🦆If It Quacks Like A Duck: A Case Study In Spam-N-Scam

in #palnet5 years ago

There's no doubt that social media can be a powerful way to market your goods/services; it's the new, and vastly more viral form of 'word-of-mouth'. Writing good sales-copy seems easy, but it's not. When it comes to attracting customers and investors, you need to respect their intelligence. Because if you don't, the results will be disastrous.

This all started when I came across this post:
https://steemit.com/news/@aoecoin/attention-humans-you-are-no-longer-your-star-sign-nasa-changed-it-adding-a-man-holding-a-snake

It's a post about Astrology and Astronomy (see below), but then it becomes a sales pitch for clean energy. Confusing: what's the connection?

I brought it to the attention of a couple of people and left it at that. Given we are presently being encouraged to engage in curation more on Steem, I figured I should do so.

But it seems I wasn't the only person noticing the content produces by @aoecoin, and I've been following what has been happening. Given the current topical conversations about curating, reward share, and flagging in HF21 context, this seems like a great case study about the issue of quality content, and the desire to have more of it on the platform.


Getting your facts straight

I formally studied Western Astrology back in 2004, so I have an avid interest in it from a psycho-therapeutic perspective. Having a couple of Degrees under my belt, I'm also well trained in how critical-thinking, fact-checking, and doing research (anyone else remember the pre-Google days of 'boolean operators'?); so I'm as much a sceptic as I am a believer (and no, I'm not a Libran!)

As you'll see, I commented on the post... "this old chestnut"... because every few years this story rears its ugly, factually-incorrect head. So I'll briefly unpack this. The 'author' (I use that term sparingly) suggested in a chat forum that I had not read their article, and that my suggestion this was "fake news" was incorrect.

A very simple, easy search on Google yields quite a number of results on this topic. The links I provide below were all taken from the first page. I didn't even need to go trawling for more sources to cite.

The first result is this article by Phil Plait from the New Scientist magazine, dated September 2016:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2107207-no-nasa-hasnt-changed-the-zodiac-signs-or-added-a-new-one/

Again, a quick search (or even reading his bio on the magazine sites) would reveal that Phil Plait is an Astronomer, so it's likely he knows what he's talking about in this field. He mentions clearly in this article:

This new foofaraw got started, apparently, due to an article on a NASA site for kids called SpacePlace... has been around a while but was updated in January 2016... But this isn’t even the first time this sort of thing has happened. Almost exactly the same story bubbled up in 2011.

His article has plenty of links to the sources he is citing, so it is very easy to follow those references and read them for yourself. For the record, here is the NASA page which is the source of all of this. At the bottom of this page, it clearly states "article last updated January 13, 2016". Just keep that little factoid in mind, I'm going to come back to it.

So Plait mentioned this story arose in 2011, so I follow the link to another article he's written for Slate.com magazine. And it is basically telling the same story:

https://slate.com/technology/2011/01/astrological-sign-of-the-times.html

Not surprisingly, my search also revealed some links from Astrolgers' point of view. Basically, Astrologers aren't buying into the "new zodiac sign" either. And if you have studied Astrology, you would know that the signs are fixed sections of the sky (called the tropical zodiac), equally 30° apart, named after the Greco-Roman constellations which they kind of align with.

https://astrostyle.com/ophiuchus-nasa-new-star-signs/

https://astrostyle.com/zodiac-sign-change-nasa-wrong/
While also mentioning the 2016 NASA article (cited above), they also write clearly:

Periodically, astronomers will announce “breaking news” that horoscopes aren’t accurate because the constellations have shifted. They will announce the “discovery” of Ophiuchus as a 13th star sign and claim that the horoscope dates for Libra (and every other sign) have changed. [my emphasis]


image source

Not surprisingly, Snopes.com also had something to say on this, also found in the first page of Google results to my search:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ophiuchus-zodiac-change/

This was originally published in 2015. They are citing that Time magazine was circulating this story then. Their conclusion:

The existence of “authentic astrologers” is questionable in and of itself, depending upon whether one believes zodiac signs and horoscopes are an effective form of divination. But 2015 rumors about Ophiuchus’ purported disruption of the extant practice of astrology are false regardless, as the claim dates to 2011 and thus far hasn’t affected daily horoscope columns.

