you’re making millions and probably having a lot of fun doing it.
And more power to you. You’ve got them all fooled… all the way to the bank.
July 4th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
That’s awesome kick ass post John!
And Riley, are you trying to tell me that if someone’s got a kick-ass product, they shouldn’t use kick-ass marketing to sell them? They should use “accurate” marketing that says something like, “use this widget and you may or may not get traffic”?
Come on!
And who said making millions and enjoying what you do is wrong when you are helping people do the same? And who said you can’t be your customer’s friend either?
Bottom line is: Making money and garnering loyalty through marketing is nothing wrong!
July 6th, 2008 at 9:39 am
great post, got to it a little late… following you on twitter mobile and luv’in the updates plan on posting some of your info at my blog http://bubbavine.com...
July 8th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
This is so true, I’m sick of people complaining about marketing, the internet was made for it!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Fools or not mr riley, (deliberately lower case) we follow him to the bank too!
What you got to offer????
July 13th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I love a good spat, especially when I am late to it and I can follow it in all it’s gory history. Laid out to entertain on a Sunday afternoon.
I too was not fond of Blogrush, but like the man said. He gave it a go and put his own dollars on the table. Good for you mate.
I have watched the Traffic vids and yep, I’m in. I’m sold. I just love being sold to well and I know I will get a nugget of info which I can use to earn multiples of the entry fee.
Most people wont though, and the reason will be something like, “Oh I can’t work on my website this weekend there’s a Babylon 5 marathon on cable”. Sigh!
I love copy that excites me, that makes me feel I can accomplish. John does that, he reaches into your psyche with a deft hand and tickles the part of the brain that gets your juices going.
See you on Tuesday John, I will be standing in the cyber queue with a pocket full of used fivers, ready to grab me some Traffic Secrets.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
[…] read more | digg story […]
July 19th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Bottom line is, John performs a service for legitimate companies that market online. He can no more stop a spam marketer from buying his product than a gas company can stop a person from buying gasoline that is planning to burn down a house. That’s a strong comparison, but it’s the truth. John should be compensated for his work and his time. He is no different than brick and mortar business marketers - except that he specializes in getting results online.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Well spoken.
July 20th, 2008 at 12:58 am
*Slow, dramatic clapping*
Great post John, you sure served them their asses in a silver platter. =)
July 20th, 2008 at 6:36 am
John,
I followed that entire bashing of you, and my girlfriend just forwarded me your response. lol. John, I very much think like you and although I’m a huge Web 2.0 Proponent, I’m also the exact opposite of those Social Media Marketing Hippsters. Because honestly, you can’t market a real business without being somewhat spammy. You can’t. All you can do is meet great people and realize that the world is one bit happy Web 2.0 family. And YES, from that you can meet future partners, investors, clients, etc. But you cannot sell a product in vast quantities. I Incubate “Web 2.0″ Startups. The tagline for my company, FaceySpacey.com, is the “The Startup Incubator.” So here’s what I’ve found: I’ve gotten lots of clients, investors, partners, etc from twittering and commenting on blogs, etc. And I’ve applied those same tactics to marketing myriad real products and services, and the same approach does not work with even close to the same success. So, I then resolved to spamming–albeit in as personal a form as I could get in spam–and it worked. Bada Boom Bada Bing. The message is to be personal and real, and realize you’re a real person selling something. Use lingo that doesn’t make you seem like some big corporate company and spam. It works. Social Media Relationship Building DOES NOT. It does for making relationships, and if you can get your nut out of 1 or 2 relationships, then that’s perfect. But if you need like 100 relationships, then it doesn’t work. Period….However building a social related product that lets other people drive some value out of it, works for as a business in itself. And that’s the point of Web 2.0–to actually build products that derive passive income, by self-marketing itself through its viral use. Marketing by talking to people on twitter will get you a few clients a month if you’re lucky.
