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Learning SEO: Reputation Management
By Kimberly Bock | February 19, 2008
**Update: As of when I am uncertain (sometime between writing this and submitting my tag change request to SU)
SU has returned our tags to their original status. This still poses a threat to us for it means that all of us are subject to the hands of those who may want to our names tainted in some way.**
***UPDATE AGAIN! She did it again to THIS post as well..She is stalking me now. Which is also illegal.***
You know..I am just so mad right now, I want to throw my “Reputation Management” skills out the window.
I can’t seem to find my “Happy Place” in the House-of-Pan.
Amongst plenty of reasons for this recent change of tude, (which may or may not be permanent, depending upon multiple personalities that have completely pillaged my tolerance tonight) I found out something that may be of interest to you as it was one hell of an interest to me…
I was piddling around checking out my comments and possible newcomers in my SU reviews for this website and low and behold… there I was…SpostareDuro, the new freaking porn star. Yup, you heard me right. A porn star!
Which of course came as a complete shock to ME, because I thought this was an SEO site for Newbs! I mean after further assessment, yup…I’m pretty sure the title of this blog is “Learning SEO Basics“!…
I’m pretty sure that my posts are either based on keyword research, search engines, search tools…blah blah
But now I seem to be a pornographic interlude lying atop red satin pillows screaming for you to lay your hands on my pages!
Oh yea..btw…
I also learned something about each of the people that reviewed this site too..Uh..yes, this is probably YOU…
YOU are also a porn star according to Stumbleupon!
Why? Maybe they thought you needed a little fresh action going on in your life or something..
Notice when you click on your little Stumbleupon commenting button (that shows the reviews for this site)..
What do you see?
Not only has SU changed the “Discoverer” which WAS me..
But, they have removed the SEO tag, replacing it with a “PORN” tag!
How does this affect YOU?
YOU have now officially voted on a porn site when you thumbed me up and or reviewed this site! (because they changed YOUR tag too!)
I am so mad I am having problems typing.
Think this may affect my pearly reputation??
Here’s what I think happened..
There’s an SU troll SEO hater in SU’s house that gave me a negative review.
And I returned the favor by adding a thumbs down review of her as well.
Then Bill gave her a negative review also..
Here’s mine:“Beware! An SEO hater that claims we are spamming.. This persons Stumbles can’t be viewed without the removal of your adult filter and will not allow you to comment as well.
Btw..Here’s a bit of information about SEO’s that may be of interest here.. This is taken from Googl e’s Webmaster Help Center in reference to SEO’s:
From the page: “Talk to many SEOs, and ask other SEOs if they’d recommend the firm you’re considering…”
Here’s Bill’s:
“I have an SEO site. I am an internet marketer. I am not a spammer, I do not get involved in money making schemes that rip people off. I do not have a shit blog, and I have never written about how to exploit SU or to sell you batteries. I’ve provided internet marketing services to sites that you likely visit, They don’t spam you, or make money off you, at least not unless you actually willingly use their services or buy their goods, or participate in their educational activities or their nonprofit endeavors. When I get spam attempting to sell me stocks, I don’t assume that the people sending those are stock brokers. When I get spam offering me “medical advice” to use that term very loosely, I do not assume those people are doctors. When I get spam from someone who will submit my website to 1000s of search engines, or guarantee top rankings in search engines, or offer me some money making scheme, and claim that they are SEOs, I know better. They are scam artists. I have one Stumbleupon account, and only one stumbleupon account. I will stumble things that are SEO related and marketing related because I am interested in those topics. When I see someone picked on because they have the word “SEO” or “marketing” in their SU blog, and called a adblogger or spammer or spambler, I find it pretty offensive. I agree that people who abuse SU shouldn’t. If someone attempts to contact you when you thumb them down, and they can’t - so that they can talk to you like a human being, that’s sad. Thumb me down if you want. I am an SEO. When I see you thumb down someone who isn’t doing the things that you claim you are so vehemently against, my thoughts aren’t that you are doing something that you should be proud of. Edit: Adblogs suck. I agree.”
Well, I blocked her which made her review disappear from where I can retrieve it, but here’s the one she wrote on Bill:
” From your long review of me - and er, yourself (who I’d never encountered before): “I’ve provided internet marketing services to sites that you likely visit” With respect, I ‘visit’ those sorts of sites only because they are submitted to StumbleUpon usually by either the site owner, or one of their business associates/’friends’ by clicking the stumble button and thereupon thinking “not again”. Also if someone gives me a negative review I never expect anyone to rush to my defence, nor do I hide any negative reviews. You rushed to defend someone I’d negatively reviewed even though she’d already responded by announcing dramatically that have an adult site - it’s R rated - and accusing me of hate, and not allowing people to comment (?!) but big deal - I can handle it, and as for my inbox - it’s closed to everyone except people on my friends list. If you’re not interested in my stumbles that’s up to you. Proud? Well at least I fight my own battles. EDIT: Came back and thumbed me down for saying that, lol. And….the spammer you say you were ‘defending’ (yes, she updated her review with a link - that is definitely spam), with both of you criticising me for having my inbox closed to all but friends (?!) has…..hidden my review of her, and others (simple maths), so after all that, you’ve earned the thumbs down which I didn’t previously give you, ‘mister nice guy’. SU is a networking site, you lot are out for what you can get and should read the Terms of Service you signed up for. Why would anyone take a negative review so badly unless they were scared of bad publicity! Never mind, it’s all website traffic - that’s traffic from people you’re all whining about. Here’s something else for you - adblogs, yes adblogs, suck.”
