"Reaction [beta]"
UnGoogle yourself this minute! Or else! 12 Dec 2006
Check out the threatening email Dean Hunt received from a disgruntled online retailer. Reading it made coffee come out of my nose. Here's a quick excerpt:
"On Thursday morning I checked our google positions and your site is now above us for this term. I have checked your blog and it has nothing to do with [keyphrase], so I think it would be best all round if you remove your blog from google for this search term...If you do not remove yourself from Google for this search, then I will call them myself and have you removed."
"You have to understand Dean that an online business should be higher in Google than a blog.
"Don't forget that Google is a business as well, they obviously make more money from other businesses than they do from blogs, so it is in their interest that I am higher than you for certain searches.
"I have also contacted my lawyer about this issue, so you should expect a letter in the post very soon."
This has got to be a wind-up. Surely. Hasn't it?
[via eConsultancy]
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17 comments so far
Doug Karr 12 Dec 2006 05:40 PM
I'm not sure that this is really funny, it speaks more to the need for technology to get easier or for technologists to get better at explaining how it works. I wouldn't expect a retailer to understand how Google works, I would expect him to understand his business. Learning technology may now be part of that business - but it's not easy for these folks. It's a little sad, actually.
James Boland 12 Dec 2006 10:38 PM
Doug: I would certainly expect a retailer to understand how Google works before threatening legal action against someone.
Etre 13 Dec 2006 12:01 AM
@Doug: You're right to point out that we - as technologists - shouldn't assume that everyone understands how Google etc. works, nor laugh at those trying to get to grips with new technologies. What we found humourous about these emails wasn't this.
What we, like James, found funny, was the sheer arrogance and audacity of the company in question. Calling in the lawyers without first researching whether or not you have grounds for complaint is, frankly, stupid. It's no use trying to bully someone, when that person has done nothing wrong and can do nothing to fix your problem (other than point you in the direction of a good SEO agency of course!).
Paul Wright 13 Dec 2006 01:32 PM
I totally agree that techies shouldn't assume that everybody knows how Google or the web works, though I'd go a step further with the "frankly stupid" remark... How can an organisation claim to be "an online business" and have such an arrogant view / poor understanding of what it means to "do business online"? (I'm dying to know who the company actually is!!)
Rudd-O 13 Dec 2006 09:47 PM
I disagree. Technology is already easy. It's morons with outdated world views who insist on tripping over and over with the same stone, and barking to Heavens for relief.
Taco John 14 Dec 2006 12:01 AM
@Etre
While it might be smart to do a little research on your own before involving a lawyer, if he is willing to pay the lawyer hundreds of dollars/hour to do that research for him, then unless he has a very different type of lawyer, the lawyer will be very happy to take that money and tell him in a few days or a week that he has no basis for a complaint.
In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the retailer has such a demented view of the situation (to start with Google's business is based on the best search results, not having retailers first), and his claim is so ridiculous, the e-mail is actually a courtesy. I would much rather get a bunch of e-mails saying lawyers are involved than, just one time, not know until a process server shows up at my door.
Devin 14 Dec 2006 01:07 AM
Please be advised that this situation appears to be a complete hoax perpetrated by Dean himself. All evidence points in this direction while there remains no evidence proving this to be more than a malicious viral campaign designed to bring traffic to Dean's web site. See his recent entry on planning a viral ad campaign: http://deanhunt.com/viral-campaign/ and the many comments on Slashdot pointing out its fraudulentness: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/13/160241
Notice that this story has been tagged on Slashdot as a 'hoax' and 'fake' more than any other tag. Also note that many users including myself have attempted to post comments to Dean's blog asking for more information or proof of authenticity which have all been stuck in "awaiting moderation" indefinately while all other comments get posted virtually right away.
Please do the right thing and allow my comment to be posted. Dean is doing a great misfortune to his loyal readers who deserve to know the truth.
Ryan 14 Dec 2006 02:47 AM
Wow. After reading both emails, I almost died. Whatever business that is who sends those stupid emails probably is just trying to sue people because no one buys from the persons business because there there website stinks so it gets ranked lower than blogs because they don't say whatever the keyword is as much as the blog so they need money. I hate that kind of people. (not saying it is that kind of person, but whoever it is is just plain stupid.