My last point is simply that there is one anomaly. Say you’re Chris Brogan or some super Web 2.0 blogger, then and only then will you get lots of clients, sales, relationships or whatever–and the reason is because you’re in a perfect point of equilibirium where pretty much the only people using the tool you’re using to market are the exact same people you want to reach. So, again, Social Media Relationship building has worked for me, and it has because I have perfectly figured out how to tap into this point of Web 2.0 Relationship Building Perfection. It’s way harder to replicate if you sell Real Estate, Cars, etc. THE TARGET MARKET IN THOSE VERTICALS DO NOT BUILD PRODUCTS WHERE THE PRODUCT IS ALSO THE CONVERSATION/MARKETING MEDIUM. In the Car world, people converse on car blogs, but their core business is anything else. In the Web 2.0 world, people converse on/through Web 2.0 blogs and Web 2.0 services, and their core business is also pretty much the same, either their own Web 2.0 blog or a software business related to it. This all amounts to a perfectly connected and targetable market, where the stars align and it’s just perfect for all of us. And these Web 2.0 hipsters don’t know this because they probably barely make their nut through Web 2.0 and have no idea how to market a real business, or they’re smart like Jermiah Oywang or Chris Brogan and have put 2 and 2 together (like myself) and have made their whole business about sucking every Web 2.0 Hipster into their orbit. Period!!!!!
Here’s an article I wrote in response to a guest article Chris Brogan wrote on Mashable that explains my complete feelings about it (feel free to comment–consider this a spam message on your blog, and hire me to consult for you, because that’s the only reason I’m sticking my head out there and commenting on a blog for people to see. That and I agree with you, John. Think of how genuine I’m being as the epitome of Social Media Relationship Building and click the link to my blog. Or Don’t click it if you disagree–but if you disagree, you’re a Web 2.0 hipster and you’ll never make any chaching$):
http://www.faceyspacey.com/blog/index.php?/archives/182-When-Stars-Align-for-Web-2.0-marketing.html
James
from
FaceySpacey.com - “The Startup Incubator”
July 20th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Great post John:-)
Hey Mark would you pass the popcorn, Mark?
Nevermind, I got it.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:11 am
James,
Seems as though you’ve been bitten by the anti-bug. Sometimes this works to bring in a lot of visitors, but it is very rare.
Did you know that there are other uses of social media for marketers? In 2002 I called it “being everywhere your target market surfs.” -Power Linking
I haven’t built many “relationships” on social sites compared to the number of people I have grabbed for my “hipster” products. And I have worked no harder than the other marketing avenues have people working.
I have hundreds of members and clients pulling in great leads, traffic, links, and search engine rankings using social media.
Search engines - where people perfectly targeted to your products and services go to find you.
Social sites - where people talking about your products and services or interests related to them go to …. talk and find cool sites.
If you haven’t made this work for you, that doesn’t make it a failure as a method.
It just means you haven’t made it work for you. And your definition of social marketing is much too narrow - relationship building vs. spamming as the only two things you use to support your case against social marketing.
People might have been fooled into the “hipster” push for courses and training in the first round of pitches. But the word would definitely be out by now if it didn’t work.
One of the only people on the entire web saying it doesn’t work unless you spam is you. If that were true, there would be a lot more people saying it.
July 20th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Hey John!
That was definitely popcorn worthy, and I enjoyed reading about your background. I didn’t know all of that about you.
And, for what it’s worth (not that you need my opinion on it), BlogRush is still a pretty darn cool thing.
I love the critics. They’re popularizing you, even with the negative press. And, nobody ever built a monument to a critic… if visitors came to the “monument to a critic”, they’d only be critics, who would inevitably think of more ways to criticize the monument upon visiting.
You’ve been a great teacher for me, through your products and services, and I appreciate you.
Warmest,
Jonathan Kraft
July 20th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Blogrush is cool and far from a failure. Hopefully their bashing it will only get you even more traffic!
July 20th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
You’ve stated it eloquently. The fact is that academics and librarian types got to the Internet first, but its development has been solely the result of marketers. Web 2.0 is evidence of that. The attitude of people like Hopkins has a trickle down effect. More than once I’ve received email on my various blogs that putting up an ad makes means I’m not a real blogger. Is the information on About.com or Yahoo Health less valuable because they put ads on their site? It always has and always will be about making money . . . unless you’re the government, and they don’t have to market the IRS.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
[…] John Reese has an excellent post, Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers, in response to some recent bashing on internet marketers running across the web. His points […]
July 20th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
You sing it brother!
IM’ers are always the ones who pave the way. In any industry there are the losers who abuse it and don’t understand giving above people’s expectations or what over delivering means!
If regular small businesses just learn 1/100th of what you teach, their businesses will soar online and offline.
Your absolutely right when you said, this is only the tip of the iceberg - it is so exciting to see how the web has manifested into this social medium. I think it would have happened regardless of IM’ers, but there is no doubt in my mind that it never would have had this speed without IM’ers paving the way.
IM’ers are the early adopters in this web 2.0 medium and it is shame to watch people shamelessly dump on one of our remarkable community leaders.
