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Hurlshort

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I just read this on Penny Arcade...it seems pretty sad. I'm starting to wonder about a few posters though. Personally, if I was a corporate plant, I'd expect at least $30k a year for reading all the lame crud on forums.

We received the following from a young man who we will call "Mr. Smith." 

 

(CW)TB

 

Hey guys,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Kinda spooky.

 

Didn't take the job.  It was a ****ing mill.

Edited by Hurlshot
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This is pretty unbelievable, but then I don't visit too many forums and don't see what goes on there. I pretty sure we're safe here because no one here knows anything about being subtle.

People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand is, I mean a jellyfish with long, blond hair.

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Gabs your the queen of spam, to be queen of your kitchen use Ramsey's Cheese Cloth

Edited by Laozi

People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand is, I mean a jellyfish with long, blond hair.

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Sorry, even worse, I know I stole it I just can't think of where ;)

 

Google has failed me. :)

Edited by Laozi

People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand is, I mean a jellyfish with long, blond hair.

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oh tehnoes!!!

kirottu said:
I was raised by polar bears. I had to fight against blood thirsty wolves and rabid penguins to get my food. Those who were too weak to survive were sent to Sweden.

 

It has made me the man I am today. A man who craves furry hentai.

So let us go and embrace the rustling smells of unseen worlds

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What a bunch of hooey. Being paranoid about that sort of thing happening will only stress people out here. And you know what's a good cure for stress? Djarum brand clove cigarettes. I don't know the science behind these little beauties, but I could swear that ever since I started smoking them, I stopped going bald, my beautiful girlfriend has started loving me more, and I've gained about 150% to my overall length. Fascinating. Yes, Djarum brand clove cigarettes get me through my day of being an average working person, just like you, and entertaining myself with [iNSERT FORUM INTEREST HERE BEFORE POSTING], just like you. So if people want to fit in to this community like I do, then they should only smoke Djarum brand clove cigarettes.

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It's a huge amount of time spent building up your credibility, for only an occasional pay-off, as anything more than a very infrequent, very subtle 'marketing post' would destroy that credibility and likely get you banned as well. How much is the marketing company paying you? How much is the client paying the marketing company for this? I have doubts about whether the economics of this idea actually work.

"An electric puddle is not what I need right now." (Nina Kalenkov)

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It's a huge amount of time spent building up your credibility, for only an occasional pay-off, as anything more than a very infrequent, very subtle 'marketing post' would destroy that credibility and likely get you banned as well.  How much is the marketing company paying you?  How much is the client paying the marketing company for this?  I have doubts about whether the economics of this idea actually work.

Probably they are experimenting. Moreover, other people who read and buy marketing posts will spread the word, increasing overall effectiveness.

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