Content Free Advice: SEO Hits New Heights
May 19, 2020
I have just watched a value-free video about producing value-free content. Uselessness squared, if you will. Regular readers know we are no fans of quick and easy SEO techniques—slapping keywords onto a page just to boost a company’s Google search ranking. The “marketing” approach has had a negative impact on the Internet for years, and we have recently noted an uptick in SEO advice creeping across the web.
One fast talker in particular has garnered our attention, and you can read more of what we’ve learned about him here. He calls his YouTube channel The Hustle Show; at least he acknowledges his advice is designed for shady characters. The video I was tasked with reviewing, “How to Find Keywords for Plumbers—Best Keywords for a Plumbing Company” provides no redemption. Our host claims to have done a lot of plumbing. After checking out his purported bona fides on LinkedIn, we wonder where he found the time.
The video pushes a specific SEO platform with its “keyword magic” tool. Just plug and play—no beneficial content needed! Several times in this five-minute video, the speaker prompts viewers to follow a link to the platform’s free trial and to watch more videos where he explains the self-explanatory tools.
What’s the line between content free and duplicitous information? None. We have a new SEO centric service in the works. Gathering data about the questionable activities of SEO experts is long overdue. When money changes hand, the SEO game enters a new playground.
Cynthia Murrell, May 19, 2020
Content Marketing: The Faux Monte
May 8, 2020
I wrote about the SEO hustle email I received on April 30, 2020. That email became the subject of the conversation I had with the former CIA professional, Robert David Steele. He interviewed me and posted the video from his Web site PhiBetaIota.net. You can view the video at this link. In this post, I want to call attention to the SEO expert’s example blog content, thoughtfully provided by an individual named Christian Arriola and using the alias of a person named Jeffrey Garay. The blog in question is part of a kitchen remodeling business doing work in Pearland near Houston and Allen near Dallas.
The blog post is “How to Get Your Dream Kitchen Remodel Without Breaking the Bank.” Here’s an example of the content which the outfit Woobound wanted to provide to Beyond Search / DarkCyber:
When you have an excellent suggestion of what you desire, take a seat and also write a great breakdown of jobs that you desire finished. You do not need to be technological and also you do not need to make use of building terms yet simply state all the important things you desire a service provider to do and also bid. It can be as easy as: eliminate all existing floor covering and also closets; mount brand-new floor covering, cupboards, kitchen counters, sink as well as home appliances per the strategy; paint; attach sink pipes; as well as mount brand-new lighting fixtures.
It appears that the connection between Beyond Search / DarkCyber is that the root “techno*” appears in the paragraph above and some of Beyond Search / DarkCyber’s more than 18,000 articles. I may be missing other, more sophisticated connections, but on the surface, the idea that kitchen remodeling and the topics in Beyond Search / DarkCyber are tenuously related. Oh, wait, I do cover cyber crime, perhaps that is the hook?
The blog features some broken image links, an 888 number to contact the firm, and a content pool exactly one post deep.
My concern about search engine optimization’s latest “trick” is that some people will accept this “link trade” or “backlink” pitch.
Meaningless links are not helpful to a user. We will be monitoring this ploy because deception is a precursor of cyber crime. Our objective is to take a close look at this faux monte. What we see so far is not appealing; in fact, one of the DarkCyber team used the term
Stephen E Arnold, May 8, 2020
Unusual Medical Marketing
May 6, 2020
One of the DarkCyber team alerted me to a blog post titled “Top 19 Ways to Attract More Patients to Your Medical Practice.” In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the evening news, online news reports, and podcasts are buzzing about Covid19. The idea that medical professionals need to escalate their marketing efforts is an interesting one.
What are the recommendations? Here’s a selection of seven ideas. Please, consult the original essay to learn the other 12. Our comments about the item appear in italics following the information from the expert in medical marketing.
- Create contests. The idea is unusual. Based on my experience with doctors, nurses, and intermediaries like “doc in the box” operations in Kroger, the free time available to think about a contest may be limited. What will the winner receive? A co-pay waiver? An appliance for a broken ankle? A coupon good for $20 percent off a lab test.