Here we have evidence that the original NASA article goes back at least to 2011. The problem with that site is that it could be easy for someone to assume it was written in 2016 — which was their stated is "last published" date, not the original date of publication. I would argue that from an academic perspective, it would be better that they also included the date it was originally published, which is the standard in academic referencing.

Screen Shot 20190628 at 10.15.17.png
image source

For me to find these sources seriously took me about 10 minutes, and that was following all the links and scan-reading the content. It would not take anyone very long to work out whether this "factual" or "fake" news.

There are even more interesting claims in this post; the one which I laughed the loudest at was claiming that NASA had changed the zodiac for a more sinister purpose:

This new sign added by NASA, is described something that sounds like a globalist Satan of sorts. Check this out. "OhPukeus, Serpent Bearer, bearing a serpent, House OhPukeus' people were spirited, impulsive, flamboyant, jealous, tempermental, rebellious, private, and power-hungry." At their hearts, they wanted to bring everyone together in unity, and to rid the zodiac of every ill — disease, violence, etc. They call them "healers." ... O.O Sounds like a Global Authoritarian Terrorist in waiting.

Now the thing is, I couldn't find the source of what reads to be an [pseudo-] Astrological description of the character traits of this "new" zodiac sign. In none of the credible Astrology websites or textbooks on my shelves could I find anyone actually providing this information. However the creator of this post has not provided the source of this quote.

Even funnier was then stating the following:

The Occult "Master's of the Universe" character from the childhood's comics and toys of the age of Hawking & current NASA administration ages, very very popular 30-45 years ago, also in cartoons etc, is the exact representation of the Constellation of OhPukeus and was inspired after it. Skeletor was a demonic force who even lived in an evil occult compound high on hill with massive snake around it, and who was trying to take over the entire universe, doing immense evil to all.

Now my inner geek is getting agitated here. The claim is "the exact representation" of Ophiacus, which is "a man holding a snake". Forgive me, but did Skeletor ever walk around wielding a snake? Nope. That looks like a ram's-head skull on his staff (if any Astrological connection is to be made, it would have to be Aries, surely...?) They even provided a picture which refutes the statement they just claimed:


image source

And as for Castle Grayskull (which real fans would remember was an ancient fortress that Skeletor had usurped) never had a snake around it... I had that playset, and I'm certain I'd remember that feature. Another quick Google search (30 seconds) confirmed that memory:


image source

OK, so the point is simple: check your facts. It's not hard. And look, we've all done it; we can get so caught up in the fervour of getting content out that we forget to cite a reference, or get lazy and not follow up the veracity of a claim. I mean, let's face it, when we're writing a social media post, it's not like we're writing a PhD Thesis, right?!


The art of writing sales-copy

Well.... actually it does matter. Especially when you're writing material to essentially attract customers and investors — that is, when you want other people to give you money in exchange for your goods/services or the share in profit from them.

After telling us that NASA was secretly being run by the Mattel Toy Company and using Astrology to instigate a Satanic Globalist Conspiracy, the reader then is told about how "AlphaOmegaEnergy (aoecoin) the World's #1 Breakthrough CleanEnergy Startup is going on the Blockchain this year with 2,922 new techs."

I'm all for Clean Energy and the development of renewable energy sources, our world needs to get onto this project. It's important for a whole raft of reasons.

But I'm confused about the connection between Astrology, Skeletor, and a Clean Energy start-up. And yes, my spider-senses tingled, especially when a 'coin' is mentioned. Checking out @aoecoins's Steemblog has articles of the same calibre, all finishing with spruiking the company. And a quick search on the blockchain reveals more about their activity and their automated spam commenting. All of which was also coming to the attention of others.

So, I decided to look into this company. My first stop was to go to their website, the link for which is at the end of each post. The result is this:

Screen Shot 20190628 at 08.57.48.png
[screen shot taken 28/6/19 08:58 AEST/UTC+10]

Hmmm... OK, not a good start. They do also list their previous website, which does open, and I can read all about the company and what they do. It's stated clearly that the new website (aoecoin.io) has replaced the 'old' site in October 2017. They do fuel cells, solar panels, and storage batteries. Cool. And I can see that they want investment, putting a call out for investors.

