Spammers: Any Redeeming Value?

The ever-insightful Harl Delos posted a wonderful comment on Thursday's blog.

Do you suppose there are people who, when they are young, think, "When I grow up, I want to be a spammer. I think it would be really profitable to address an apparently mostly-American audience of mostly people interested in writing, and try to convince them to buy plumbing supplies from a foreign country."

Of course, this was in response to a Comment about kitchen faucets, which was posted on the post about Art Resources for Authors, and which has now been deleted.

Because I started my weekend early and never checked the blog after that, the Spammers had free rein until I turned on the computer again. (Thanks, Blogger Spam Filters, for a job not well-done!)

Mixed Emotions

You know, in my freelance world, I see dozens of job listings every single day for people to make comments on blog posts and forums. Desperate people, out to make a few pennies, take these jobs. (Personally, I think I'd take a job cleaning out toilets at the bus stations before I'd take a spamming job.) I have compassion for them, but what they do angers me too.

I'm not angry at the spammers because I know they're struggling to eke out a living, and, in a third world country, spamming blogs and forums allows to eke on a higher level. What they do makes them the target of anger and contempt, but that anger and contempt should be directed at the idiots who hire them.

Do these people honestly think anyone will go buy a kitchen faucet because a comment about a company selling kitchen faucets was posted on a blog about writing and publishing? How stupid does that make the person who hired the spammer to post hundreds of comments across the Internet on blogs with good Google PR?

The end result when I get spammed like this is to make a note of the website so that I will NEVER buy anything from them.

Advertisers, Be Smart

Come on advertisers. Grow a brain. Stop creating jobs for spammers. Instead, create jobs for writers that require good writing and research skills.

Hire a writer to write a short, informative, entertaining article about your product - why it's superior, why you as retailer are superior, etc. Post it on your own website and/or on article sites. Give the writer a byline, adequate payment, and respect, and you'll have someone who works hard to advance you.

Takeaway Truth

Spamming doesn't advance you and your product; it makes you, and your product, despised.