I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation • Hacker News Board

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#81

Post by hiou » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:53 PM UTC

marwann wrote: post #20

In France, an agency created a fake company selling kebap sandwich on Mars. They had 105.000 views on their video, 46k followers, 20k facebook fans...and orders. What's scary isn't the fact people buy fake reviews/followers/etc. but the fact people actually believe in these vanity metrics and want to order afterwards.

Anecdotal, but I've been aware of this fake review industry for probably about 6 years and I am amazed that almost everyone I talk to does not believe the scale and the scope. They think there might be one or two fake reviews on an Amazon product when in reality it can be closer to 15 out of 18. Or in some cases every single one.

People who are seriously doing this aren't paying $5 a review. They are paying $100-$500. At this point I just assume almost all reviews are fake. Especially on Amazon and to a slightly lesser extent Yelp.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#82

Post by puranjay » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:53 PM UTC

TomGullen wrote: post #78

A lot of this problem seems to come from Facebook/Twitter showing: "You have 3 followers" Perhaps it would be better if they showed publicly facing ranges: - Then above 10,000 (or whatever) it shows the actual number. I see these fake like paid services losing a ton of business if social platforms took this approach.

Then you'd just spend $20 extra and buy 10k+ followers :)

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#83

Post by rajadigopula » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:54 PM UTC

degenerate wrote: post #76

nkrisc wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think Fiverr should hire a team to monitor the activity and authenticity of its sellers. That would cause most of their revenue to evaporate.

They also don't have a "report this post" button anywhere to allow people to flag spam or illegal activity. That would at least be something they could do...

Could't agree more. That's the least they can do.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#84

Post by vijayr » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:54 PM UTC

nkrisc wrote: post #74

rajadigopula wrote: post #47

I have been on Fiverr for few weeks and ordered two articles for $5 from some guy claiming from the US. The result was hilarious; a kindergarten kid can use much better grammar. Also found some gigs encouraging piracy, found a guy who claims to give 3 ebooks ( you name it) for $5 ?! Another one who can give you any 3 Udemy courses download for $5 - https://uk.fiverr.com/udemy_guru/give-you-any-4-u-demy-cours... I thi…

> I think Fiverr should hire a team to monitor the activity and authenticity of its sellers. That would cause most of their revenue to evaporate.

At some point they will do it - when they "grow up" and they can afford to crack down. Tumblr cracked down on porn once they became big. Yelp didn't care about fake reviews, but now they do as they've become big. And so on.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#85

Post by Lawtonfogle » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:54 PM UTC

ska wrote: post #77

dethstar wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homeless do the opposite of the musician really, throw a coin/bill into their glass and they will take it out and save it somewhere else. "Nobody has donated, have some compassion" works for some.

They often (usually?) will leave some small change though. Panhandlers are common targets of theft, which may explain stashing most of what they get in various places less exposed.

Yeah, there are a lot of factors into how much you leave in the pot. Grandparent's post was just one of the pressures to leave more money, though one that most people aren't aware of.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#86

Post by TomGullen » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:56 PM UTC

puranjay wrote: post #82

TomGullen wrote: post #78

A lot of this problem seems to come from Facebook/Twitter showing: "You have 3 followers" Perhaps it would be better if they showed publicly facing ranges: - Then above 10,000 (or whatever) it shows the actual number. I see these fake like paid services losing a ton of business if social platforms took this approach.

Then you'd just spend $20 extra and buy 10k+ followers :)

Facebook et al would be able to spot 10,000+ like purchases a lot easier than a few hundred.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#87

Post by puranjay » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:57 PM UTC

rajadigopula wrote: post #47

I have been on Fiverr for few weeks and ordered two articles for $5 from some guy claiming from the US. The result was hilarious; a kindergarten kid can use much better grammar. Also found some gigs encouraging piracy, found a guy who claims to give 3 ebooks ( you name it) for $5 ?! Another one who can give you any 3 Udemy courses download for $5 - https://uk.fiverr.com/udemy_guru/give-you-any-4-u-demy-cours... I thi…

You really shouldn't expect anything better for an article that pays the writer just $4 (after Fiverr takes its cut).

Good writing isn't something everyone can do. It takes me at least an hour to write around 500 words. A full 2k word post can take 6+ hours (since longer posts tend to be more complicated).

If I was charging Fiverr rates, I would end up making $4/hour.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#88

Post by puranjay » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:58 PM UTC

TomGullen wrote: post #86

puranjay wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you'd just spend $20 extra and buy 10k+ followers :)

Facebook et al would be able to spot 10,000+ like purchases a lot easier than a few hundred.

Then you buy them in batches of 2k/week.

In all seriousness, I've actually purchased 10k Twitter followers for $10. Twitter did not care one bit.

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#89

Post by greggarious » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:59 PM UTC

logicallee wrote: post #54

As an entrepreneur, I became so disappointed with this article about 60% of the way through, that I had to stop reading. When the author started getting phone calls on his burner phone from people wanting to hire his van, he should have manned up, stuck with this damn business, and written instead about bootstrapping. With stats like the ones he reported, he should have stuck with Freakin' Awesome Karaoke Express eve…

Out of curiosity, why do you assume the author is male?

Re: I created a fake business and bought it an online reputation

#90

Post by oalders » Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:59 PM UTC

wanderfowl wrote: post #70

If you're a street musician setting up to play with an open instrument case, it's pretty important to "seed the pot" by throwing a few dollars and some change into the case. Not because you make any money from your own "donation", but because it shows passers-by what the arrangement is, and adds an element of social pressure ("Somebody donated, so I should too!"). I can see this as similar. There's something pathetic…

I used to go to a cafe where they often had a $20 bill in the tip jar near the cash register. I always felt like that bill hadn't been left by a customer...