I agree with you 100%. If people would investigate instead of assuming that the so called "gurus" are right. Then seo and all of the other scams on the net would not exist.
Duplicate content is one false claim, and if you notice the sources, they are trying to sell something, or take something out of content.
The "content is king" theory is also false! this article proves this:
Without a Throne of Links-King Content Has Nowhere to Sit in the SEO Kingdom
The content is king theory was invented by copyrighters who make their living writing copy. Makes sense huh? they try to downplay links on the net, but top search engine postitons are reached by links (approx 80% of SEO is links). not content.
Content does have it's place, but is worthless without links.
I had a client that bought the "content is king" pitch (guess they were good salesmen). He waited for over a year for it to work after being promised that it would for a sum of over 12 thousand dollars! then he called me back and hired me, Within 6 months he ranked nationaly in the majors and was recouping his 12 k that he wasted.
People need to investigate before buying a lie.
The first question to ask is "who gains"? If they are putting out information and then trying to sell information without solid proof! They are scamming! Period!
Don,t buy the ebooks, dont buy the CD's, Don't pay thousands for a seminar.
Everything you need to succeed on the net is readily avaliable on the net.