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a guest post? not quite...

i received this interesting request from "sarah" asking if i had an interest in a guest blog post. isn't that interesting? here's the email:

Hi Marcus,

I'm getting in touch with you because I'm interested in writing an article for your blog. I came across your blog post marcusoh.blogspot.com while writing for a website on music production. During my research, I've found an increasing focus in terms of design as the tools and technology available today improve our ability to customize how create music and collaborate as musicians

Please let me know if you'd be interested in an article this topic. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,
Sarah

as you know, i write tons on music, music theory, musical collaboration, and such. NOT. if sarah's "research" on the purpose/scope/focus of my blog is any indication of her research in music, i wouldn't be interested even if i did have a topic that was germane to her research. this, by far, is the best giveaway though:

image

smtp.com? oh boy. a short perfunctory search revealed that sarah not only dabbles in music research but also childhood psychology and development as indicated in this blog post i found.

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Comments

  1. Heidi6/25/12, 11:28 AM

    I got a similar email this morning "Alex," (alexsawyer28@gmail) also through smtp.com and couldn't figure out for the life of me what his/her research had to do with visualizing evolution. A google search of the first sentence brought me to your blog. I wonder what their angle is.

    "
    I'm getting in touch with you because I'm interested in writing an article for your blog. I came across your blog post visualizingevolution.blogspot.com while writing for a website on the scope of bachelor degree programs. During my research, one of the aspects I've focused on has been industrial design, and I've found that increasingly so that curriculums from the humanities, sciences, and business can be applied to improve the design process.

    Please let me know if you'd be interested in an article about this idea. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

    Best,

    Alex"

    It reads like something from an automatic blog-topic generator!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcus Oh6/25/12, 1:14 PM

      ah another one! my take is this heidi -- they are soliciting people hoping for a hit. if they get one, they someone convince the blog owner to let them post as a guest and then probably go to town posting all kinds of nonsense to your audience.

      oh well. at least we weren't dumb enough to fall for it. btw, excellent illustrations! some of them look so real they make me queasy. :)

      Delete
    2. Ian Thal6/25/12, 2:03 PM

      This is the one I got this morning:

      "Hi Ian,

      I'm getting in touch with you because I'm interested in writing an article for your blog. I came across your blog post ianthal.blogspot.com while writing for a website on the state of criminal justice and criminology today. During my research, I became intrigued by how the media and journalism affects criminal cases and public opinion on different cases.

      Please let me know if you'd be interested in an article about this idea. I'd be happy to go write about a more specific topic if you'd like to work with me on an idea. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

      Best,

      Angela"

      Delete
    3. Marcus Oh6/25/12, 2:06 PM

      i have to admit, they had to put a little more time into this kind of spam. has anyone fallen for this???

      Delete
    4. Ian Thal6/25/12, 2:11 PM

      I considered writing that I don't typically have guest bloggers before I noticed that the topic "Angela" wanted to write about had nothing to do with my blog. Then I realized it was spam.

      Delete
    5. Marcus Oh6/25/12, 2:19 PM

      i was headed down the same irritating path. i couldn't figure out the angle at first. i'm still not sure i totally get it.

      Delete
  2. Ian Thal6/25/12, 3:13 PM

    I suspect one of two angles:

    1.) To check for operative email accounts, harvest them, and then sell them to spammers. I've seen this happen from time ti time when I post something to Craigslist, say, advertising an opening in my flat.

    2.) To gain access to the administrative side of a blog and turn it into a spam blog.

    ReplyDelete

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