Mirabilis.ca

I’ll tell you what depresses me about blogging (and the internet) these days. It’s the group of people who call themselves social media consultants. They present themselves as technical mavens, able to make a product famous and popular on the internet. They brand themselves nicely, pass around their cutting edge business cards, and say that they are experienced professionals who have access to influential outlets on the web. One such company says that its activities

…build and nurture relationships with online influencers—frequently bloggers, editors, forum moderators and fan site creators—to write about our clients’ products and services. We provide these industry influencers with new, differentiated content to target niche audiences. These online influencers then write about the topic and spread the message to their readers.

Let me translate that into English for you. Clients pay the social media consultant to get the word out on the web about, oh, a movie or some other big-budget thing. The consultant spams me about it, taking care to sound friendly and personable. I’m supposed to publish her drivel on my blog so that she can get paid.

I don’t get paid, and I’m not even supposed to realize that I’m the free part of a commercial transaction. I just get used. And spammed again, and again, and again. My readers get used, too, if I’m stupid enough to take the bait. They’re supposed to be obedient consumers, and toddle off to see the movie, buy the book, or whatever. It’s unconscionable.

I’ve been blogging since 2002, and have had nonsense mail about a lot of crap for years. All kinds of people want me to promote their products on my blog, it seems. So at the top of my contact form, I’ve said things like I will not promote your product or event. Do not send press releases. You’d think that would stop these marketing types, wouldn’t you? But no. Each single one thinks she’s the special exception. Surely this promotion is the one I really do want to receive.

Um, no. After eight years of responding politely to these selfish morons (please take me off this list; please don’t send me any more of this…) I finally snapped at one of them last month. What is so hard to understand about no press releases or promotional email? What is so very hard about that?

I want to blog, and I want to be left in peace to do that without being bothered by social media marketers whose behaviour I despise. I want to hear from real readers about real things, not these social media consultants who want to use me, and my blog, for their own profit.

Hey, social media consultants, social marketing agencies, emerging media marketing services, and whatever the hell else you call yourselves: please take this blog off your list forever. I think you’re worse than spammers, and I hate the duplicity you use to get your clients’ products onto blogs. I will never help you. You will never have results you like as a result of sending me promotional materials.

Dear Mirabilis.ca readers: for many years I’ve enjoyed the comments you’ve sent me through the contact form on this site. I’ve had to take down the contact form for now, though, because I can’t figure out a way to keep social media marketers from mis-using it. It’s either that or give up blogging altogether.

Sigh.

So, yeah. Social media marketers are what depress me about blogging and the internet. They make me feel like giving up altogether.

Tags: scoundrels, search engine marketing, SEO, social media consultant