Keeping the ‘network’ in its place

Posted in 19 December 2010
No Comments »

Jason Kottke put me on to this wry and wise observation from Scott Simpson…

Not a bad rule of thumb. (Honoured more in the breach, I think, by many.)

… And I thoroughly agree.

‘Love the one you’re with’ seems like a good goal. ‘Split attention’ is rampant.

Nothing says ‘you are not interesting enough’ than setting the phone on the table at coffee/lunch/dinner … and waiting for someone more important to call or text.  Bleurgh!

Unless you’re a midwife, or a doctor on call… leave it in the bag or pocket (or car? What a concept!) – P

Encouragement - Tech
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I think I would die …

Posted in 19 December 2010
6 Comments »

I think I would probably die of embarrassment if ‘property guru’, ‘internet marketing expert’ and spruiker Dean Letfus endorsed me as a ‘kindred spirit’ like this:

Leave aside the Freudian slip of ‘In a pool of sharks I found Steve to be the “real deal” ‘ … (erm, you mean a REAL SHARK?)

Dean’s humble self-assessment: ‘I am arguably the most high profile educator in New Zealand’ and his description of his fellow property spruiker and business partner thus: ‘Steve is the most experienced investor I know in NZ’ strike me as being in the same class as those T shirts you see emblazoned with ‘WORLD’S GREATEST LOVER‘.

Surely these statements are not intended to be taken as anything but shallow puffery … or a JOKE?

If Steve Goodey is really the ‘most experienced investor’ Dean Letfus knows, then he probably needs to get out and meet more investors. Or perhaps start telling the truth?

Likewise Steve Goodey’s description of himself as “a NZ property investing icon who has established a proven track record of local success” is, well, a tad overblown, in my opinion. (An icon, Steve? You? Oh, please!)

At some point, people writing this sort of sugary, grandiose, hyperbolic sales-speak and BS should take a step back, examine the words they’re using and ask themselves: Is that actually true? Really? Am I ‘one of NZ’s most successful property investing experts’? Truly? Or am I just a glib low-rent huckster trying to make a buck?

The embedded weasel words Continue reading →

Business/Investment
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An insane order of priorities …

Posted in 19 December 2010
4 Comments »

Once again, Jon Stewart uses his platform — on Comedy Central (!!) — to sound a call for reason and justice and fair treatment.

It's a win-win-win-win .... just f——— DO it!

Watch as he castigates the Republican senators (and their mealy-mouthed supporters) for filibustering on the 9/11 First Responders’ medical benefits bill while whistling ‘tax cuts for the rich’ through an easy passage.

The bill would provide $7 billion in benefits for those who first responded on 9/11 and are now experiencing subsequent health problems such as cancer and respiratory disease. While it passed the House, Republicans have blocked the bill from advancing in the Senate. — Huffington Post

Then, in the second clip, he brings the voices of those affected to the screen … so good. So terrible.

Videos below the fold … Continue reading →

Big Questions
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Does ANYONE doubt that this guy’s rights have been infringed?

Posted in 18 December 2010
1 Comment »

From the BBC today:

'A Swedish prosecutor has said that she didn't need to produce 'a single shred of evidence' to justify its execution of a warrant for Assange's arrest and hearings which ended up 'putting me in solitary confinement for 10 days.' - Julian Assange

Julian Assange has told reporters that the US investigation into his Wikileaks organisation was “aggressive” and “illegal”.

He went on to say that over 85% of his organisation’s economic resources are spent fighting “technical, legal and political attacks”.

Mr Assange was speaking to reporters outside the Suffolk mansion of supporter Vaughan Smith. He is under house arrest while awaiting extradition proceedings by a Swedish prosecutor where he is facing sex allegations.

…. Mr Assange said his organisation had so far published only 2,000 of the 250,000 cables they have obtained.

Call me naive, but I hadn’t thought of the phrase ‘decapitation attacks’.

People like to present WikiLeaks as just me and my backpack. It’s not true. We’re a large organisation. The permanent staff is relatively small. In Cable-gate we had about 20 full-time staff. But it is resilient. It is designed to withstand decapitation attacks, and our publishing rate actually increased over the time that I was in solitary confinement.

Read the BBC’s profile of Julian Assange.

And also, very interesting, The Salty Droid (who I had reason to think about recently in relation to the Internet ninja cowboys apparently trying to mess with us) has quite a different take on Julian Assange: SaltyDroid vs. WikiLeaks
… saying, among other things, Assange has ‘Rasputin eyes’ … and pointing to “the magical power of self-proclamation“. Fair comment.