So they are saying in big, bold letters that they are "The #1 New Clean Energy Technology Solutions and Innovation Company"... and yet on Steem they're claiming:

  • We are doing a Seedround on Blockchain
  • Paying 300% Fixed Return Minimum to our Investors as a debt note.
  • Pre-sales are open now DM to invest.
  • We will be building power plants with our world leading technology, as an asset backed Blockchain. We are mining with the power we make, and building an electric plane and several scalable social enterprise divisions as well.
  • We are securing the Seedround chain also with 100% collateral in shares of the company and a debt note. We have every receipt practically in triplicate.
  • Make a Big Return helping us CHARGE IT ALL! And Change The World!!
  • We will Comment your post, follow, and or up vote every time you support one of our posts or make positive comments! All promoters send me your win-win services & solutions! Please Follow us!

OK, so now I'm starting to get an idea what may be going on here.... So I go to the most obvious next link to follow: their Fakebook page (it seems they're on all the social media sites). Other than the 30-or-so followers they have, I find this:

Screen Shot 20190628 at 09.02.49.png
image sourced 28/6/19 09:02 AEST/UTC+10

OK, now things are looking grim. Let's go do a Google search on this company... Again, I never had to go beyond the first page of search results:

Screen Shot 20190628 at 11.12.35.png
image sourced 28/6/19 11:13 AEST/UTC+10

So folks in their native Cambodia are also asking questions about the legitimacy of this company. Unfortunately, it isn't looking good. The last entry you'll see is really not promising for anyone remotely interested in ICO's....

"APOLOGIES, BUT ALPHA OMEGA ENERGY DOESN'T HAVE A “WHITE PAPER” . ...... ALSO MANY SCAMS, HACKS, AND SECURITY ISSUES AS WELL."

Screen Shot 20190628 at 11.15.43.png
image sourced 28/6/19 11:15 AEST/UTC+10

Unfortunately, because I can't actually go to the website and read this "Black Swan Paper", I can't even verify the full facts... but the words "doesn't have a 'white paper'" simply SCREAMS scam.


If it quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it's probably a duck

This is a saying we have in Australia, not sure if it — or something similar — is a saying elsewhere. I think it's message speaks for itself.

This situation is really unfortunate if this is a legitimate small startup, trying to do some good in the world of global investment and renewable energy.

It's all about marketing and public relations. First I was confused as to the link between NASA and their Satanism and a clean-energy startup, and then the lack of any real positive or tangible information about the company really gives a bad impression. Claiming they had funding from a Christian company who were very upset at this false claim is also not a good sign for potential investors.

So it's no surprise that the Steemcleaners would end up flagging their posts and comments, and it's no surprise that the impression given is that this is a scam.

But its not just Steem that's picking up on this. Going through their Telegram feed (yes, that link is also given on posts), other platforms have taken down their posts. Claims are made that Twitter is a problem because no one is liking their tweets. There is little to no following on Fakebook, and hardly anything on Steem either. Their blog on Medium comprises of the same content found on Steem, and the articles have no views or claps whatsoever.

Unfortunately, this company then decides to post on Steem and rant about the situation they find themselves in. They go onto the Discord channels and also rant. They blame the flagging on Steem.

https://steemit.com/steem/@aoecoin/mass-abuse-on-steemit-by-attackers-bots-we-are-considering-leaving-if-any-can-help-please-let-us-know

This is the unfortunate side-effect of flagging/downvoting, and this would hit particular hard for someone who is trying to get something they are passionate about off the ground.

Unfortunately however, this is a case where they haven't really done themselves any favours... and not just on Steem. Their last post raises some very good points about flagging, which I agree with in part.

But they also state:

"Use your thinker not your stinker. Don't abuse, research."

The same thing could be said of this account. Their post on Astrology was completely unfounded in fact, as I have demonstrated with a very quick and easy google search. Like I said: "this is fake news". I stand by that criticism.

Whether it is a scam or not, I don't know. But the research I did was not yielding any results that suggested otherwise.

At best, it suggests to me sloppy and/or disorganised business practices, and very shoddy marketing and public relations.

That NASA post has NOTHING to do with your company's business. Creating any old post (filled with unsubstantiated 'facts') and then tacking on a promotion for your business IS NOT GOOD SALES-COPY, and it damages your brand.

