Technology Blog

Spam spam spam, and more spam!

I’ve seen this ad several times now: “I got scammed 37 times!” So naturally, I’m curious, I click.

Only to be lead to one of those typical one page spreads that have a link to ‘find out the truth to money making programs’, along with an opt-in email newsletter, not to mention 2 links to other one page ads to programs/tips on how to make thousands of dollars, and assurances that these are not scams, and 100% satisfaction guaranteed (if of course, you legitimately do all the steps they suggest, over a 90 day commitment).

Did I mention that these are the typical “act now and we’ll give you this program for 49.95, a full $100 off the full price” ads? Did I also mention that both links from this “info” page, just like this info page has similar popups? oh, and of course, there’s testimonials, and while I didn’t look any further, I’m sure one of more of these links has a link to an image of an “actual paycheck”.

I once got suckered into a scam like this supposed “none-scam” is, and low and behold, I was linked to a website with information alright… information that’s already free for anyone who’s curious: how to place ads and make money on Adsense.

But what gets me frustrated is the way this guy chooses to get people interested. His claims of being scammed in the past, get people interested in his story, and somehow, you the reader should feel sorry for him, identify with him, and therefore, trust that he’s giving you real information without any kind of direct benefit to himself.

That’s marketing.

It also sucks.

Why not be a little more upfront and honest about it? Do what I do, and countless others do: provide honest opinions, on sponsored blogs. Yeah, there’s advertisements. Absolutely… just look to your right, and you’ll see my Adsense banner. I’m not going to white wash this and say I’m not getting compensated because I am. (ok, this is not something I’m going to say 99% of time as blatantly as I’m stating in this blog).

But seriously folks. I want to be a respected as a surfer and possible marketer. I know that information, good solid information isn’t always free. But is the dress up really necessary? His whole schtick is: he’s been scammed 33 or 35 times, but he wants to show you 2 *true* programs that he’s making money on. uh huh. Ok, that makes you even more believable dude, thanks.

The other thing that bothered me was, his leads you into the page by saying, hey, don’t trust the get rich quick schemes, go with the one of the two programs that I recommend, they don’t make you as much money as quickly, but they work. (I’m paraphrasing here)

Well, I don’t know about you, but when one of the programs bragged about making $50,000 in one month, that screamed SCAM to me. Right there and then.

Is it impossible to make $50,000 in a month on ad placements on the net? No, in fact it’s very possible. (have I personally done it? No) Do I think that it’s possible within their 8 week guarantee? Highly unlikely.

As far as I’m concerned. I just got scammed. Scammed for reading spam.

And no, I’m not going to link to this guy’s website. Not directly anyway. You might find it on an adsense ad to this page, you might not. I leave it up to you to search for this site and judge for yourself.

Feel free to come back and tell me if I’m off base with my general discontent for his antics.

Recently, I read an article about getting paid survey work from online sources. A click here and a click there and within a matter of minutes I landed on a “free” survey site. Surveys and claims that you can be compensated by participating in surveys have been around the internet for as long as I’ve been online. In fact, I’m sure that beside this blog entry, the adsense ads on this likely have advertisements to various survey websites.

The free survey website I went to yesterday guaranteed that if I completed their 10 buck challenge, they would promptly send 10 dollars plus a 3 dollar bonus for signing up straight into my paypal account. So, what did I have to lose?

What I lost was time and interest. I was amused by performing this stunt. I landed on sites for “free” ipods, “free” digital cameras, sign up incentives for casinos, sign up incentives for *other* survey sites. I was spinning around and around so fast, to various sites all pointing to similar survey sites, that it reminded me of landing on (or I confess) searching for adult related websites. It was the ultimate circle jerk. This is a rather vulgar metaphor, so rather than have you thinking I’m a dirty pervert, I’ll quote from my favorite website for information: Wikipedia.

They can refer to a situation, often in the workplace, politics or academia, where people are stroking each other’s ego without producing anything of value.

Quite honestly, survey filling can be rewarding if you know where to find these. I don’t have that talent, or more to the point, I don’t have the interest. It wasn’t long before I realized that pointing me to other survey sites was making this guy about $1.00-1.75 per referral. In other words, he kept his website free because he found ways to be compensated. I would have to sign up for about 15-20 websites to receive 10 bucks from him. You do the math. He was going to essentially keep half his money.

Are free websites therefore as scammy as paid ones? I’m not sure I have an honest answer to this question. I’ve decided to keep TechJobs free for now, because I firmly believe there are jobs out there available for telecommuters that do *not* involve paying a cent for this information.

If *anyone* has ever stayed on a survey site long enough to actually get direct payment for your opinion, I’d love to hear your experiences. Incidently, if you spam me with your affiliate link, I’ll simply ignore and delete your comment.

My little venture yesterday only did one thing for me: it brought me close to poking my own eyes out with the sharpest tool I could find on my desk. I concluded that as hard as it is to build a website up or a blog, I find this kind of work 1000 times more rewarding than filling out my personal information over and over again for…… essentially nothing.