Media issues
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RIP Tom Newnham

Posted in 18 December 2010
4 Comments »

This hero of the anti-racist protest movement (and so much more) has died.
Farewell indeed to Tom Newnham whose book By Batons and Barbed Wire, about the 1981 Springbok Tour and the popular social uprising that disrupted it — found its way into many homes, including mine. He was an activist in more ways than that. A lion.

That ‘Rugby Tour’ and the political and social ructions it provoked, stirred our conscience as a nation — and revealed the nasty side (and the heroic side) of many people … from the powerful to the humble.

My friend and fellow photographer (I’m not worthy to wipe the dust off his UV filters!) John Miller took this shot of Tom doing good work …

Tom Newnham addressing the protest rally at Fowlds Park, Morningside, just before everyone marched off to the final battle of the Springbok Tour, Sat, 12th September, 1981. We will be remembering you, next year, Tom - photo: JOHN MILLER

This comment, from John’s Facebook wall, says a lot which is true:

Mihirawhiti Searancke Really Tom and others like him were the Julian Assange‘s of then along with Owen Wilkes and other’s who worked tirelessly on issues that gave us the strength to ask questions of a then very Anglosaxon male outfit. RIP Tom and say hello to Owen and Sid, Hana and all those other greenies, anti nukes, Maori rights supporters.

Yes, Well said. Thank you.

Along with Merita Mita, whose film Patu! recorded the intensity of the anti-Tour protests. Tom’s efforts to help motivate and organise — and give voice to — the courage of ordinary New Zealanders motivated by outrage at social injustice was his life’s work.

Farewell, Tom.

(Tom’s NZPA Obituary)

Encouragement
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Internet ninja cowboys … spoofing revisited

Posted in 17 December 2010
28 Comments »

UPDATED: Check out the comments on this post for ‘interesting developments…’.

Some readers might remember an episode that occurred earlier this year:  Internet ninja cowboys … or schoolboys?

Blackhat techniques? {snort!} (image: hathorizons.com - click)

Hilarious! A few hours after I set up ThePaepae.com’s new Facebook page yesterday, overnight we had a sudden surge of email… with a lot of ‘Please confirm your subscription to our mailing list’ messages.

It seems someone (who? I wonder) had a bit of time on their hands and submitted ThePaepae.com’s email address (not disclosed on the Facebook page, so no ‘leak’ there) to a bunch of mail list subscription pages.

Like a lot of ‘internet marketing’ ruses, these juvenile tricks might have worked in the past, but fortunately they’re pretty easy to spot.

Well, guess what?

More ‘juvenile tricks’ (By coincidence? You be the judge.)

A couple of days ago, somebody submitted thePaepae.com’s email address to a website called ‘allspammedup.com’ — adding a fake message from ‘Peter’ [ahem] extending the invitation ‘spam away baby‘…

Wow. Impressive internet skills! (Er, not!) Pretending to be me and asking for spam.

Well, hardy har, har, har! I wonder who could possibly have done that? And for what possible reason?

As the listserv message about the last wanker er, prankster spelt out very clearly:

This is usually done in retribution for having posted something on a public forum which made the perpetrator lose face. …

… in most cases this person will be a technically skilled individual who will know what steps need to be taken in order to hide one’s track. It is usually much easier to identify the perpetrator using traditional investigative methods, such as looking for technically skilled individuals that the victim has recently angered.

Can anyone think of anyone who this description possibly might fit? By any chance? Anyone?

Who could it b– … hang on, I’m getting an idea!

UPDATED: Check out the comments on this post for ‘interesting developments…’

Tech
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Yeah, why not have a sense of humour?

Posted in 17 December 2010
No Comments »

I just signed in (and out) of my vodafone account. Here’s the ‘thanks for calling’ screen…

Yeah, why not have an attitude? Better than being BORING!

It’s all marketing. (How you feel.)

Humour
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The Ridiculist – catchy title, nice approach

Posted in 17 December 2010
1 Comment »

In a case of ‘sometimes if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’, from The Spruiker’s Lament …

Peter Aranyi makes fun of spruikers and travelling salesmen
as if they were actually ridiculous…

At the time I hadn’t seen Anderson Cooper’s The Ridiculist (“a new hypocrisy-exposing segment on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360“) … but I like it. And I like his sane, calm and sensible approach.*

It’s tough being hassled or mocked for one’s foibles, blunders, mis-steps and blind spots. Even worse, for our consistent questionable behaviour. We’re each of us thin-skinned about something.

