This is my honest opinion - People don't care anymore

Okay, I need some opinions on this:

 

whilst I appreciate the sincerity in your comments, I do agree with source lite's view in that the internet is merely a reflection of our own world.

We live in a greedy, selfish, corrupt world where people's only escapes are their fantasies - and often their sexual fantasies, if published online usage patterns are correct.

Sure, vent your steam and feel good, but unless you can change society and human behaviour I doubt there is much you can do about it.

Most people become rich by abusing the system - the internet is no different.
Its not as though the captains of industry are all nice, honest blokes!

They all got to the top by using the blood, sweat and tears of others.
They got to the top by kicking innoncents while they were down.
They got to the top by cheating in any way they could.
And this is how society has operated for tens of thousands of years.

The internet just brings it all together in one big hit

So... I hope you have a good day, is about all I can offer.

see ya
ET

 

You know, its funny I come across this thread. Not too long ago, I felt the same way about the internet as a whole. People don't give a crap about providing information. And what's worse is worse than the "spam" you speak of.

Its not just spam we're dealing with, its scammers, and other areas I'm not covering here. I used to think internet was solely only used for information, but people are spamming it up through google, through forums, through accounts, through this and that.

 

Sorry to bump this, but has there been any reply to your email?

 

Fair points and good post

 

Not yet, I'm setting up a little website, you know, to get support (and I admit media attention aswell ).

 

Awesome post, it's so true. I'm also tired of seeing shitty graphic designers make a mockery of the freelance graphic & web design market.

Everyone's out to make a quick buck, and the vast majority of them are not willing to get educated in marketing, writing or business in any way. Just load up Joomla and hope for the best

 

Excellent post there Falling Down. I agree with you about the crappy websites designed for nothing more than presenting advertisements. While it is true that forums like DP are full of people who are looking for nothing more than ways to cheat, rob, steal, copy and make the so-called easy money there are also a lot of good honest people who try to do the right thing. There is nothing wrong with making money from a website, but if that is your only purpose then any success you have is only for the short term.

Like you I get tired of trying to find information in Google search only to be presented with crap sites such as in your acne example. I believe that Google and other SEs are working hard trying to figure out how to rid the search results of this crap and eventually they will. So webmasters who strive to present real information that is actually useful and interesting will come out in the end.

 

Totally agree. And if you all don't mind, I'm going to go off on a tangent.

I'm from America. What I've noticed from this country in the past 20 years is a loss of craftsmanship. And I'm not just talking about the Internet but business in general. The need to automate and copy vs. creating something original has permeated every fiber of our society. Take movies and music for instance...

Going back to the 70's, music and film in this country was still original. People were in those industries not only to make a buck, but to create something that they could be proud of. Well, after conglomerates learned how they could make millions in these industries, they bought out the people who ran these businesses and basically took over and began to mass produce. Fast forward to today...and now we a deluge of copies of products that have performed well in the marketplace being put out instead of something original.

Let's take film for an example. Every week, we American film-goers are treated to a sequel, remake, or rehash of something that has made money before. It always amazes me when people say, "Hollywood has run out of good ideas." Hollywood hasn't run out of good ideas. They just don't want to take needless chances on good ideas when they have a blueprint for success in front of them which involves making a copy of something else that was successful in the past or something that has a built-in customer base.

Okay, I told you I was going off on a tangent...so forgive me. But I hope this illustrates my point. Greed has taken over and craftsmanship has been left behind in its wake. The Internet is only part of a much larger problem.

 

The internet is no different than TV. How many of you have hundreds of channels yet can't find anything good to watch? Also, just like TV, I know exactly where to go if I want something of substance. Remember, you can always turn the channel or click to another website at your own discretion.

Obviously there will ALWAYS be 2 sides to the internet. Good and bad. To say the entire internet is irrelevant, or needs a complete overhaul, is absurd.

 

What you write is very true. However i still believe there a good people out on the internet providing genuine information for people out of goodwill.

 

You make a lot of interesting points. Websites that are packed to the gills with usless adverts and 'keyword' rich articles for the sole purpose of making a quick buck, just are detering from the actual informative websites.