- Get active in Social Media. Most of the health care professionals with whom I have knowledge are not eager to post content on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media sources. The likelihood of the information being used in the event of an insurance fraud, Medicare integrity issue, or malpractice exists. Perhaps some health care professionals post. There are images of nurses and physicians in coronavirus treatment facilities. These may be legal time bombs. Our suggestion is to ask an attorney first.
- Email your patients once in a while. In the city in which the DarkCyber team members live, communications from physicians are intermediated through a combine of health care providers or from a corporate entity. Emails move through specific channels in order to minimize issues with HIPPA, legal issues, and security. Again: Check with an attorney before spamming, using a proxy, or putting into the Internet’s memory a comment which may be problematic for regulatory authorities.
- Be Adaptable. The idea of adaptation is important. However, in a regulated sector, protocols must be followed. The physician or nurse who wanders off the reservation and is discovered as a protocol violator can face penalties. These range from losing a license to a fine or worse. Adaptation in quite specific frames of reference is important. Losing track of a particular frame of reference can be problematic.
- Get plenty of online reviews. What does “plenty” mean? Many physicians — particularly independent physicians providing plastic surgery type services to wealthy clients — may find patient reviews a double edged sword. A good review is, by definition, better than a damning review. A bad review may be evidence in another patient’s malpractice case. Corporate health care providers face internal and other restrictions on their posting about procedures. We are repeating, but checking with an attorney may be prudent.
The other 19 tips to get up to 30 new patients a week presents a problem on three fronts:
First, in today’s medical climate, generating business for a health problem may be perceived as unprofessional. In some cases, the virus is providing sufficient demand. There is no data in the write up to draw a direct link between search engine optimization and social media and new patients. Without data, the implication and overt statements are difficult to believe.
Second, health care professionals face numerous challenges. These range from regulation to burn out, from excessive paperwork to the challenge of keeping pace with medical information germane to their work. In today’s climate, convincing medical professionals to embrace marketing may be a difficult sale. The attention bandwidth of many medical professionals goes offline when computer centric double talk is the meat of the conversation.
Finally, the implication that the 19 recommendations will deliver new patients is a checklist easily applied to other business sectors. The ideas are not customized, not tuned to the regulatory climate, and not in touch with the new normal for medical treatment.
Net net: The ideas may create more problems, increase costs, and present a larger attack surface for patients pursuing malpractice claims against the advertising health care professional. The blog post may be a hustle, not a help.
Stephen E Arnold, May 6, 2020
Want more SEO fancy dancing? Read this DarkCyber story https://wp.me/pf6p2-gdY
Search Engine Optimization: Content Misinformation Is the New Norm
May 5, 2020
Jacque Ellul wrote Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes in the early 1960s. Ellul was a theologian and a close observer of social behavior. Propaganda remains an important book, and it is more important than ever in our era of fake news. I am not sure that the Global Disinformation Index will be sufficient to deal with today’s content realities.
Ellul did not live to experience the wonders of free Web search engines, funded by advertisers. However, his insights provide a number of useful touchstones for anyone trying to determine if there are ways to remediate the present situation in the era of technology monopolies.
He observed:
When there is propaganda, we are no longer able to evaluate certain questions or even to discuss them.
Today content engines generate massive amounts of information. The volume of Facebook posts, Tweets, live streams, and other digital emissions are so massive, that the numbers used to convey the scale of the content flows are meaningless. Are you able to convert the estimate for the the World Economic Forum explains the data in terms of zettabytes and 2020 will output 44 zettabytes of information. Here’s a zettabyte in plain old numbers:
1000000000000000000000
Yottabytes are next.
The options for publishing and disseminating digital content continue to expand. Unhappy with Facebook, there’s Mastodon. Don’t like Google Blogger. There’s WordPress. Don’t like Twitch. There’s Periscope.
Not surprisingly search engine optimization experts have seized upon these rich, real time digital distribution systems to create “content marketing.”
