Blogosphere............ what's that mean exactly?
I have recently been reading a book called Roadside Crosses, by Jeffery Deaver. It is about cyber bullying, on-line blogging, forums, social sites, and life seeming anonymous. This got me thinking about my recent situation with my blog post on "Round three", where this person has demeaned me and tried to strike at my credibility.
The reason it got me thinking of it, is because I am still watching my views on this particular item, shoot up on a daily basis, where my other inventory sits with 1 or 2 views at the most. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have thought of this before, and throughout my little experience, but I like the way this guy says it. I'll be putting some quotes in here, so pay close attention. They will have particular meaning to my own situation.
So in a nutshell, the book is about a serial Killer, but the subtext is about the content that we find on the internet and blogs, and forums, and the credibility and reliability.
"Blogs, forums, social sites, are the mushrooms of the internet", we put a lot of stock in whats being said, and turn to them for information that may or may not be correct, but we accept as correct. The problem with this is, no one does the research. They take the author's word as "WORD". They are be all end all. We'll, not quite.
On a recent forum post, on "The Purse Forum" I came across a comment about my own business, posted apparently by a person who is adman-at that my item is not Authentic. This post was done on Jan 27th 2010 pg. 115 of the purseblog forum for bonanzle. Now normally I would bypass this, and move on. I have no time for games, and petty jealousy, and certainly no time for someone who chooses not to back up their statement. The problem I for see in this, is they won't quit. The comment is still there in the public eye, for all the world to see, along with a link to my on-line business.
So here is a question for the tpf'ers as they coin themselves, and for all the thousands of people who take this blog/forum as gospel, yet, neglect to read, or ignore the disclaimer the site has on it's home page.
1st,we have the welcome "Welcome to The Purse Forum.
Our Purse Forum, or TPF, is the #1 online social network for everything designer handbag related. Join over 250,000 enthusiastic members in this friendly community and start engaging in the discussion today. (Let me highlight a few things)
Then we have the disclaimer on the Authenticate this forum. "Disclaimer
All Authenticate This threads are here to provide assistance to shoppers who are uncertain about the legitimacy and authenticity of designer goods. The evaluations posted by our members are nothing but opinions that stem from personal experiences as shoppers and collectors. They are not legally binding or professional authentications and are not to be treated as such.
For questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me via the forum's contact form.
Happy Bag Hunting!"
WHY do you take this as gospel?
I did a little research on the user ID that made a be-belittling comment about me on this forum, and one, I have to say, I have never been contacted directly by this person. So here is what I found out. He/She.. has nothing with a real name, linking them to their posting ID. They have an e crater.com store that apparently is closed, they have a bonanzle booth that has 39 items in it, and 20 feedback, 9 of which is imported from a different site. Now they do have another .com site, that is consignment luxury goods, but the same items are listed there as on bonanzle.
So why am I harping on this again? Well, like I said, I am watching my views on this particular item, and they consistently stay up. SO either the person or person's are real curious about it, and have not emailed me yet, or they are getting ready to "bomb" it again.
In bonanzle's defense, I have to say that Mark has stood behind me 100% on this, and continues to do so. Kudo's to management for there continuous support. I also have to say that I am sure, that even though Mark and Bill are working on away to eliminate tagging like this, it won't be in time for this not to happen again. Of course that is not bonanzle's fault. They are doing the best they can. I wonder though what stake in this the person really has, and expect this situation to continue indefinitely.
So here's to you! Cheer's, and best wishes in your endeavor. I am sorry that this is now a public fiasco, but I am tired of defending myself and watching inflammatory comments about myself, stay on a "professional" forum.
3 comments:
Sadly there are so many ... 'experts' online and many Expert forums. Some ARE get sites, loaded with good information and helpful people, and then you do run into some like TPF
At one time it was a great site, but from what I have seen of it lately, it is very negative with at times a gang like mentality.
I urge to older members of any forum site to try to keep it helpful and informative with solid facts. If you are going to be the 'go to' place for information you must hold all members to a high standard of conduct.
I couldn't agree more. No one but the Vendor has the right to claim whether a bag is authentic or not. That's why VERO Rights exist. New Handbags should be sold in B&M Retail Stores that are authorized by the vendor to sell those products. They can at least verify that the merchandise was received direct from the manufacturer. Not from a middleman, which is where most online sellers get their products from.
For all used bags, a bag owner should have the right to sell their own bags without hinderance from anyone, even the vendor. But VERO Rights protect that market as well. In the case of used handbags, it should be Buyer Beware. If the seller has the original receipt, great, no question as to it's authenticity. But still, it should be between the buyer and seller.
There's nothing wrong with a group of people who congregate because of a shared interest, but more often than not, they think it is their place to defend the brands and that they are experts on them. It is not their place. That belongs to the Brand Owner, and them alone. They pay people to go out and look for items that are not authentic, and those people are active representatives of the Vendors brand. It's a shame to see some from this group stoop to the level of bullying and intimidation that are now being used by some of their members to push out the competition. Shame on them.
Problem is, these people who are congregating in this shared interest are underage, or just turned of age. They show no proof to the claims they make, yet expect the site owner to pull the item. That to me is insane. Show me the proof. Then we'll discuss it. In the meantime, leave me alone.
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