So sometimes the hardest thing is to respond to someone shining a spotlight on us (or casting our actions in a negative light) by asking: ‘Gee, have they got a point? Can my actions be fairly seen that way?’

It’s also super-easy to jump to conclusions about someone we see as ‘opposing’ us, or our ideas. It’s easy to ‘make the critic wrong’, or to characterise them as ‘only saying that’ because they’re on the other team (or the ‘out group’, as we discussed in the origins of conflict).

We’ve seen that the only real pre-requisite for conflict — sometimes enmity — is to have an ‘us’ and a ‘them’. This, I suggest, comes from our tribal nature as humans (but I’m no expert).

This feeling of estrangement from/towards others can be amplified by their overt criticism of our actions. For instance, my ongoing ruminations and reflections about the marketing methods of certain spruikers discussed now and then here at thePaepae.com and elsewhere have created some ill-will towards me. That’s understandable.

From what some of my ‘targets’ have communicated about that experience (through blogs, forum posts, email and [ahem] phone calls to me), it must be bewildering and frustrating for them to cop it like this from, um, lil ol’ me. In casting around for explanations, they seem to me to far too readily grasp for an easy projection of implicitly unfair ‘competitive bashing’ or that I’m driven by a ‘commercial vendetta’ motivation — inaccurately, in my view. That ain’t it, fellas. Sorry. I’m just calling it like I see it.

As I said as part of another conversation about smearing the messenger:

We all hate criticism — the trouble is,
sometimes we deserve it.

* See Anderson Cooper’s take on ‘Pizza Girl’ below the fold. Nice. Lessons for all of us, I think. Continue reading →

Humour - Media issues
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What a great title! How to Smell a Rat

Posted in 16 December 2010
1 Comment »

What a terrific title for a book on keeping yourself safe financially. Naturally, the Madoff and the Stanford scandals feature as sobering lessons…

The Five Signs of Financial Fraud are:

Sign #1 Your advisor also has custody of your assets

Sign #2 Quoted returns are consistently great! Almost too good to be true

Sign # 3 Flashy tactics — The investng strategy isn’t understandable — is murky, flashy or “too complicated” for him (her, or it) to describe so you easily understand.

Sign #4 Exclusivity … Your adviser promotes benefits like exclusivity that don’t impact results.

The scam is to try to make you think: “this guy is clearly super-duper long-term successful — which in [the victim’s] mind speak to legitimacy and that [scammer] can be trusted. And he’s a nice guy to boot — he gives to charity!

Sign #5 You didn’t do your own due diligence, but a trusted intermediary did. (Lesson: Due diligence is your job no one else’s!)

From How to Smell a Rat by Ken Fisher and Lara Hoffmans.

And look at this rogues’ gallery compiled by the author — with, in some cases, pictures of rats with the caption ‘(Actual photo unavailable)’.  Nice touch!

from www.smell-a-rat.com/investment-frauds

(Ha! And some of my subjects on this blog complain about their treatment here.)

Business/Investment

The Spruikers’ Lament

Posted in 16 December 2010
1 Comment »

Q: Why is that guy Peter picking on us?

image: http://jameswoodward.wordpress.com (click)

A: There can be only one reason: He must be in ‘direct competition’ with us! Yeah!

Oh yes. Actually, maybe there’s another reason: He’s a hypocrite. That’s it. A nasty hypocrite. Because (how does it go again? Oh yes, I remember…) He’s in the exactly the same industry as us.
Yep, he’s just like us:

He’s a black pot, we‘re a bunch of black kettles, but he’s always ‘bashing’ us … it’s a cynicial competitive tactic.

He’s knocks us and our schemes, and draws attention to our sales methods, which he describes as ‘hyperbolic’ and ‘misleading’ with our ‘dubious’ claims of expertise and success … even though he is just the same. Yeah! It’s pretty obvious he really wants to be the top spruiker himself … (even though he seems to spit on spruikers).

Best line: ” … some of the smear campaigns in here have been very clever and well crafted smear smear [sic] campaigns (that deride others) while seeming to be in public interest.” (from this post.)

Peter obviously wants people to buy overpriced bullshit ‘internet marketing’ softwarey-type stuff and US tax liens from HIM instead of us … although [cough] he doesn’t actually sell anything like that.

