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September 18, 2004
Somebody Wants QuixtarBLOG
By QBlog in
Guess what happened in Bingham Farms, Michigan on June 23, 2004? Well, if you guessed "nothing," you'd be wrong. On that beatiful Wednesday someone at Quixtar Investments, Inc. was busy registering domain names. And what domain names were they registering? Well, all of them.
Ok, not ALL of them but virtually every domain name for "quixtarblog" other than the dot com version, which I happen to own (quixtarblog.com). That's right, as of June 23, 2004 Quixtar owns (from InterNIC):
And why did Quixtar buy ALL those domain names? I can't say for sure, but I have a really good idea. I also believe that it's no coincidence that a week later Fred Harteis's blog was first to appear on the scene (and quickly followed by MANY other blogs) as part of Quixtar's new Web Initiative. And not long after that (on August 3) Quixtar Investments registers RealQuixtarBlog.com and the former BlogHarbor version moves to the Quixtar controlled servers.
I just have one question, and it's possibly rhetorical. Before I started this blog, did ANYONE in Quixtar (IBOs, Quixtar Executives, Ken McDonald, IBOAI board members, etc.) have a clue about blogs?
Comments
"Before I started this blog, did ANYONE in Quixtar (IBOs, Quixtar Executives, Ken McDonald, IBOAI board members, etc.) have a clue about blogs?"
Short answer: No.
AmQuix is directly basing their strategy moves on you. You've gotta start teaching a course on getting under the skin of major corporations.
I am an IBO and I remember as far back as when Pitas launched free weblogs. My father had one and there were hardly any blogs on the internet back then. I do think that you might win the competition of first Quixtar-Related Blog in the search engines, but I don't think there is any PV for that ;)
I am excited about Quixtar finally doing some positive marketing in the search engines. It is about time! Only, I am not too excited about their marketing campaign so far. Buying names like yours... What do they think that is going to do? Or setting up blogs with comments like "my upline is so great... he is so awesome" and then filling the post with link popularity to their sites. While this approach might work in the search engines, it definitely contributes to lowering the bar of blogging.
I do think that Jody Victor has a decent blog.
http://jodyvictor.blogharbor.com/blog
And I also think that Chuck Goetschel has a great blog, although it looks more like a traditional website, and less like a blog, it still has a lot of info on it.
http://chuckgoetschel.blogharbor.com/
If I were motivated enough to spend dozens of hours marketing, I would love to, because I am sure that I could land several top 10 positions for Quixtar searches, and then surfers would find my sites before sites like this, but the reality is that I am too busy and I would probably only do it if they paid me. But at least I would do it with some style. I think Quixtar should launch more positive sites like IBOFacts.com except that they should have more content and actual explanations as to the philosophies behind why they do the things they do. That is why I post on sites like yours, because I want IBO's to have a voice and I believe that it is important for someone to here a rebuttal to many of the statements you guys make. I can't do it full time or anything, but when I get the chance I jump on here and let loose with a few comments. Be on the lookout because you might see a blog pop up soon from yours truly. I will allow comments and trackbacks though, so I am sure I will probably see most of you guys there at some point :)
Other great ideas:
quixbots.com/net/org
soapisking.com/net/org
iheartcdsandtapes.com/net/org
How many PV does it take to buy out the bogus sites...how many licks does it take to get to the center of a glister candy-pop?
Get a clue!!!
Speaking of Chuck Goetschel:
I went to one of his sites. Man, how does he find time to build his Quixtar business. This dude has no less than 10 sites listed on blogger in his name. Is there a blogwar looming with Orrin Woodward soon?
He's PAYING some shmuck to post them Dave. Anything that sounds like it's his voice is most likely just reposting stuff he's already written offline or in emails or something. He's NOT really blogging.
I wonder if there is a way to create a multi-level blogging company. Like, you show 6 people how to blog and they each show 4, etc.
I agree Chuck might be paying someone to build the blogs for him, but I was referring specifically to the one blog of his
http://chuckgoetschel.blogharbor.com
where I actually liked that blog and found it very useful and well put together compared to the other blogs I have seen. If more blogs like that were out there it would be pretty cool.
Yeah, I know what you were saying. And I didn't say anything about someone BUILDING the blogs for him, I'm talking about posting the actual content on a blog with his name on it. You wouldn't happen to be working for Chuck would you?
For what its worth, you're blog is infinately more interesting than what the other Quixtar blogs have to offer.
I agree that this blog is more interesting than any Pro-Quixtar blog I have read, even though I am an independent business owner, and I am very upset about much of the negative opinions of Quixtar, but I am posting on here, because most of the pro-Quixtar blogs do not even allow posts, and the ones that do, do not have much worth commenting on.