There could be a website on 'acne treatment' that is a legit source of good infomration and a good support network, but they may not have the tecnical knowledge of how to compete on the internet. They will, in turn, be forced down the ranks on search engines whilst the proper traffic is forced to go through the bowels of the internet.

I fully agree with you on this and am keen to see your website. I think if enough people act on this, then something can be done.

Although the two are not the same issue and one clearly has a more negative impact on global society, think of the Internet as an environment. Negative impacts on the environment will eventually destroy it. It's possible that with so much crap on the Internet, people will never find anything that they're actually looking for. Modern browsers, like FireFox, will allow people to develop plug-in tools that may be able to pre-warn a visitor to a site what kind of content they'll receive.

This is something I feel strongly about. I consider myself an entrepeneur and a webmaster, and I have to admit, I've fallen foul of it myself. Spam the net and you can make a quick buck. I don't like it anymore. I will pull my quick buck sites and concentrate on making products/sites that genuine people will find genuine use for. I miss the days where plucky entrepeneurs had their sites bought out for a lot of money; the best bit about it being the products were actually useful - YouTube, Facebook, MySpace etc.

One thing to be careful is that you have to remember that some people find adverts to be useful, so it's important not to blur the line between value advertisements and 'cheap' adverts...how could you distinguish between them?

 

Completely agree with you. We need to improve the internet and every webmaster has to take the step for that.

 

However - how many of you who agree will put your money where you mouth is and pull any sites you have that contribute to this pollution? FallingDown, I took a look at the sites in your sig and they don't really, in my opinion, contribute to the value of the Internet. Are you telling me that you'd pull them off the net and concentrate on more value added services to make a living? You do that, then I'd believe you 100%.

 

They're not mine, but yeah. I'm considering refunding the guy and putting the link to the campaign (sorry if I'm making typos, I'm on my iPhone) and only that.

 

Actually, I'm glad you mentioned iPhone. The internet is more and more mobile and accessible. 8 years ago it was inconceivable to think of accessing the full-fat internet on your mobile phone, let alone your TV or games console. But it's happening now and these are the devices that you definitely dont want to be bombarded with crap. A cleaner, concise Internet will improve the overall performance of websites and the Internet in general.

When you're on your phone and you want to google 'directions to newquay' or something, you dont want to get bombarded with ezine articles on stag weekends in newquay or the best pubs in newquay, you want the content and you want it as quick as possible.

 

Well stated, Falling Down. While I agree with your overall analysis of the problem, I still have to believe there is a solution (otherwise, why continue working in Online Business?)

 

Your second paragraph in the scanned letter:
The search engines are meant to search the INTERNET and all its websites, they are not here to stop piracy and control the internet, nor will they stop linking to sites because they do not agree with their content (unless it violates the T.O.S. of the SE and is harmful to its users)

And about the Windows 7 BETA- Microsoft is doing that on purpose to generate interest and stop people from switching to MAC to hold out for the big 7.

 

How about the DMCRA placement they used to have on some of their results though? I know it's just a proposed act, but it appeared on there for awhile when you tried to search for serials.

 

Shadowplay -i agree. It's happened here in australia too.
I'm sick of the tv show repeats,movie sequels and music rehashing..
everytime a new song comes out i turn to my sister and i'm positive i've heard the intro somewhere else..
The only way to stop the sequels is a boycott to the movies.
Hollywood does come out with some gems..benjamin button and slumdog millionaire for example..i havent yet seen them but from adverts they at least look somewhat unique..i could be wrong.

Falling down,
I agree.
I feel the internet is getting so much full of crap..things i used to search for i just dont anymore.
When i really need to look for something,the information is either too hard to find or full of spam. If i hit a site full of adsense within text i leave.

Becuase of all this crap..I feel that why waste my time creating content that has probably been written before.
But after reading this thread maybe i shouldn't give up. I've been debating with myself should i get into niche "x" or not? and after reading many times from webmasters this market is saturated/that market is saturated etc ..that would be based on their perceptions on search results. most markets are saturated..mostly with spam and crap.
If you then decide to enter a market and offer spam,then your chances to make money are zero,but offer good content and cleaner design and advertise to the correct target audience should equal a winner..