Or he wants people to buy apartments off the plans/Fiji sections/subdivision plots/bare swampland for a ‘quick flick’/Gold Coast developments/distressed Memphis houses for a fat commission from HIM … except, oops, [cough, splutter] Peter doesn’t actually sell any real estate like that.

Nor does Peter run offshore high pressure ‘buying tours’ or $27-for-two-seats-or-free-from-our-mates weekend sell-fest ‘educational seminars’, where the punters go into the draw for a colour TV or an IPhone/iPad to induce them to stay till our specialist commission salesmen and motivators-for-hire have had a really good crack at getting them to sign up on the spot. (Hang on, he doesn’t do ANY of that … so, actually, can someone remind me again: How is Peter in ‘direct competition’ with us spruikers? I forget.)

Maybe there’s a third reason: Perhaps it’s his character. Yeah. He’s just a really cynical, nasty piece of work. He clearly has too much idle time. It’s just terrible how he pays attention to us and it’s simply ghastly that he’s got his bloody blog www.thePaepae.com where people read our names (ugh! and don’t mention Google!) and they can see how he documents our hype and bluster … and sometimes he makes fun of us … and then he even publishes our threatening letters (and mocks us some more!)

Peter Aranyi makes fun of spruikers and travelling salesmen as if they were actually ridiculous. … Maybe he’s a HATER!?!

Humour
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Bailing for Julian (Assange)

Posted in 15 December 2010
2 Comments »


December 14th, 2010 2:58 AM
WITNESS STATEMENT OF MICHAEL MOORE

WITNESS STATEMENT

(CJ Act 1967, s.9 MC Act 1980, ss.5A(3)(a) and 5B;
Criminal Procedure Rules 2010, Rule 27)
____________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL MOORE
Aged: Over 18
Occupation: FILM MAKER AND AUTHOR
____________________________________________________________

This statement (consisting of 2 pages each signed by me) is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.

I, MICHAEL MOORE, care of Finers Stephens Innocent, 179 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5LS make this statement and say as follows:

1. I am a filmmaker, author and political commentator and I produce as my exhibit [MM/1] evidence of my identity in the form of a photocopy of my passport/driving licence. I am an American citizen.

2. I am aware of the various allegations Julian Assange faces in Sweden. I am willing to act as security for Julian in the sum of twenty thousand dollars USD$20,000.

3. I am the director and producer of Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story, four of the top nine highest-grossing documentaries of all time. In September 2008, I released my first free movie on the Internet, Slacker Uprising, documenting my personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections. These experiences underpinned my conviction that it is the duty of a free press to probe, and hold government and the powerful to account – and that citizens must be properly informed and have access to information in order to exercise their democratic rights.

4. Governments have always been discomfited by a probing press. With the hollowing out of newsrooms, in large part as a consequence of the new digital world, old media have largely abandoned the territory of investigative journalism.

5. I support Julian, whom I see as a pioneer of free speech, transparent government and the digital revolution in journalism. His commitment to exposing the follies of government and business offers the greater society a chance to protect itself from these follies. Some aren’t just follies. Some are crimes. What do we do with someone who informs the authorities — and in this case it is the free people in a democracy who are the “authorities” — that a crime has been committed? Do we arrest HIM? Do we try to shut his mouth? Do we hound him, threaten him, track him down and hunt him as if HE is the criminal? He bravely informed the citizenry of what was being done in their name and with their tax monies. That is no crime. That is an act of patriotism. He should be thanked and honored, not abused and jailed. It dishonours this court to be used in this way, holding this man without bail. Julian has made the world, and my country in particular, a safer place. His actions with WikiLeaks have put on notice those who would take us to war based on lies that any future attempts to do so will be met by the fierce bright light provided by WikiLeaks and intended to expose those who commit their war crimes. His actions will make them think twice next time — and for that we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

6. I believe that Julian takes pride in his reputation and as any journalist would understands that if he were to abscond he would ruin his reputation in the media and journalism industries.

Read the rest of it here at michaelmoore.com

And Why I’m Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange By Michael Moore

Media issues
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A brief note about comment moderation

Posted in 15 December 2010
3 Comments »

image: kansasbob.com

I recently had cause to mention our comments policy at thePaepae.com, saying I’m not a big believer in censorship, but there are limits:

That’s not how I try to play it at thePaepae.com, Jen. I’ve actually stopped some comments alleging ‘criminal’ actions by Shaun Stenning from appearing, but generally, this site goes pretty much uncensored except for spam, valueless self-promotion, and downright nasty stuff aimed at people (even if they deserve it, sometimes).

