i've read the several threads about link baiting here and got interested. Here is my question : i have a potential controversy link baiting in my niche (not the one in my sig ). The bait is this one : doing a how-to about using a paid webservice freely. Its not illegal, i'm not hacking into any database here. Just using my brain to 'go around' the protection. So : - i think it can be a bit popular but i'm afraid of the reaction of the webservice wich is the leader in my niche. Not sure if its a good plan to piss them off - is it a good marketing strategy ? I'm not so sure in terms of image. - i'm afraid its a short term strategy - finally i'm not so sure if its legal or not What do you think ?
I think it will generate links for you, but.. the webservice will not be happy with your smart actions.. i dont know..
I say if you plan on the "pissing people off" strategy then may I suggest that you make sure the people you're pissing off aren't more tech savey than you ... just ask 955 in the thread "link bait"
That's called computer trespassing (some states term it differently) and if you live in the United States, it could be a criminal law in your state's statutes. That's right, a criminal law (the kind where you go to jail/prison). For instance, in New York, it's a Class-E FELONY. It's probably on the law books by now in other countries, but I'm not sure.
Well, i live in france so the laws are not quite the same. But after surfing a bit on the web, i've seen some french cases where people have been in trouble doing things like that. So i think i might drop the idea, too bad for the bait Thanks for the answers.