My Job Is Not Defined By Viagra
Aug 29th, 2007 by msdanielle
Internet marketing is not defined by:
You know the saying, “One bad apple spoils the bunch”? Well, the same can be said about internet marketing. Only, I’m talking about spammers who spoil the bunch. When I mention I do internet marketing for a living, many people respond with, “Oh you’re the person who spams me with Viagra emails!” Uh, no. To me, that’s the equivalent of accusing someone who claims to be in marketing as “the one who interrupts my dinner with telemarketing calls.”
Internet marketing, like traditional marketing, consists of a near-endless range of marketing tactics that may or may not include a tactful approach. Some methods are invasive and unsolicited, but many are not. You may not even realize you’re being targeted. And you may even be sold on something without knowing you’ve been sold. Behavioral analysis and geo-location is enough data for paid search marketers and advertisers to target someone online. An individual can’t be personally identified and tracked for statistical purposes (yet) but trend data can be recorded and is very useful to marketers.
Have you done a search recently on Google and clicked on a sponsored link? Have you surfed MySpace or LinkedIn and clicked on a banner ad or text link? Do you use the internet?! If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s someone on the other end of those clicks that is using this data. Is it creepy? Some people think it is. But it’s not harmful or invasive. It’s as if you’re shopping at the mall, and someone is standing outside the window with a clipboard, jotting down the items you pick up, try on, put back, and/or purchase. It’s better than receiving a thousand emails in your inbox relating to penile implants and prescription medications, yes?
Where the heck am I going with this? This is just my declaration that my job in internet marketing is not defined by Viagra, or spam emails, or annoying banner ads, or any one thing at all. Internet marketing is much more than that. It’s like traditional marketing, only using a different medium. It’s all about driving targeted traffic to a desired place in the world wide web. Where the marketer wants you to end up and the methods they use to get you there depends on the marketer. The internet is a pretty big space, and it’s too bad some people with lesser methods ruin it for the rest of us!
[This post was inspired by a conversation I had with Gary (and by comments from friends) where he remarked that he now uses colorfully descriptive language to avoid the use of the term “internet marketing” when asked about his career. It’s just easier that way.]
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The last time I used “colorfully descriptive language” I got a warning from my direct superior. I’m assuming Gary’s using better words, though
you rebel!
yea, it’s not that kind of language. lol
This is a great comparison. Spam can be quite annoying, but I try to ignore it at all costs. In other words, I think I am used to it…
too bad there’s no “do not spam list”
Nice post, I’m interested in what colorful language Gary uses to describe his job! New age media publicist?
see below
@mattjones - thanks! yea i don’t mind either as long as no personal data is being collected or abused (spam).
I don’t have a problem with people tracking me at all, I mean “ow no they know I use Safari! It’s like I’ve been raped!”, know what I mean? Who Cares?
P.S. I just subscribed by RSS
hmm .. . how does online business development coordinator sound?
i like that one. online business development is a pretty accurate description. i think i’m going to strike the use of “internet marketing” from my career discussions as well. funny how language is changed because of mass perception. i’m ok with it though! soon i will be “helping people searching for jobs find jobs”
so what is my title? lol
The longer the title, the better the pay … right?
It really is true that a few people can ruin something for everyone!
Sounds like someone forgot to take their viagra today.
Your missing one of the Derriks in your friends list
Actually 2. Apparently, I’m not her friend. She just likes me for my blog.
If we’re gonna whine about not being in the friends or blogs I like list, I’d like to join in
D, I feel you. I just sent you an email too.
hello derrichks!
where is derek? lol i like all of you for your blogs. is that a bad thing? i am so shallow… 
thanks, lol. you got the other 2 in your list, somehow i got left out, so sad
Crybaby. (Got your email)
I have a question, is really someone buying viagra pills from spammers ?, you may say that yes, because they continue to spam, but its not easier the internet marketing MsDanielle definition approach ?
there are so many ways of marketing anything that you can think of online. but every “successful” method will continue to be used, so…
if you shoot a shotgun at a group of flying birds, you might hit one. but you will catch more by luring in 50% of them with something they can’t resist.
i don’t know much about how viagra sells and what not, since that’s not really the point. it’s that many people have the perception that internet marketing is about spamming people, and it’s not. i don’t prefer the shotgun approach, it just isn’t effective.
I agree, catch em with kindness
For those interested in what people need viagra for, check out our site, a free blog service catering to the adult conversation community.
BTW, we dont need Viagra just yet…
Off topic, but from what I know cialis works better than Viagra… Not that I need it at the young age of 21.
Nothing wrong with having an “edge”.
we are straying from the topic people
analogy . . . baseball with no steroids is ok . . . . baseball with steroids makes you a Hall of Famer . . . . now Jeff . . . think about it for another second!
That’s not as bad as those job titles where the conversation goes like this:
Friend or family member: So where do you work now?
You: I work at
Friend or family member: What do you do there?
You: I am a
Friend or family member: So what do you do?
Oops, I should have known better than to use shift , and shift .
I work at (insert company name here)
I am a (insert job title here)
i tell my family that I surf the internet and look at p0rn all day . . . . *grandma nods* and then never introduces me to any of her friends or their granddaughters . . . . . .
so why don’t you tell them about the negative stories now?
many people tend to focus on the bad side of something… Forget about viagra! Think money!
What a great rant. I have to agree. My yahoo account is up to 4000 emails. My question is what the (blank) is with the russian spam emails?
And(sad question) do people really click the attachments…..don’t answer that I think someone already did with the shotgun and bird thing.
I am still working on a working title for what I do for a living.
Yes, I agree that we internet marketers get bad name due to spammers. It becomes important for us to clarify that we dont spam about those blue pill emails to the world.
Thanks Danielle for this blog. I like it very much and I came to know about this wonderful blog from a post made by expert Andrew Wee. I look forward to reading more