(note: She revised that after Bill and I wrote our responses)
Here’s what the new review page looks like:
Someone discovered this in Pornography •10 reviews since Dec 4, 2007
porn, marketing, social-media •learningseobasics.com
Here’s what I think happened:
to the middle right hand side of each review page, there’s a section that reads:
Something wrong here?
- Is the site not about Pornography? Report it
- Is the site not available? Flag for inspection
- Is site not in English? Report it
I think the Troll Reported it as porn therefore making SU change the tag!
SU didn’t send me any report of this either! They just changed the stupid tag and made us look like porn promoters!
We need to write to someone in SU about this. I have already reported it as being in the wrong category and no one has bothered to write me back..Not surprising..they have gotten mail from me before in reference to something of a different nature (business-wise) weeks ago, and I have yet to receive a reply.
If anyone has any idea what can be done about this or have gone through this before, please let me know.
Topics: Reputation Management |
January 28th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Can you not see how elementary school all of this is?
How embarrassing for you.
As someone who really is trying to learn SEO - coming to this site has not provided me much of a learning experience.
Other than seeing people blather back and forth in a much-less-than-professional manner.
Terribly disappointing.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Kris: Firstly, I don’t think you’d consider this ‘Elementary School’ if YOU were the one experiencing slander of this caliber. This is actually a criminal offense.
Secondly, you said, “Coming to this site has not provided me much of a learning experience”..
I would suggest reading the Pages in my sidebar related to:
* Black Hat SEO (1)
* Google (1)
* Keyword Research (3)
* Pay Per Click (PPC) (1)
* Search Engine (2)
* Search Engine Compatibility (8)
* Search History (2)
* SEO Copywriting (4)
* SEO Tools (2)
* SEO/SEM Training (1)
There is plenty of relative learning material to be found in those posts.
I happen to post also about other topics in relation to my particular journey through all of this myself. I am learning and pass it on as I go.
For my particular journey I chose to implement Social Networking/Media as an alternative to enhance my knowledge of SEO as well as possibly boost my traffic/readership. So, this subject was relevant to my personal journey as well as many others that do the same.
I’m sorry that you are disappointed by this post. And yes, it was/is embarrassing.
So is the way of life.
When you went to school while growing up, did you always see the need for extracurricular activities? You may not have become a chef, but you took the cooking class. You may not have bought the first band saw you laid your hands on after shop class, but it was an option available if you so chose.
That’s sort of what coming here is like. It shows you what your options are whether you choose to take advantage of them or not.
And to clarify what a blog is:
Blog: “A frequently updated journal or diary usually, often hosted by a third party.”
This is my personal diary that I hope will help someone, even though it’s ridiculous to believe that it will be a favorite for EVERYONE.
Hopefully, you’ll find more useful information than what is worthless to you. If not, then you’ll have to continue searching for what better suits your needs which is typically other blogs and /or SOCIAL NETWORKING communities because there are virtually no offline options available in the field of SEO/M.
You always have the option of paying for online classes such as Kalena Jordan’s Search Engine College or tutorials such as Aaron Walls SEO Book.
I apologize for running you off in disappointment as my intention is only to help and to work out my own personal endeavors on the way to enlightenment myself.
There is a great deal to learn of SEO and I hope you find what you need.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Kris, there’s nothing “elementary school” about this article. It addresses a serious flaw in a very important vehicle of social media marketing (i.e. Stumbleupon). And if the value of social media marketing is lost on you, my friend, it’s time you tossed your 2002 edition of “SEO for Arrogant Morons Who Can’t be Taught Anything” and got with the program. I’m a traditional marketing professional who is new to web marketing, and I get a LOT out of this site - and this article has been no exception. Kudos to the author and keep up with the good work - the rest of us newbies are very appreciative.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
It was pretty infuriating and disheartening to see that tag applied to an SU blog, without warning, without notice, and without any sense.
Reputation management is an important part of internet marketing, and sometimes it can jump out and surprise you. I think that’s a pretty good thing to learn, and to keep in mind, Kris. Thanks for writing about this, Kim.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Lordie Kim! This happened to me too and I was extremely disappointed with these troll stumblers. While this is akin to shooting myself in the foot, my post http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.dailymoolah.com/traffic-generation/the-ultimate-guide-to-leveraging-stumbleupon/
was also tagged in Pornography.
