Do Online Business Ethics Exist?

In the world of online busines something has gone wrong. Something has gone badly wrong. In the pursuit of wealth and success business ethics have not so much fallen by the wayside as been torn up, stomped on and burned to ash. Where some loose form of rule may have applied before there now only exists chaos, greed and hype.

Where are these businesses that lack ethics?

Look around you. Every automatically generated content or directory site that pops up is search engine spam. You can call them doorway sites or any other cute name you want but the end result is the same - spam. These sites are run by the quick buck guys and gals. Sure they make quick money. They also clog up the search engines and make it far more difficult for legitimate marketers to make an honest buck. These people have zero respect for the industry they're in and calling what they do "business" is at very best a joke.

What about scraper sites that steal content from other websites? Is using somebody elses content on your website without even linking back to the original site ok? Is the online theft of other peoples content now legal? In the offline world there's a name for this practice - it's called plagiarism. Plagiarism can get you kicked out of school, thrown out of college, cost you your job or land you in court - in the real world. In the online world you get a pat on the back from your fellow cronies for coming up with yet another way to steal other peoples content for your use.

What about the guys selling yet another overpriced, overhyped infoproduct that is the, alleged, solution to all your traffic, content or financial woes? Selling a product for a fair price is good. Selling the same product for a vastly inflated price is well.... criminal. In the offline world companies are forced to offer the best possible bargain to consumers to stay in the game. Online the prices are created at a whim because online marketers know a sucker is born every minute and their product WILL sell - regardless of how good or bad it is.

What about the online clubs and services where you pay anywhere from $100 to $1,000 per month for access to their features or facilities? 90% of this information can be gathered online for free but several of these marketing gurus stick the words "secret", "hidden" or "never seen before" all over their sales letter and again the suckers flock in to be parted from their hard earned dollar.

This is the point of this article. What the current crop of online marketers are forgetting is that the vast majority of people have to work for a living. Every time they release yet another hyped up, over priced product that promises the world they're delivering false hopes into the hands of hopeful blue collar workers. Just because you're parting these people from their hard earned cash from a distance doesn't make it right to overcharge them. The only difference is that in the real world you'd have to face these same customers stomping back to your shop looking for a refund and possibly a fight. Anybody who has ever worked in real world sales can identify with this.

Running an online business does not mean that you can pull any trick, stunt or marketing ploy you want and then hide behind an email address.

Running an online business does not mean that you can do no wrong.

Running an online business means that you are parting hard working people from hard earned cash.

Ethics still matter.

People still matter.

Some marketers should seriouly consider this the next time they look at the bottomline of their next marketing adventure.

This article was provided courtesy of Affiliate-Advocate.com where you'll find tons of information on online affiliate marketing

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Ecards as a marketing tool

As any successful businessman will confirm, having a great product... Read More

Dont Treat Your Business Like a Casino

It's amazing how many people are jumping into the internet... Read More

Internet Marketing And Public Speaking: Ten Tips For When The Twain Shall Meet

Internet marketing and public speaking? Not quite ham and eggs,... Read More

The Most Important Aspect Of Internet Marketing Ever

Hi there,It is still scary to see how many internet... Read More

How To Be A Web Entrepreneur With No Capital

With the advent of the technology age, the Internet has... Read More

3 Steps To Effectively Increase Your Marketing Response

It's well known that internet marketers are in the business... Read More

Website Sales: 10 Shocking Tactics To Energize Your Sales

Let me reveal to you a few shocking website sales... Read More

Make Money With A Business Opportunity Online

There are so many business opportunities these days that promise... Read More

Income Producing Tasks and The Fluff!

Think about everything you can do in your business that... Read More

Niche Web Sites Do Not Have To Be Small

I've been marketing for a long time now and I... Read More

Increase Online Sales: 10 Extraordinary Strategies To Generate More Profits

Do you want to generate more profits from your online... Read More

I Finally Figured It Out - The Largest Stumbling-Block To Online Success

We're going to talk about one of those issues that... Read More

The Seven Secrets of a High-Sales Marketer

If you want to boost your website sales to the... Read More

10 Things You Should Try To Barter For Before Buying

1. Information Products - it could be ebooks, "how to"... Read More

Two Good Marketing Ideas - One of Them Great!

Last week, I wrote my first marketing/list building article. Could... Read More

Why Do Market Gurus Exploit This?

Regardless of what you're trying to sell, you can't sell... Read More

Is Internet Marketing Saturated?

Is internet marketing and the potential for it saturated? I... Read More

If you Sell a Product, Use Online Marketing, Part 2

When you offer your products via an email campaign to... Read More

Website Marketers Enemy No. 1

There comes a time in your efforts to market your... Read More

Online Paid Survey

Basic IdeaAround the world, companies spend over $250 billion dollars... Read More

Golf Pros Jet to be Sold early 2006 -- Market NOW to Make Large Deposit

Marketing gurus travel all over...Malaysia, London, San Francisco ..so make... Read More

In Internet Marketing You Must Have a Strategy

When you make the decision to start an Internet business... Read More

The 2 Best-kept Secrets Of The Internet

It's a difficult creating a website that brings you business.... Read More

Making Money Online: What You Really Want To Know

So you've been thinking of doing some internet marketing or... Read More

Making Money in the Online Dating Gold Rush of 2004

Have you noticed the explosion of Websites related to love,... Read More

Your Personal Fortune Is In Your Words!

What is the most important skill you can possess as... Read More

No Marketing, No Promoting, Huge Profits

Internet business opportunities come in many flavors and varieties. Most... Read More

Who You Trust and Who You Dont!

For the last couple weeks I have been running a... Read More

Make Extra Sales with your P.S. - Internet Marketing

This "little" test I ran was in dedication of Corey... Read More

Web Success Secret - Overdeliver

A few days back I got an email telling me... Read More

Online Network Marketing 101A - Basic Must Steps to Follow to be a Successful Marketer

This guide is for people who know what network marketing... Read More

Ten Ways to Sell to Your Customers Again and Again

OK, so you're making some sales, either of your own... Read More

Make Sure That Your Dot-Com Doesnt Become The Next Dot-Bomb!

Late last night I turned on my television and discovered... Read More