QBlog, first off, because I single out one blog of a list of maybe 10, you assume I am the one behind it? Check them out for yourself and I bet you come up with the same conclusion that I did. Secondly, I am considering starting up my own blog soon, and it would be an actual blog that allows track backs and comments on top of pro-Quixtar posts so that there can begin to be more of a, if I may "fair and balanced" view of Quixtar online.
Before I decide to setup a Pro-Quixtar blog, I am checking with Quixtar Rules of Conduct about websites for IBO’s and finding out what steps I might need to take when starting up a blog, so I hope that you can respect my attempt to do things correctly, and legally as well as offer opportunity for individuals like you and others to dismantle my topics and offer your prospective to give my site balance as well.
In fact, I bet that in your upcoming post on whether or not to use the “comments” option on a blog, that you build an overwhelming case to use comments in a majority of situations. I too believe that it is the way to go if you want a dynamic site that is rich in information and ideas, as well as a way to give viewers an opportunity to be involved in your site more than just a reader. I believe it also builds stronger repeat visitors and loyalty to a site, and so on and so on. I am looking forward to your post on that topic.
Chris, I like you and respect you and no, I did not assume anything about you. I merely asked you a question. That's not an assumption, it's just a question. Do you like chocolate?
You linked to the Chuck blog twice in the comments on this post and while I don't mind such linking, I regard such duplicate posts with a bit of suspicion (all bloggers must be on the alert for comment spam). It's a common tactic to improve search engine results (aka Google Ranking), by inserting links for less popular blog into a more popular blog. I'm not saying that you had any ulterior motive, just putting you on record that you either do work for Chuck or don't work for Chuck. Don't misinterpret this as any sort of personal attack, I'm merely asking the question, which you still haven't directly answered.
Do you work for Chuck?
And as for starting your own blog, I think that's awesome. Let me know if you need any help getting it started, I'll be more than happy to oblige.
lol, QBlog, from my limited knowledge about internet marketing, I have understood that more than one link on any given page that uses the same text on the link does not help improve the link popularity at all.
As far as mr. diamond Chuck, no I am not being paid to post about him here on your site or anything like that, but i would say that as an individual i am working, unpaid for all diamonds and IBO's by having a positive voice on blogs like yours, so i guess that indirectly i am doing charity work for him and other diamonds, lol. If you would like to put in a good word for me to some diamonds though, to pay me to help them out I would appreciate it :) I don't mind getting paid to do things I enjoy. Kind of like the idea of putting Google AdWords on a blog ;)
have you seen this site?
http://skepdic.com/amway.html
Oh man, i guess im working for them now. Wait, that was only one link wasn't it.
http://skepdic.com/amway.html
Now it's official. Ok sorry to have a little fun with that one, but I couldn't resist.
QBlog, I actually think I agree with you on this one, meaning that if I was in your shoes I would have my guard up to because there has been a bunch of pro-quixtar marketing lately and now a guy like me pops up and starts posting on your site. So I actually don't mind the questions. I will probably stay away from personal information because I am that way about the internet and not letting personal info get out, but I am happy to answer any question that you throw out to me. Keep in mind, that if it takes a while to respond, that because I am not getting paid to do this, there is only so much time I can devote and if you haven't noticed, I don't tend to give quick, short answers, lol.
As far as help with my blog, Do you recommend Movable Type? What do you recommend for a someone who is not a pro but wants all the features?
FYI: I prefer Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Chris,
>> You said: "I have understood that more than one link on any given page that uses the same text on the link does not help improve the link popularity at all."
Of course this is true but that truth doesn't prevent people ignorant of this fact from engaging in such practices.
So, you're not being paid but are you part of the coordinated Quixtar Web Initiative? I'm only asking, not accusing and even if you were, it would make little difference to me. Next time I see a Quixtar Diamond, I'll be sure to mention your name. Just I just say "Chris" or would you like me to include a last name?
And just and FYI, your link to skepdic doesn't really hold true to the spirit of my point and your reply. Skepdic is a MORE popular blog than this one and so linking to it doesn't really have any effect. If you'd linked to something like http://quixtarsucks.blogspot.com/ then it would have been in the same spirit.
And thanks for the stab at humor. It's nice to see that in an IBO (why are so many IBOs unable to be silly like you just exhibited?).
On keeping my "guard up" I'll just say it's not so much the content of the comments (positive, negative or neutral) but the motives behind it. Determining that isn't easy. As you know, I'm pretty permissive with what people can comment about but I look for certain red flags and multiple links is one of those flags. There was nothing accusatory in my question, I was just checking in with you.
