Cashing in on the #swineflu, #H1N1 - Smart or Just Plain Wrong?

[Linda Buquet]

#swineflu, and #H1N1 are among the top trending topics on Twitter. I've been scanning tweets several times a day - not just for the news but analyzing behavior and watching for ways people try to monetize this very hot subject.

Careful what you click! When you move out of your circle of friends and industry peeps and out into the wild world of Twitter 'Trending topics' watch out! Mixed in with all the jokes about the Hamdemic, Aporkalypse Now and Hamthrax you'll find all types of dicey swine flu links. A link purportedly with 'new' swine flu resources sent me to a 'bouquet' of 100 p enises. It was quite the image, let me tell you, but not exactly what I was expecting to run into! ;-) Some Twitter links were also being used to try to spread malware.

So let's take a look at how people are marketing and trying to take advantage of the pandemic. Shortly after the flu broke a Swine Flu game was launched. As face masks flu (sic) off the shelves at local stores and inventory was depleted, smart affiliates were marketing masks via Twitter using affiliate links. Right now the top 3 sellers in the health and personal care category on Amazon are surgical and respirator face masks. Swine flu gag products and Tshirts are already for sale on eBay.

There is also a growing trend I'm seeing that is IMO dangerous and unethical. Some affiliates are trying to sell various herbal products saying they will 'prevent' the swine flu. That is untrue and could get you popped by the FTC or FDA for making false medical claims. "We have seen dietary supplements with prevention or treatment claims, various unapproved personal protection devices such as masks, and illegal sales of unapproved versions of antivirals, and antivirals sold without prescription," the FDA reported in a statement to Reuters.

There is a lively discussion over at the Warrior forum about a guy that wrote a FREE guide about how to avoid the swine flu. It's just basic advice like you can find at the various health resources - some say it's well packaged information - with some affiliate links inside. He's giving the info away at no charge. If people read it, take his advice and buy something, is that wrong. Is it taking advantage of an international epidemic or is it just smart marketing?

Read the following 3 page heated debate and let me know what you think???

Cashing in on Swine Flu

Smart Marketing or Just Plain Wrong???

[kpfingaz]

Originally Posted by Linda Buquet

There is a lively discussion over at the Warrior forum about a guy that wrote a FREE guide about how to avoid the swine flu. It's just basic advice like you can find at the various health resources - some say it's well packaged information - with some affiliate links inside. He's giving the info away at no charge. If people read it, take his advice and buy something, is that wrong. Is it taking advantage of an international epidemic or is it just smart marketing?

Read the following 3 page heated debate and let me know what you think???

Cashing in on Swine Flu

Smart Marketing or Just Plain Wrong???

I think this particular example is smart marketing. People want to know this stuff and as long as he gives people what they want and stay along ethical lines ie. with is affiliate links, I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

The smartest thing you can do is to take advantage of a growing or hot trend. It gets plain wrong when you start taking advantage of people instead of the trend.

I was wondering also how I could get in on this trend but its a very sticky issue as with all serious diseases. You have to thread very carefully when it comes to these things.

Jay

[Linda Buquet]

I tend to agree Jay. As long as he's providing value, ethical advice and not scamming people.

[Joseph Ratliff]

Originally Posted by Linda Buquet

I tend to agree Jay. As long as he's providing value, ethical advice and not scamming people.

That, and he states right up front that his advice is NOT medical advice, and you should see a doctor for your symptoms etc... so it's not like he states he has the "cure" for H1N1 any how.

I think this is brilliant, well-timed marketing. He brings together useful information, and simply links the appropriate resources together, earning a commission on what people would normally buy under this information any how.

[Linda Buquet]

A semi well known affiliate network rep is being accused of Twitter spamming and keeps plugging his link to his swine flu help site. He claims to have a way to "fight" swine flu and is selling a regular multi vitamin and a vitamin C liquid. I'm talking every day off the shelf products you can buy at any health food store. (He's using Amazon links.)

Wording is VERY misleading! "Learn how to naturally stop Swin Flu:"

Yes having a healthy immune system can help ward off some illnesses but taking a multi today won't help you ward off a bug tomorrow, especially one that no one has immunity to. So selling a multi as a way to FIGHT swine flu is VERY misleading!

[kpfingaz]

Yeah, that's just wrong.

I bet he/she thought it was such a genius idea.

Jay

[Joseph Ratliff]

Originally Posted by Linda Buquet

A semi well known affiliate network rep is being accused of Twitter spamming and keeps plugging his link to his swine flu help site. He claims to have a way to "fight" swine flu and is selling a regular multi vitamin and a vitamin C liquid. I'm talking every day off the shelf products you can buy at any health food store. (He's using Amazon links.)

Wording is VERY misleading! "Learn how to naturally stop Swin Flu:"

Yes having a healthy immune system can help ward off some illnesses but taking a multi today won't help you ward off a bug tomorrow, especially one that no one has immunity to. So selling a multi as a way to FIGHT swine flu is VERY misleading!

Interesting, guess I should have read the document really deeply...

The type of wording he has in this report does in fact seem to approach/cross the line.

[Linda Buquet]

No Joseph I wasn't talking about the doc in the 1st post.

My commments were regarding the network rep on Twitter that's pitching his flu help site.
Totally different one. Not a free guide or anything just a blog with BAD info.

[Joseph Ratliff]

Originally Posted by Linda Buquet

No Joseph I wasn't talking about the doc in the 1st post.

My commments were regarding the network rep on Twitter that's pitching his flu help site.
Totally different one. Not a free guide or anything just a blog with BAD info.

Well, the document itself has some good content, but some of it does seem to paint a picture of "this is a cure" IMHO...particularly the part about hydrogen peroxide.

Upon reading it carefully, the "good content" centers around the "normal" stuff people do to prevent the spread of the flu, while when it gets into the herbs and stuff...paints the picture of "you just discovered the cure" to me.

The document would have read better if the author included some sort of "social proof" that bolstered the credibility of his statements. I am not saying that it was all wrong with what he was saying...some of it is common knowledge.

[minstrel]

The next chapter... malware exploiting the issue:

H1N1 Domains
F-Secure Blog
Monday, May 4, 2009

As a follow up to last Monday's post, here is a list of domains registered over the weekend using the words swine flu. There are 1,344 on the list. Again, so far, none of the domains we've checked are hosting any malicious files.

In fact, the only malicious file we've seen is something that Symantec posted about last week. It's a PDF "Swine Flu FAQ" exploit which drops a password stealer and then opens a clean PDF file as a decoy.

...more