Curious again 14 Dec 2006 03:43 AM
Devin,
Again I see you babbleing about a hoax. Lets start with first things. The slashdot page you linked doesn't work. The 'viral marketing' in question supposedly refers to bird flu during a week in October (which this is neither). and this is the second place that I have seen you claiming this.
Why? Why are you all bent out of shape about this? This is hardly an unheard of event. Many companies believe that they can bully others. And even if it is a 'viral marketing' hoax as you claim, who cares? It is an interesting note that this is not the first time someone has made these kind of complaints.
Fish 14 Dec 2006 06:23 AM
Curious,
You obviously didn't have a look at what what Dean has actually posted about his plans for a viral campaign. If you'd scroll down the page a bit, just after the stuff about the bird flu, he says he's just joking and that, firstly he needs "to get a reaction from people and get them talking." Not that I care that it's a hoax, but it is.
JP 14 Dec 2006 12:52 PM
Fish: Whether its a hoax or not, it's obvious that this sort of thing goes on all the time. Take a look at this for example.
Gideon 14 Dec 2006 05:15 PM
I love this story Dean, if it ever goes near a court feel free to email me and I'll happily contribute to your costs (don't get too excited I'm poor so the offer isn't worth a great deal!) this guy needs so much help and I don't think it's technology that will help him. On a serious note have any bloggers out there been frightened off the blogosphere?
Pascal 14 Dec 2006 05:33 PM
Devin is wrong. This is no hoax. Too good to be invented.
Name 14 Dec 2006 11:40 PM
Not only is this a hoax, "Pascal" looks a whole lot like a Dean Hunt sock puppet. Generic name, generic URL. He's been posting fake comments denying the hoax in Slashdot, too:
http://slashdot.org/~pinkpanther05
tank 15 Dec 2006 08:31 PM
even if it IS a hoax, who cares?
i mean really. if he actually sat up night and day, and concocted this whole thing only to end up with his 15 minutes of fame, what difference does it really make? i'm just kinda pissed i didn't come up with it first.
I guess it's a testimony to his ability to create some buzz, eh?
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
--
be cool like me and listen to http://ghettoradio.us
Devin 15 Dec 2006 09:07 PM
I agree that there is a real issue being discussed here that exists whether or not Dean made this thing up. It just needs to be mentioned and understood that this is a malicious attempt by Dean to drive web traffic to his site. Again, it does not change the fact that this is a real issue. However, let us acknowledge that Dean is acting immature in perpetrating this lie continually, lying to his readers over and over again, even daring to thank them "from the bottom of his heart" for helping him deal with this situation. As if, were this true, the threat of legal action was actually even very slightly plausible. Any insightful discussion or conclusions derived from this story are of no thanks whatsoever to Dean. That is all. :)
For anyone interested, reading through the Slashdot comments on this article will reveal Dean's lies as well as provide an interesting discussion into the issue itself:
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/13/160241
(Curious again, the Slashdot link works fine for me)
James 17 Dec 2006 02:02 PM
hmmm, i have read through everything and I am certain that it is genuine.
People like Devin have not done their homework and are too busy getting excited about a possible hoax.
Let us look at the facts Devin:
Dean says:
"Over the coming weeks I am going to be attempting my very first viral campaign."
That was from October 4th. So the timeline does not fit.
"Next step is to create a site"
The main word there Devin is "create", this means a a new site, not the same site.
"a mass press release to relevant sources"
As far as I am aware there have been no press releases about this. Also, it wasn't even Dean who put this story on Digg.com
"I will be putting progress reports on here on a regular basis"
So he tells his blog readers that he will report about the success of this new site.
So you are saying that Dean told his readers that he was going to do a viral campaign, then he preteneded to those same readers that it was all 100% genuine? don't be stupid!
Why would he do that? Makes no sense?
If he has sat down for days and days to invent this entire thing, then do you not think he would have done it on a new site? or removed the viral campaign article?
I am sorry Devin, but I have been following this story for 5 days now, and it seems people like yourself are taking a tiny sample of what Dean said and twisting it to suit your theory.
Regarding the tags at Slashdot, they were put in by people like yourself.
Final thought from me. If this was all a hoax, why has Dean not been inventing lots and lots of replies from this mystery emailer? if this was fake then Dean could easily have made this go on for months and months. But instead he got only one reply.