These two thoughts have served to protect me from most snake oil peddlers,
though I have been bit a time or two.

Maybe it's my own flawed perception, but it seems to me that the hype, and
the dirty business tactics are practically everywhere you look on the web.

I'm going to be spending this week unfollowing most of the internet
marketers I'm currently following on Twitter. I'm just getting tired of the
constant, unrelenting self-promotion at the expense of genuine connecting.
There are a couple I'll still follow because they offer genuine value and
keep self-promotion to a minimum, but most just don't get Twitter and their
noise ruins the Twitter experience for the rest of us.

I know it's possible to build a good solid business on the web without
resorting to the “tricks” and “secrets” of the gurus. I know people who are
doing it. Sure they self-promote, but they do it with respect and with an
eye to providing genuine value in their relationships with both prospect and
customer.

I'd love to see some kind of voluntary Internet based association for
businesses who commit to the highest of ethical standards and to willfully
correct themselves when they cross the line.

These two thoughts have served to protect me from most snake oil peddlers,
though I have been bit a time or two.

Maybe it's my own flawed perception, but it seems to me that the hype, and
the dirty business tactics are practically everywhere you look on the web.

I'm going to be spending this week unfollowing most of the internet
marketers I'm currently following on Twitter. I'm just getting tired of the
constant, unrelenting self-promotion at the expense of genuine connecting.
There are a couple I'll still follow because they offer genuine value and
keep self-promotion to a minimum, but most just don't get Twitter and their
noise ruins the Twitter experience for the rest of us.

I know it's possible to build a good solid business on the web without
resorting to the “tricks” and “secrets” of the gurus. I know people who are
doing it. Sure they self-promote, but they do it with respect and with an
eye to providing genuine value in their relationships with both prospect and
customer.

I'd love to see some kind of voluntary Internet based association for
businesses who commit to the highest of ethical standards and to willfully
correct themselves when they cross the line.

These two thoughts have served to protect me from most snake oil peddlers,
though I have been bit a time or two.

Maybe it's my own flawed perception, but it seems to me that the hype, and
the dirty business tactics are practically everywhere you look on the web.

I'm going to be spending this week unfollowing most of the internet
marketers I'm currently following on Twitter. I'm just getting tired of the
constant, unrelenting self-promotion at the expense of genuine connecting.
There are a couple I'll still follow because they offer genuine value and
keep self-promotion to a minimum, but most just don't get Twitter and their
noise ruins the Twitter experience for the rest of us.

I know it's possible to build a good solid business on the web without
resorting to the “tricks” and “secrets” of the gurus. I know people who are
doing it. Sure they self-promote, but they do it with respect and with an
eye to providing genuine value in their relationships with both prospect and
customer.

I'd love to see some kind of voluntary Internet based association for
businesses who commit to the highest of ethical standards and to willfully
correct themselves when they cross the line.

1) “Let the buyer beware;” and
2) “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

These two thoughts have served to protect me from most snake oil peddlers, though I have been bit a time or two.

Maybe it's my own flawed perception, but it seems to me that the hype, and the dirty business tactics are practically everywhere you look on the web.

I'm going to be spending this week unfollowing most of the internet marketers I'm currently following on Twitter. I'm just getting tired of the constant, unrelenting self-promotion at the expense of genuine connecting. There are a couple I'll still follow because they offer genuine value and keep self-promotion to a minimum, but most just don't get Twitter and their noise ruins the Twitter experience for the rest of us.

I know it's possible to build a good solid business on the web without resorting to the “tricks” and “secrets” of the gurus. I know people who are doing it. Sure they self-promote, but they do it with respect and with an eye to providing genuine value in their relationships with both prospect and customer.

I'd love to see some kind of voluntary Internet based association for businesses who commit to the highest of ethical standards and to willfully correct themselves when they cross the line.

But I particularly remember the discussions around ethics and social responsibility we had. For us, it boiled down to this: a new and different arena for doing business had arrived, but the same sellers of snake oil would be there as they had been for hundreds of years beforehand. The playing field may have changed but human nature and its weaknesses for greed, corruption and power are still with us.

BTW, I wonder if this is the same Geek Squad based out of Best Buy. The US and UK sites look almost the same, down to the color scheme and logo. Interesting.