It's also about knowing your audience. Do you really think Bill Gates is going to invest in you when you're claiming that NASA is secretly run by Skeletor and using Astrology to control our lives?

Do you think ANY serious investor is going to give you wads of cash when you make claims on your media about current investors (who also very publicly state that it is untrue)?

In the @steemcleaners Discord, the account-holder called themselves a "noob" and said, "us noobies just don't [sic] know. Why the crazy attacking abusers instead of help and tutorials? were [sic] all fumbling through here".

Why would I want to invest lots of money to someone who cannot even work out a cohesive and convincing media strategy... to a self-professed "noob"? Talk about rookie error...

Screen Shot 20190628 at 11.48.13.png
screenshot sourced 28/6/19 11:50 AEST/UTC+10


My challenge

So @aoecoin, please read this post and look at it as forming the type of education you suggested in that same Discord chat. We all learn from our mistakes, and if you've read anything about how some of the best startups happened and the entrepreneurs behind them, you'll know they all made mistakes in the beginning too, and from those mistakes they learned valuable lessons.

If you are legit, then draw on the example of Jesus and be humble and gracious about your mistakes, and then work hard at rectifying them. Ranting and calling the Steemit community "full of hostiles and darkweb illegal types who think "decentralisation" means you can commit crime against others" (your words on your public Telegram channel) is certainly not how to "win friends and influence people" (you may want to read that book on business). It's also very un-Christian.

My challenge to you is simple: prove us wrong. Don't just throw a tantrum like a 4 year-old child and power-down.

Show us that your business is not a scam.

Prove to us that your startup is worthy of investment.

Write and publish content that tells us about you, your tech, your ideas — using conspiracy theories to sell yourself is not going to work. You claim to have all this amazing new tech, I'm sure there are plenty of people in the Steem community who would love to read about it.

Where was the inspiration for your work? How did you get here? Tell us your vision, and invite us on the journey to share that vision. Renewable, sustainable sources of clean energy are SO NEEDED and so vital, I know there would be many people who may be interested to get behind your projects... but you're seriously selling yourself the wrong way.


The moral of the story for all of us

Do your research. Follow up and check references cited. Don't take everything you read as 'truth' or 'fact'. Apply critical thinking skills. If you're writing sales-copy, know your audience, and create meaningful links between your copy and your products/services. And be professional, especially when seeking investment.

The issue of Quality Content on Steem is about understadning the community's expectations, and understanding your audience. Good sales-copy is not 'spammy', and in fact will add value to the blockchain, as well as being seen as having value to readers and curators.

And none of us are going to get it right all of the time. To those who love to flag, feedback is vital. If it's a mistake, that mistake can be corrected with feedback. If we provide the opportunity to learn with downvote, we increase the quality, and decrease the crap. That is when the downvote mechanism becomes a real behavioural-change technique in this context. Flagging alone is just going to create more angst and aggression, and it's not going to help those creating 💩posts stop from doing so.

And above all, be kind.

😊🙏🏽☯️


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I've heard of the so-called new astro sign. Either way, I'm still a sag. The thing with the "new sign" is I think it's the occult trying to plant a seed to something. They use a lot of symbols and Satanic ritualistic symbolism, which itself borrows from other religions and spiritual symbols. A man holding a snake sounds like Tarot card stuff and I'd have to see the image to see if the man in subduing or controlling the snake of befriended with the snake. Snakes mean infinity, the cycles of live but also are a symbol often used by Satanists from the Bible. The snake that was the voice of the devil, the temper, whispering to Eve. So is man (humans or some Elites) in kahoots with the snake? Those of us who study the occult know that the Elites are Satanists so they could be throwing something blatantly obvious in our faces just to mock us (obvious to them). It also depends where the man is holding the snake, neck (throat shakra, stopping people from speaking truth, which is a reflection on stopping freedom of speech, and the timing coincides), if it's at the waist, solar plexus, then a separation between the base and the upper, separating the heart from the sexuality of individuals. Anyway, I think there is a message to be decyphered in there that is more meaningful than the actual thing itself.

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Ah, there is your creative mind coming out. Sometimes the mythology and the story is far more fascinating isnt it? Loved this comment.

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Ophiuchus is the god Asclepius, grandson of Zeus and deity of medicine and healing.