I’m a fan of open discussion, but I’ve learned from my own experience that online, some people can fly off the handle, especially behind an anonymous persona, and their ‘contributions’ — often personal or vitrolic — can derail a good ‘conversation’.

Note to Shaun Stenning:
Shaun, you might be surprised (or not) at the vehemence of comments about your business practices, ethics and personal character that we have received at thePaepae.com. And not just yours, I hasten to add, but in the last few weeks with the reported ‘refund movement’ arising as a result of your Asian sales operations, there’s been a big uptick in angry anonymous comments aimed at you.

We have thus far filtered and prevented a bunch of them in this category from showing because, well, the vitriol is unseemly, it seems unfair to you to let anonymous posters clobber you in that way … and although provoked by clearly heart-felt emotions, in many cases the allegations go too far when they are not substantiated within the comment.

Note to commenters:
If you have something you want say, and say it strongly, go for it. Just be aware, as I have noted on a few comments, it’s not OK to accuse someone of criminal actions unless you have proof evidence (a pretty high standard is required, naturally) nor, as a matter of the tone of the site, to make unsubstantiated character attacks (“Liar”, “Conman” etc.) Share your opinion (and your experience please) sure, but don’t go nuts.

And don’t make the mistake of criticising someone for exaggeration and hyperbole by using, um, hyperbole. As I said to Kieran Trass recently:

“It’s unworthy to fight what you see as unfairness
with more unfairness.”

—
Any questions, email us at the address here.

Media issues - Writing/Publishing
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D is for unintelligent

Posted in 15 December 2010
No Comments »

If you use any of these ‘most commonly used passwords‘, take yourself outside and give yourself a good smack. Duuuumb.

image: wqxt.com

1 012345

2 password

3 12345678

4 lifehack

5 qwerty

6 abc123

7 111111

8 monkey

9 consumer

10 12345

… Demonstrating why you should not use the same password for multiple websites, the hackers used those they had gained from gawker to break into Twitter accounts…

NZ Herald

Humour
,

Safe investing means doing your homework

Posted in 14 December 2010
2 Comments »

My earlier post ‘Good advice: Google the salesmen and their get-rich-quick scheme‘, included the suggestion that a bit of research and homework could save a lot of pain and regret:

Check that 'opportunity' out before paying a cent (or rupiah) (image: sarahsfinanceworld.org)

look at the track records of these guys and their previous ‘enterprises’? Do some due diligence and don’t believe the hype.

I’ve been struck by the number of Asian buyers of the Shaun Stenning/Dean Letfus -delivered twalk & snipr hyperbolic sales pitch who have found their way to www.thePaepae.com to express their disappointment at the transaction (read the comments) … now. Too late!

There’s a special kind of regret where you discover old warnings that you missed about something that you have slipped into. Some people self-blame. If only there was a way to turn back time for these people.

If only they could have digested the warnings that were online like Q: Is this a Shaun Stenning product? A: Er, cough. Well, yes and no … and Lowlife con-artist uses internet to fleece Kiwis about various operators and their track records. Perhaps it would have introduced a note of caution?

—

And then, in what almost looks like an entry for this month’s award for unconscious irony, consider the Subject line for a recent um, ’email marketing message’ re a six day research/buying tour of cheap Memphis, USA properties being promoted by spruiker Dean Letfus and his associates:

'Safe investing means doing your homework' Part of a sales pitch for a tour of US properties aimed at Kiwis and Australians.

For an extra heaping ladle of irony, you can’t go past the headline on their web page:

Want to learn how to create a plan to retire through property in 2011 without hype, nonsense or unfounded promises?

Well right now there is an unprecedented opportunity to create cash flow safely, simply and fast!

READ ON!

Priceless! (Get-rich-quick, anyone?)

Deja vu all over again?

I was aware of Dean Letfus running similar educational/buying trips to Australia’s Gold Coast a few years back. He was spruiking for an incongruously named property developer under a brand ‘Global Property Showcase’, viz: Continue reading →

Business/Investment
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The sins of the fathers

Posted in 13 December 2010
1 Comment »

It was pretty sobering to read of Bernard Madoff’s 46 year old son hanging himself just before the 2nd anniversary of his father’s exposure as a fraud.

Consequences. Sad.

Big Questions
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