This is the second time I’ve reported the concern to Stumbleupon and nothing has happened so far!
Thanks for bringing this topic out into the open Kim
Dev
January 28th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
As always I am grateful for your support…
Grateful: “Addresses a serious flaw in a very important vehicle of social media marketing”..
It is difficult for people who have not otherwise been exposed to this sort of thing to understand that.
As I began registering with Social Networking/Media resources, I had yet to realize just how important and influential they really were. So, I can’t blame Kris for being at a loss here. Maybe she doesn’t know just how many people read and judge by what they see in an SU review and/or tag. Not her fault, but I am hoping she can see the relevance and keep an open mind as you and I do. One day this may be a topic that she understands more fully and will embrace the concept to her advantage…
That said, it warmed my heart to hear you say “The rest of us newbies are very appreciative.” It let me know that their are people that find this site helpful and that’s all I’ve really wanted from the beginning. Thank you so much.
Bill: You’re welcome.
When I had found the tag and told you about it, I couldn’t believe it when you replied that it also had changed your tag and others as well! It blew my mind. Yes, infuriating…
I am only glad that they have revised it as they should have..Now if we can keep them from doing it again and again and again..
Dev: Although I do not agree with some of the content of the particular post in question (Black Hat SEO tips), I am still not agreeable with the format SU uses in allowing others to flag as porn and changing the tag accordingly. Black Hat SEO does not equal pornographic material and should never be treated as such.
In essence, I see SU trolls as using their very own Black Hat SEO tactics, as this has been what SPAM is all about. Forcing irrelevant, manipulative, deceitful, and otherwise unwanted crap into our laps while telling us to like it.
Whoever did this could probably write a book about Black Hat tactics and they are too negligent to know it.
They use their own SU friends as pawns and get upset when someone else may have a ‘posse’ that comes to their rescue when under attack.
I should feel sorry for them.
But I don’t…
(I’ll work on that when I’m not busy counteracting their inconvenient drama attacks)
January 28th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
What’s a guy to do? I thought I was coming here to see you’d done some nude pics, Kim and instead I get an original case study on reputation management. Talk about [mastur]bait n switch!
(Yes, I am being sarcastic.]
January 28th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Although I’m sorry this happened, it is a great example of reputation management issues that can crop up from time to time.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Glen: I know that you are actively involved in your clients reputation management. Now I understand your end of it a little better I think. I seem to be finding this out the hard way.
Gab: No you did not just say that!
January 28th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Funny how the people who claim to be defending the quality of their community won’t hesitate to abuse it for their own personal purposes.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
DarkMatter: YES! Exactly my point above..
But, you know..I am not staying upset over it…I’d rather ponder ways to change the processes that make it possible for them to do so.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Happened to me as well and am trying to get it fixed…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Gyuate: I didn’t realize there were so many people that have already gone through this and are going through it now..
There’s just got to be a way for us to impress upon SU that there needs to be a better system.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Same thing keeps happening to me on a site I created this weekend tags keep getting changed to porn - for no reason - other than some jerk was offended by my pretty much awesome site :/
January 29th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Wingnut: Have you looked at your reviews to see if there were any familiar faces with thumbs down?
January 31st, 2008 at 3:18 am
You know what is so funny is that these trolls keep telling us to stop using SU to promote our sites.
I DON’T use SU to promote my site. My READERS use SU and submit about 70% of the articles we write. THEY seem to find some value in the topics we write about - so because there are a handful of SEO haters, we should keep all of this content off of SU? And how would WE keep it off of SU when it is hundreds of other readers submitting articles?!
I mean, really, are they THAT ignorant?!
January 31st, 2008 at 3:32 am
Wendy: You know what? I was beginning to have a really hard time getting past the hurt, embarrassment, and anger over all of this. I get a new thumbs down review almost daily that I have to block the user, report as hostile, and hide the review.
but, I can either allow this to ruin my positive energy and drag me down..or I can fight them by allowing them to vent, and just do what I do.
I should feel pity for them. They seem to have a lack of morals, kindness, and humanity.
I am just glad that I do not share their yuckiness. They must be very miserable, lonely, bored people to have nothing better to do than single out SU users to hate on..
January 31st, 2008 at 3:42 am
I don’t normally drop links, but I think you might find some value in this one to remind you that this ISN’T about you.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:12 am
Wendy: Dropping links on my blog??
How dare you?
I hope you don’t mind that I Stumbled it for all the trolls to see?!
Oh, and Sphunn too. Maybe others will get something out of it as well.
Thanks Wendy.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:25 am
Yeah, sorry, didn’t you know I am an SEO spammer?!
I actually wonder if those trolls know what SEO stands for. I’m certainly no SEO, as I have been working for a year and a half to rank for the term “home business” to no avail.
(thanks for the submits!)
January 31st, 2008 at 5:50 am
You spammers are all alike!