By the way, when I got up this morning I spent around 15 minutes deleting comment spam. It's something I do about twice a week now. It's a pain in the ass but I'm vigilant to keep those spammers out.
If you want to know about blogs, send me an email. I'll be glad to give you advice and set you on the right blogging path.
Qblog,
Linking to a MORE popular site from this one CAN still help that site. I just read an article on this at:
The majority believe that both quantity and quality play a key role in getting page rank up on a site, and some think diversity of sites also plays a key role.
On top of that, it is also widely agreed upon that using specific keyword text for the link will give more popularity on that specific keyword. I am not sure if we can do that in the comments, and so I think that part is up to you, the one making the actual posts on the site.
On the top of this post, you helped a MORE popular site, (Weather Underground), with a link to a less popular page of theirs, and you used the keyword text "beautiful wednesday" and so that will help that page get ranked higher for that term, and if the page rank of this page is higher than the page rank of that page, then technically you could bring up that page as well.
Just some quick thoughts on marketing.
You seem to know what you are talking about though, seeing as how you have the number 2 or 3 spot for the term "Quixtar". I see that your site gets about 1000 visitors per day. Not bad. I do plan on emailing you shortly about help with a blog since you offered.
Do you charge for consulting? If so, how much?
Maybe you could offer some marketing advice as well :) or perhaps I can go frontline to you if you start up your own multi-level blogging company. No, wait, I heard that only 1% succeed at that, and that all the money is made of consulting guys like me on how to create my own blog. Just show me your profit & loss statement, and copies of your checks and your social security and mothers maiden name and I'm in!
Where do I sign?
What, no blood sample? You're letting me off easy! ;o)
On the linking thing, my point remains. Sure, ALL links help but the potential percentage increase for a site like skepdic is much, much less than something like Chuck's blog or the QuixtarSucks blog.
You still haven't answered my question:
"So, you're not being paid but are you part of the coordinated Quixtar Web Initiative?"
Plus a new one (oh joy):
Are you or your advertising company being paid by Quixtar or anyone affiliated with Quixtar (Alticor, IBOAI, Amway, etc.) to post comments here? Also, what is the name of your advertising company?
QBlog, you really try to spin the drama of a situation don't you. I am not even sure what you mean by the "coordinated Quixtar web initiative". I answered your question already with the following statement:
"As an individual i am working, unpaid for all diamonds and IBO's by having a positive voice on blogs like yours, so i guess that indirectly i am doing charity work for him and other diamonds, lol. If you would like to put in a good word for me to some diamonds though, to pay me to help them out I would appreciate it :) I don't mind getting paid to do things I enjoy."
I would love to be part of some organized Quixtar web initiative, and I am going to look into it. Like I said in my statement above I am already doing this kind of stuff for free by posting comments on here and taking time out of my day to do it, so if that is what you mean by "Quixtar web initiative" then yes I guess I might be part of it, but I am doing this on my own, and was not asked by anyone to do these posts.
I am posting my comments on this site because I disagree with most of what I read on here, and there are not too many IBO's that post on here so our side of the story is often misrepresented and not heard. If there is an opportunity for me to get paid to do this, I will jump all over it :) and you will probably here a lot more of me if that was the case!
Even if I was asked to do something for free, and it didn't take much time, I would probably help out, but there is only so much time and so much that I can do individually, but you got me thinking, and I am going to talk to my diamond to find out if I can be part of this web initiative you are talking about. I think that would be great.
So are you part of the Anti-Quixtar Web Initiative or what? Are you affiliated with Passport in any way?
Chris,
No, I'm not part of any coordinated Web initiative (either positive or negative) of any sort. To my knowledge, there is no "Anti-Quixtar Web initiative" but there is a "Pro-Quixtar Web initiative" that I'll be posting about very soon. And no, I'm not in Passport, have never been in Passport, certainly never plan to be in Passport, have absolutely no connection to Passport in anyway and I wouldn't care if Passport went bankrupt and slipped into oblivion tomorrow morning.
However, I do know of Quixtar IBOs spreading rumors about me and Passport for their own purposes.
My repeated questions are not meant to offend, just trying to be clear. Sometimes one can be evasive while answering a question, either intentionally or not.
I appreciate your candor and honesty in answering my questions. It's not typical in my experiences with asking questions of IBOs, though that seems to be changing.
Qblog,
I am planning a raid on Blogshares in my attempt to become the next robber baron. Thanks for the tip. ;)
Posted by: Dave S | September 18, 2004 9:20 PM