Your Profiles That Cheat Reduce Credibility

March 31, 2007

by Stuart

I was intruiged by the fact that there are more and more people getting into MyBlogLog.com. It’s a great site, and the features are great. The foundational principle of people being able to use MyBlogLog.com is that they have to have some kind of trust element. People trust you enough to visit your website. It’s a social site. You have a great time making friends, etc.

Unfortunately, there are three types of characters in this online world that spoil the market badly for you.

Type 1: Fake Profile Master

This person walks around with a fake profile. It’s like a person going into a social setting and telling stories about his past that are completely untrue. They “pose” as people who are great, powerful, or meek and weak, just in order to bait people to make friends with them. This is pretty much like your kindergarten tactic where people think of you as popular simply because you tell them that you are. It’s silly, and often, dangerous. It reduces the credibility of the overall social structure in the blogosphere.

Type 2: Photo Baiter

This person will create a photograph of a pretty looking girl, just to bait people to come to his site. The reason why I say “his” site is because only guys will exploit the use of girls’ photographs just to get traffic. I can’t say whether it’s “ethical” or not, but what I can say is that the level of credibility you have as a user of such a low-balling tactic is… well, low. Can you imagine what it’s like when people date you because he thinks you’re pretty only to discover you’re a MAN?! Gee, guys. What were you thinking?!

Type 3: Profile Advertising Maniac

Okay, this one by far takes the cake. It’s like the profile is a maniacal display of every business opportunity he or she is in, as though there were no tomorrow. It’s hilarious. “Buy this ebook and join that club and wait… purchase this home study course too, PLUS sign in to get a FREE copy of my newsletter!” Won’t they ever learn that marketing is about a focused and concerted effort?

If you own such profiles and feel offended by what I’ve written, lol… you deserve it. Seriously, though – if people keep doing this only, then what’s the point of having a blog and a social community?