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- Sphinn It!
Went Hot: Jan 05, 2008 - 07:10 am
Posted By: michellereno 807 Days ago
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com
Category: SEM
Other items on his list of what doesn’t work for small businesses include RSS Feeds, Spam Filters, Antivirus Software, Mobile Applications, and AdWords.
29 Comments
Comments
He was joking, right?
I don’t think he was joking. Pretty crazy, eh?
Wow, totally worthy of a blog, but not an MSNBC publication. Talk about ignorant.
I think he probably went with a fly-by-nighter, and learned that perhaps more due dilligence was needed. I think thats a big problem for our industry as a whole. How can we help protect innocent companies from the unqualified and/or immoral, and at the same time start to polish the industry’s image to a sheen (currently its a little tarnished me thinks). Should be the goal of SEMPO I would think ... but they don’t seem to have any plans :(
Good grief, it’s not even just the SEO bit that’s horrible, it’s at least half of his ten points.Nothing says "I’m intelligent and worthy of an MSNBC column" like ranting about things you CLEARLY know nothing about.That’s like me saying quantum physics must be crap because I can’t use it.
I thought he was joking, at first. But no, apparently not.
Oh goodness. His PR lady just emailed me the article with a note saying she thought I’d like it.Has she ever READ Search Engine Guide??ME? Like an article that says SEO and blogs are worthless for small business owners? *sigh*
I am amazed at the low level of actual work put into this article. There are success stories for every one of his so-called "worthless" technologies. I am dismissing this as some hack attempting to be "edgy". Another prime example of the media’s self-rightous attempt to claim journalism as their sole property.
Think of all the small business owners who are going to read that. (shudder!)
The author is a regular contributor to Business Weekly. His article is posted there, as are eight comments in support of it. He regularly writes "penny-pinching tips," so I’m guessing that’s where this article got its focus. No matter what, though, it’s amazing how many small business owners are going to read this and believe it. Yikes!
I put through the following comment:Honestly? This article kills me. Just because you don’t understand how to properly implement something doesn’t make it worthless. Blogs? Virus software? SEO? RSS feeds? Each of these things provide incredible value to small businesses who take the time to learn how to implement them effectively.So you got sold a bill of goods by a bad SEO company. That sucks. I’m sorry. Unfortunately, it happens pretty often. But if you hired a bad plumber or a bad lawyer, would you assume you should never seek out a plumber or lawyer again? No, you’d probably assume you hired a crappy one and start asking around for recommendations.I fear this column, publishing in such a prominent publication will cause many small business owners to shy away from the very tactics that can serve to level the playing field between them and competitors with much deeper pockets. Thumbs down for lack of research and overabundance of rant.Hasn’t been approved yet apparently. I don’t really see any comments there from folks disagreeing with him. Hope they aren’t weeding out the negative comments and rebuttles.
I also submitted a comment, though perhaps with somewhat less tact than yours, Jenn. :-)
Where’d you find the section to add a comment ... I’d like to add one too. I’m with you on this one Jenn ... it worries me how this will impact the image of SEOs in the SME world. Where’s SEMPO to respond as a cohesive force when you need them? Any SEMPO exec’s here on Sphinn?
First of all, it is hard to believe that this article came from a real, bonefide professional (the rant sounds more like a bitter OCD type to me). I read dozens of blogs every day that would run circles around his commentary and attempted sarcasm. Second of all, this is one instance where not hitting the publish button (in my opinion) would have been in the best interests of the brand. What’s next, why the internet is a complete waste of time? I’m sure that one will go over with just as much "enthusiasm" as the obvious attempt to discredit something which you know close to anything about rears it’s ugly head. With any luck he will write about making intelligent editorial decisions next...which will probably get picked up on CNN.Three words for you buddy - "Research then Write", reality check, no grasping loose straws please.
Wow, I’d have to say I disagree with 7-8 of those. Sure, if you use them badly, any of those tools can be lousy, but having run IT for a small company, I know what not having spam filters and antivirus cost me (the Chernobyl virus almost cost us our business). As someone running my own business now, blogging is one of the cores of my online branding and RSS is a godsend.Of course, why trust me, being a technologist and someone who’s been intimately involved in two small businesses, when you can listen to a journalist?
Go to <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2008/tc2008014_285077_page_2.htm">this URL</a>, you’ll see the post comment link on the right.The comments are <a href="http://app.businessweek.com/UserComments/combo_review?action=all&style=wide&productId=26080&productCode=spec">here</a>. No comments from anyone I know, even though it’s been twelve hours since Stoney and I submitted and at least 8 hours since Matt did. ;)
The article is really amazing :) I think this is a provocation.
The contact form to write a letter to the editors of Business Week can be found here:http://www.businessweek.com/custserv/letters.ed.htm
Bill - Thanks for the link. This is just incredible. There’s so many good writers out there and we get this ? Seriously pathetic on the part of BW
I sure hope my comment gets approved. This person (Gene) has 4 books to his credit too. Unbelievable! Least he didn’t say the internet was a fad :)
Just commented on the other sphinn thread about this as well. Think I’ll try commenting on the blog too. Ridiculous!!!
I thought about posting a rebuttle, but that would be giving the article too much credit.
<blockquote> I’ve used a lot of things that don’t work as advertised. Maybe it’s me or maybe it’s bad luck. Or maybe it’s just bad stuff.</blockquote>It’s him.
They’ve finally posted all our negative comments, and a great many from other folks, too. :-)
I can’t believe that this article is so bad. So many small businesses use blogs, SEO & AdWords to get their name out there and pick up new business.
I’m guessing this is link bait. Geez I hope so. But it does make BusinessWeek look bad. Check out the article rating!
I made my comments here:http://www.jaankanellis.com/more-crap-from-mainstream-media-this-time-gene-marks-at-msnbc/
He made a perfect Dumbass of the week: http://www.ask-kalena.com/rants/dumbass-of-the-week-gene-marks/
So PPC doesn’t work for small companies then?On the plus side, it’s always nice to get inspiration for my blog!http://www.epiphanysolutions.co.uk/google-adwords/adwords-can-work-for-small-businesses.htmlSeriously, I’m not sure what’s scarier; the fact that somebody this out of touch can run his own company, that Business Week can’t tell nonsense when they see it, or the fact that there are actually people out there that agree with him!