JR, thanks again for leading by example!
July 21st, 2008 at 1:13 am
There has always been an undercurrent of Marxism and Socialism online.
The “anti-profit” idiots fail to recognize that it is FOR PROFIT business that built the web in the first place!
I read Tim Berners Lee’s book (published 1999) about creating the Internet at CERN and it’s clear “The Web” didn’t appear from hairy Bolshevek wags - they don’t have that much cable.
To call John Reese an “ebook salesman” is beyond ill-informed - it is thumb-sucking lazy ignorance.
Sadly this dangerous trend to penalize successful businesses in this country. They create jobs, and give us the greatest standard of living ever, and if liberal Democrats have their way, they will destroy health care, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, airline, automobile, and hold your breath - finally pass the legislation to “tax the internet.”
Don’t worry too much John. Most of the “anti-profit” complainers are made possible by a grant from their full time jobs - and lack the imagination or energy to do more than bitch.
Ahhh, makes me remember fondly my battles with “The Hobbits” in the old Blogburner days!
Rock on John,
Rick Butts
July 21st, 2008 at 3:49 am
Let’s face it, marketing and advertising make the world go round. There would be no TV shows, no Super Bowl, no free MYSpace and on and on without advertising and “sponsors”.
Your responses are fantastic!!! Well communicated and right on!
July 21st, 2008 at 8:02 am
Hilarious read. And right on the money! (Oops, perhaps I shouldn’t mention the “M” word!
July 21st, 2008 at 11:26 am
It’s about time a marketing soldier stepped up to do battle!
L.o.L. on Mashable’s traffic compared to Blogrush……John,they’re just using your name -in a 50Cent hiphop battle type fashion- to make a “come-up”. Blogging greatly deals with generating a buzz and what better way to do it than to diss someone who’s already showing and proving.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:36 am
[…] Read the rest here… […]
July 21st, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hie John,
well presented and argued case…. Did you go to law school? …(jokes). Well as for the accuser’s did they even have the nerve to respond or withdraw the silly claims. Anyway,it all does you good John in the long run, the buzz around this just serves to highlight you and the great achievements you have made. If I could achieve 0.00001% of what you done it would be proud. stand tall John.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
[…] You can view Reese’s rebuttal here “Wake Up Call: Web 2.0 Wouldn’t Exist Without Internet Marketers“. […]
July 24th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Slick marketing tactics? You seem to be doing the same exact thing except not charging for it… John Reese leads by example and you my friend do too. He teaches that being a friend is better than being an antagonist who needs to put down others so maybe he can get some traffic.
Loved your response John, I think everyone would agree that although you stood your ground he still kept coming (even though he had nothing to go on :))
July 24th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
John,
You really drove the point home well. I am so glad to see someone of your caliber take a stand and tell it like it is. It’s about time someone did. All of the little journalist blogger geeks like Mark and Duncan p*** me off too. I totally agree about the whole lack of research. I have had people do the same with me, asking “what do I know about article marketing?”, all they had to do was Google me or look at Ezine Articles and they would have had their answer.
I too, have been marketing online since 1994 and I have seen a lot of good and a lot of bad. I TOTALLY agree with you about Web 2.0, it would not exist without us as is the case with most internet companies, GOOGLE included. Where would they be without the billions of dollars of Adwords revenue they collect?
People need to get real - in the real world NOTHING happens until something is sold and on the internet it is NO DIFFERENT.
Gregg
July 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I think this Mark person is confusing you, a well respected internet marketer with those lowly scammers and spammers you’ll see trying to peddle something shady on every site or in every email they can.
Unfortunate this guy on Mashable cannot tell the difference.
What I think his real problem is the fact that some spammers, somewhere, may read your teachings and try to flood Twitter with a bunch of BS, but this isn’t your fault. If Mark took the time to actually read your teachings, he probbaly would have worded his article differently.
Just my two cents, but I wouldn’t worry about this guy and what he said. Educated people who like to look at both sides will see you for who really are and not for what Mark portrayed you as. Your response was bang on and full of class. Kudos!
Richard
http://www.sellmyride.ca
http://www.sellmyride.us
July 26th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Wow, that is Passion! Attaboy, John. You hit the nail on the head about the anti-marketing bias that exists on (and off) the web. A breath of fresh air, thanks.
July 26th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Are Internet Marketers Ruining Web 2.0?…
John Reese writes with a great deal of passion and convincing argument. Also, his report of the success of BlogRush was very interesting.
……