Get Rich Quick!

Those three words really work like magic. Who doesn’t want to get rich in a short amount of time? Almost everybody want to be rich. As if the money is the most important thing in the world, well… it is important but is it really the most important? Looks like it tho, for most people and what do you think e-mail spam or scam or fraud is all about? To get rich quick! That’s why!

No, of course not you who receive the spam/scam/fraud then believe what they are saying and in the end becoming their victim…

And these people are really aggressive, damn aggressive to threat you even if you are just complaining about it. It reminds me of the thugs in Kampung Rambutan Bus Terminal, Jakarta. It seems that even a different idea is a ungrateful error in their mind. Hello? I thought we already learned how to respect other people differences!

Priyadi wrote his complain about this kind of thing (currently nicknamed as “Ahira Gate” by some people because the main center of this whole jabber-wacky is girl named Anne Ahira) and he got some really nasty respond (and I mean nasty) respond from the people who defended the other side. Some of them even want to sue Priyadi for writing his own opinion on his personal weblog even though most of the people who know internet and its dark side for quite some time, it is very obvious what kind of business they are running. (What kind? Don’t ask me, as always we are all grown up, decide it yourself).

OK, first thing first. I never interested in this kind of “Internet Marketing” stuff since it always have a really nice syncronization with “Spam” (sometimes with scam or fraud). It’s annoying, I mean of course I received a dozen of real advertising mail in my real mailbox and I am tired of it. Then I put a paper in my mailbox saying “Bitte Keine Werbung” (“Please, No Advertisement”) and the advertising stopped passing thru my mailbox. Once or twice a month one or two advertising passed into my mailbox and I never look at them, I just throw them away. And that is not a good way to do marketing, is it? Their basic argument is always, if you don’t like it just delete it from your e-mail box. They said they have the right to send e-mail to whoever they want. Of course, but should I also have the right to say no? No? Well, that’s suck…

Secondly, the inability of those people to receive critics. I mean, okay they are upset when somebody said something ‘wrong’ may happened in their way of earning money but please, counter it with more intelligence and wise manner! If you can read Indonesian then you will read previously mentioned article and scroll down to the comments. You will see how rude and nasty they are. Priyadi could be wrong, of course, but if those people are believe that they are right, why not using a civilized manner instead of going awry like their beard are on fire (I don’t know if they are having beard but let say, their chin are on fire… hmm, that will hurt)

Thirdly, again media exposure. Like ‘Amazing’ Mr. Suryo, this kind of “Internet Marketing” mumbo jumbo is getting a huge exposure with the media, even the well known media like Kompas and Swa magazine. I don’t get it, did their reporter ever track down how the business is really running? It’s kind of fishy if you ask me (And no! They are not selling fish either!). Why?

OK, let me ask a couple of basic question:

1. They always refer to the “Marketing Tools”, what kind of “Marketing Tools”? Are they really a big secret that nobody can have it except their peers? Is there a software that send thousands of e-mails to a bunch of e-mail addresses whoever they are?

2. They said about “buying prospect”. What is “the prospect”? Is it a list of e-mail addresses from third party?

3. What kind of “advertising” that they suggest? Sending a massive amount of mail to those e-mail addresses on the list?

If one of the question is yes then we are dealing with spam, folks. Clean and simple. It is pure technical point of view.

For legality and economic point of view Mr. Andika have some points.

But, the most bothering thing in my mind is not technical, legality or economic point of view. It was (like Thomas already state and Amal already condemned) the attitude. As I already said in the beginning of this entry, is it the most important thing in the world that they must behave like thugs to people who said differently?

And please don’t give me a crap like that different opinion hurt their business. Let me give them an advice (if you allowed me to give advice, as if they are listening, sigh): If their business is legitimate and honest then nothing will hurt your business because the only business that will hurt by opposite opinion is the business that hide a stinky fish under their rug (and they don’t even sell fish!).

If saying differently even though there is a truth in it is not allowed, I wonder what society are we in then? Scary society where difference is forbidden… And I thought we are a democratic and respectable society. Guess I am wrong.