The snake is represented by constellation of Serpens which precedes Ophiuchus, which is the serpent found associated with the Goddess-worshipping Priestesses of Minoan civilisation, associated with goddess Hygeia whose temples were devoted to heal the sick, and also with Cassandra and the acts of prophecy.

Any association with ‘evil’ comes from the puritanical paranoia of Imperialist Christianity (that is, the Christian Empire descended from Paul’s lineage which took over the Imperial throne of Rome, as opposed to the actual spiritual tradition from Jesus himself).

The 13th zodiac sign is not and never will be a thing because of the tropical zodiac. This is the division of the sky into 12 arbitrary segments of 30° each, roughly analogous to the position of the constellations as they were in Ptolemaic times. There 48 constellations from the Classical Greco-Roman astronomy: astrologers named these artificial divisions of the sky after the 12th brightest and most prominent that are in the elliptic.

This is Astrology 101.

If there’s a message there, then the serpent and the one who bears it emerges from the depths of your own unconscious mind... thus, it’s for your own healing and evolution.

After all there is no greater hiding place in the world than one’s own consciousness.

😉🙏🏽☯️

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Powerful words. And healing can only be accessed within.
That's good history to know.
It's strange, they want to push a 13th zodiac sign, but ages ago, they stopped using a 13 moon calendar cycle. We have 12 months, but there are 13 moon cycles each year. They need to make up their minds lol

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SPAM and SCAM

Love it!
thanks for presenting this on @pypt #pypt

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Hi bluefinstudios the SHADE tokens are on the way.
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Great job at 'dismantling' the post and info. I have to say the title caught my eye, but once I was a few sentences into it, I was already thinking: 'WTF?' When I saw the Skeletor figurine I just had to laugh. I stopped it there. And some people would call me a conspiracy theorist (others a truth seeker;) but this goes a bit crazy even for me, somewhere in the same box as flat earth LOL.

Anyway, also great for taking the time to find the info on the 'company', to be honest, I had my doubts just reading the way the stuff is written...(spelling, grammar).
Also: 300% return on investments? Wow. See, my grandmother always used to say: "If something seems too good to be true, it usually is." Smart woman my grandmother...And this definitely seems just WAY too good to be true.

Also, I just read this:
https://www.asiablockchainreview.com/thai-firms-launch-blockchain-based-energy-transaction-platform/
Would someone 'in the biz' not be aware of this already?

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hehehehe - not only was I giggling throughout the post - (i just love how you presented the info in a " come on guys!" kind of way LOL) but i really enjoyed how you spoke on it today at #pypt.... i loved that you tried to help the guy - not just downvote him and run! hehehee

nice job :)

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We have a friend who simply has to hear a 'fact' for it to be true. We have an ongoing argument about crop circles. Despite the men who did it coming out and saying it was them, and they started the whole thing, and despite being confronted with every fact we know on the matter (because my physicist husband geeks out on ghosts and mysterious happenstance) she is now at the point she is annoyed at us for telling her she is wrong. This is the fourth year of our disagreement.

Then there is my Aunt who shared a cute picture of puppies that was CLEARLY started by the BNP. When I messaged her about it she was mortified and said it was a lesson learnt .. look at the sources of information more carefully before spreading it, because it is also downright dangerous.. as Brexiteers found out. I am sure I send people more snopes links than ANYTHING else to some people. Quacking ducks.

I enjoyed this breakfast read immensely. Nice unpacking - and so gentlemanly. Kudos.

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I like to check facts, and I like to state facts if I can find any. However, one should be careful using Snopes as a fact-checking medium... Yes, sometimes they're right, but they're not very reliable. For a couple of reasons I won't get into now LOL.

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Astrology? Skeletor? Mattel Toys? Wow, now that was quite a read. I agree completely. It is difficult for me to know what is legit and what is not.

I appreciate all the research you did to produce this article and the time you took to write it. I am very glad that it was shared on...

#PYPT Podcast !

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NASA is secretly run by Skeletor and using Astrology to control our lives

Thanks for tell us the truth about this! 😮

Seriously, nicely-written article, and I love your analytical mind and the research you did! I'd not even heard of this, so it was very entertaining to read and learn about it. Thanks for sharing in PYPT! Love your writing!

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