If there’s one thing that pisses me off, it’s being used for something sinister (rotten even).
While monitoring the blogosphere, I saw this open letter from one of the Isulong SEOPH contest sponsors (now scratched from the list).
From: JNB Web Promotion Info
Reply-To: info@jnbwebpromotion.com
Date: Sep 26, 2006 8:55 PM
Subject: PLEASE POSTI have warned Marc Macalua (Mr. SEO) many times since the inception of the Isulong SEOPh contest that the way he was conducting the contest was not what we had agreed upon before I agreed to be a sponsor. I have tried daily, for I am in the SEO business daily, to contact Marc Macalua to express to him that I cannot employ BLOG Spammers N Jammers.
The way this contest has been conducted by Marc Macalua is and will be of of ABSOLUTELY NO USE TO EMPLOYERS. I can not give you guys a job because I do not have any customers for BLOG Spammers N Jammers, its just that simple.
Marc Macalua has refused to contact me back. I have tried YM, I have tried calling him, no response. Now recently all I got from him was a bank account # to which I replied to with an inquiry and I still have not received a response back on that.
One of the conditions of me agreeing to sponsor this contest was that the contest entry had to be a website, not a blog. I wanted to see professional content and I wanted to see SEO that could be explained by the winners so that the other contestants could learn from the winners. Since this contest began, until today, the only thing I see is BLOG Spamming and Jamming. 9 of the top 10 entries are Wordpress Blogs.When I first heard about this contest I was really happy because it could have boosted
SEO jobs and outsourcing to the Philippines. But friends honestly, who is willing to do business with BLOG Spammer N Jammers ? No one comes to an SEO and says here is $ 10,000 Dollars, I want you to Spam and Jam my BLOG.If I were to have a client, which I never have that wanted their BLOG Spammed and Jammed then perhaps I could give one of you a Job. Have any of you ever been looking for a Job anywhere either in print or online and seen this ? Help Wanted: BLOG Spammer s N Jammers ? I have never, ever had a client come to me and request that their Blog be Spammed and Jammed.
I was hoping to hire about 10 people from this contest. I don’t now and never have had customers for what Marc Macalua has allowed to happen in this contest. And after being warned by me so many times ? Guys I am sorry, I will not be hiring from this contest. For me it is an expensive proposition to take on employees that need to be trained on how to properly optimize websites. Just imagine when you ask the winners why are you number 1, 2 or 3. Will they know why ? Could they teach it to another and then could the both of them support their Families doing it ? The answer to that is absolutely no because no one is willing to pay to have their BLOG Spammed and Jammed.
In a work team situation like we operate here in a professional way, we help each other and if you dont know the reasons why you rank then you would not be able to explain to your co-workers what you have done in order to rank high.
After so many years in the Philippines, I was hoping the Filipino’s would gain a big boost in the IT industry due to this contest, but reading so may Foreign Forums and messages such as from seobook.com that are derogatory and critical I feel ashamed because Filipino’s can do much better. Many of them are great and are even very professional. I love to work along side them, but the way this contest has been set up is for me out of order. This is why as of now, I am retracting my offer to sponsor and I will no longer be a sponsor to this spamming and jamming contest. It hurts me to say this, particularly because I’m in the SEO business for years and when I compare the low quality way that this contest has been conducted, it has been far from professional. I’m sure if this would have been set up with criteria that I set forth to Marc Macalua, the results would have been much better and I would have been able to offer many of you jobs. Did you know that 9 out of the top 10 entries are Wordpress Blogs. I have no customers for this I’m sorry. I guess its time to set up a forum done by real SEO experts along the level of a Webmasterworld or Digitalpoint here in the Philippines.
Perhaps we will place this as the first thread: Help Wanted: BLOG Spammers N Jammers ?
Regards,
John Bertrand
–
JNB Web Promotion (www.jnbwebpromotion.com - this comment’s mine)
I’ve told a lot of people that during these types of situations, the best thing to do is to step back and collect your thoughts. One should never fire back while emotionally charged. Allow me to break that rule just for today.
Hi Bertrand,
I think it’s a bit funny for you to back out from your promised P5,000 prize sponsorship ($100) after all the links and traffic that went your way. The least you can do is give the prize to whoever wins it and shut up.
To set the record straight, we never agreed on a “way to conduct the contest” as a prerequisite for you to sponsor. If I had known that were the case, believe me, I wouldn’t have wasted my time talking to you. I got bigger prize sponsorship offers with far less grandstanding requirements. Also, don’t pretend you contact me on a daily basis, because you don’t.
And before you get all high and mighty with the whitehat act, consider your past work on the Ambergris website, among others.
I’m pulling out your link, I suggest everyone who linked to him as a contest sponsor do the same.
Lastly, a blog IS a website.
Marc
www.macalua.com
Here’s the part I didn’t send to the SEO Philippines mailing list, as per group policy:
- For someone who projects himself as the owner of a very large, very professional company, your handling of the situation is very very crass.
- Even from a SEO point of view, pretending to be a contest sponsor to get links, then backing out at the last moment (for just $100!?) is not even crass…it’s despicable. And that’s from someone who specifically requested to have the longest, spammiest looking anchor text among the sponsors: JNB Web Promotion Search Engine Optimization Services.
- Do you even know how much an average PR6 link costs nowadays?!
- Misery loves company. Hope you and seoluv have a happy marriage.
- Don’t go up too high the whitehat mountain. Air’s thin up there. You might faint. One only has to check your site’s link donors with Javascript disabled (how to do this) to see the Javascript redirecting gibberish you pass off as professional SEO.
And before you think somebody will be crying because he/she won’t be getting any prize, your spot has been replaced by Scott Horne aka Web Professor who has generously played the role of hero. He’s offering USD 200.00 for the third prize winner.
Puta you didn’t dupe me freeloader, you duped the entire SEO Philippines group :) for what…. $100?