This morning I landed on another blogger’s site, where he had a photo of himself in his cubicle.

I physically twitched at the site, and not because of the guy. He was average looking. No, I was reminded of similar pictures of myself in what is now an almost very distant past by career standards. January 2007 marks 6 full years since I’ve left the world of cubicles behind. It boggles my mind sometimes that it’s been that long. But when I look at the standard grey coloured separating walls, or the office chair that’s supposed to be ergonomically sound but your butt still hurts because you’re still sitting on it for 8-9 hours straight, I can’t help but be thankful I’ve been out of that cubicle jungle.

That’s not to say that a cubicle career isn’t rewarding or doesn’t have its merits. I know myself well enough to know that had I not had any other option for work, I have continued in that cubicle infested call center environment that I worked in in 2000-2001. Since then my income has been mediocre, although averaged out over a 6 year period, my home based income scores higher by at least 10,000-15,000 per year higher. And that’s with taking a lot of liberties in my life, oftentimes working part time or not at all. In the last 6 years I’ve been able to travel extensively with my laptop to California (where my wife lives), to other parts of the states, and to Europe last fall, while still being connected to my work.

The total brutal truth about my life at this point is that my income is on par today to what I could earn at a call center as a technical analyst (assuming no advancement to management positions for at least 2-3 years). I would be working or suggested/forced to work longer than 45 hours per week or be at the whim of an inflexible part time schedule.

This spring, my dependent mother-in-law will be coming to visit for a few months giving a much needed break to my wife who happens to have a solid, union backed, well paying but busy job in the states. A call center let alone any other position I’d qualify for in the work force would give me any kind of flexibility that I’m looking for these days. I think most of us with dependents at home can understand this at a deep deep level.

I dabbled in entrepreneurial ventures on and off since 1993. In later years, I lived with my ex girlfriend and her son, and at the time, after much discussion, we concluded that regular school wasn’t an option for him at that point, and home schooled him for 2 years. If it wasn’t for our business venture, he wouldn’t have had the opportunities to go to a private school shortly afterwards. Around that same time, we cared for, or made sure my girlfriend’s mother was cared for after hip replacement surgery. And finally, as recently as last year, I was able to visit my ailing mother and spend in total, about 2-3 weeks before she past away from a year long battle with a rare blood disease.

Hmm. It’s funny as I think about this. I didn’t think I’d be getting this personal in a technology blog, but the reality is I’ve come to really value self employment with all of its ups and downs, with all of my personal mistakes and oftentimes, lack of followthru or lack of confidence to venture in areas I’m perfectly capable of doing. These days I think a lot of it has to do with continuing to find your passion.

My passion died at the call center in 2001. The gray walls did nothing for me.

So, my apologies to cubicle inhabitants. I know your pain well, I really do. But I got off that spinning wheel a long long time ago, and don’t have any intention of ever getting back on. Not without some serious serious compensation.

I got spammed today, about 12 months after I initially applied to a transcription based website. Kudos to them for not spamming me constantly, but over a year of waiting for an opportunity to type at home?

A friend of mine worked for them in the past, and while they may have a new website, new name, etc, the service is probably the same. I’d also caution anyone from considering this work at home opportunity unless you’re in 1) in serious need of money and 2) can type faster than the requisite of 65 WPM.

The biggest beef I have with this organization are their requirements.

Have at least 24 months of intensive word processing or transcription experience, not more than five years previous to the date of application. (General office experience, data entry experience, accounting experience, etc. are not sufficient.)

Why isn’t any kind of data entry acceptable for them? Are they kidding me? The truth behind my typing speed hasn’t been the result of intensive data entry. I’ve been chatting and writing on the internet as well as other online services since 1989. To be sure, if you want to get up to 65-70 wpm with 100% accuracy (which is roughly where I am not at my typing ability), all you have to really do is own a computer and learn to type on your own.

I have no qualms about their legal typing requirements, but I do believe they need to be a little slack in their general requirements, particularly if you can show proficiency in spelling, grammar, and score well on thier typing test. I also feel that $10-12 per hour is somewhat optimistic.

YMMV. If you’re looking to pick up a bit of work on the side, it’s possible this opportunity could be of interest to some people out there. But you’re going to have to work probably harder with them than you likely would in an office environment. I believe this statement is applicable for most people living in North America. Review the cost of living and minimum wage in your area.

I shouldn’t be a naysayer but I am. I have a lot of skeptism when it comes to a lot of work-from-home opportunities on the net. Odd, from someone who’s been working online since 1999, and working fulltime without outside employment since 2001. Still though, consider this a healthy warning.

If you’re still interested, let me know in a comment. I don’t get any kind of compensation directly from the company. (If I did, I’d name them on the spot. LOL!) But I know there’s people out there looking for opportunities.

I’m just suggesting that this may not be the best one for most.