this is just getting plain stupid in the internet economy.  we have businesses buying likes on amazon, yelp and other websites.  we have both domestic and outsourced companies doing this. eknme was approached by main street host (check out the link from ripoff report) during the Philadelphia small business expo. their business is the business of writing fake reviews on yelp and other sites. they know how to network and hard-sell, but it’s truly basic hard-sell technique. from what eknme has read from the inside of main street, it’s even worse. from what eknme has read, there is a high turnover rate in that company as it is basically a con factory. well, main street host was promptly fined in 2013 yet exist today. the fake seo business seems to alive and healthy.

amazon’s vine network used to be the same way with fake reviews from persons who got free products from companies.  at least recently, they seemed to shaped up.  then again, amazon has outsourced a lot of their products to outside vendors to carry less inventory (presumably) and have a profit with all their selling fees.

with the way the economy is today and the popularity of social media and its impacts on businesses everywhere, it’s no wonder these companies are still proliferating despite the fines.  eknme is not in support of these companies as they do not promote ethical business. going to eradicate these type of companies is like eradicating cockroaches at the local diner.  it won’t be simple or easy.  when one disappears, hundreds more will take its place.

this is the new social economy where likes can be bought like bribes to politicians. nothing new to see here.