The idea is simple. Write, podcast, or video a statement, fictional tale, or “news” program and distribute the information. The single story can be diffused with Tweets, Instagram posts, updates to a Facebook page, and maybe a 30 second TikTok video.
In the world of SEO, there are some individuals who operate with a moral compass aimed at verifiable information, facts, and what might be called “old fashioned ethical behavior.” With the tools plentiful and almost no editorial control, other individuals find a way to use content to deliver “shaped” information. This “shaping” has long been a part of public relations and marketing.
DarkCyber has been exploring the world of digital propaganda, and there are numerous examples. These range from Covid19 information to less high profile manipulations; for example, a member of Nextdoor, a local information service, pitching used dining room chairs; for example, “perfect, no scratches.” Of course, perfect.
One interesting explanation of content marketing appears in the YouTube video called “How to Generate Leads Through Content Marketing – How We Get 300+ Leads Every Month.” The video appeared as part of a YouTube channel called “Hustle.” Content was discontinued one year ago. The reasons are not clear, but it appears that the content marketing expert lost interest or the methods set forth in the programs failed.
Let’s take a look at the content marketing information conveyed by a person (Christian Arriola), a self-professed SEO expert (SEO is the acronym search engine optimization experts created for the propaganda mechanism.
The video begins with the question, “How does one get leads from content marketing?” The idea is that if one generates one’s own leads, the leads are not shared with anyone else. Control is a strong idea in sales. At about the 45 second mark, the “content” of the YouTube video is information about Mr. Arriola’s consulting business. Thus, the initial message is: “This is an infomercial.” After the commercial the video states, “I am not trying to get anything out of this video…. I am not looking to do anything in particular with you. I am just trying to help you.” At the 90 second mark, Mr. Arriola defines content as “all this information you create that provides value to someone.” The content captures attention and builds a relationship when someone needs the content. Content marketing means a person does not have to buy advertising. Content marketing can give you a strategy, asserts Mr. Arriloa. At the 2.42 mark, Mr. Arriola hopes his video has helped.
This is an example of content marketing, and I think it reveals several characteristics of content marketing:
- It is propaganda. Talking about content marketing becomes difficult as Ellul pointed out decades ago.
- The “content” of content marketing does not have to have substance. Writing something is what’s important and then writing more. Quantity equals quantity seems to be the message.
- The free Web indexing systems ingest “content marketing” and match ads to key words. Clicks are what matter.
To sum up, content marketing is public relations, marketing, sales, and messages. Hustle is an excellent way to describe Mr. Arriola’s approach to faux information value.
SEO is a unregulated discipline. Fraud is highly likely. The quest for clicks is now essential to the survival of a business. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Content marketing is tailor made for today’s business climate. For more on this subject, see “SEO: Let Us Hustle Everyone.”
Stephen E Arnold, May 5, 2020
DarkCyber for April 28, 2020: Free Cyber Warfare Book, Spy Insights, the Info Gap Map, and HaaS
April 28, 2020
The April 28, 2020, DarkCyber tackles four stories this week. This week’s program is available via the DarkCyber blog, Vimeo, or YouTube. This week’s stories include information that is otherwise difficult to locate.
You can download a comprehensive look at cyber warfare published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The book covers cyber intelligence and methods of cyber warfare. DarkCyber’s Stephen E Arnold and former CIA spy Robert David Steele discussed misinformation in a one hour interview which is available on the Phi Beta Iota Web site. DarkCyber includes an extract from the discussion about obtaining hyper local data about people, events, and places. The information gap map illustrates how little digital information is available in free Web search systems. The map makes clear that anyone relying on Bing, Google, Yandex, and other free Web search systems is likely to be drowned in misinformation. The program explains how to access a no cost honeypot as a service. HaaS makes it possible to explore malware and learn about exploits in a controlled environment. The link to the service is provided in the program.
Kenny Toth, April 28, 2020
Cookies and Fingerprints: You Will Be Monitored by Mom
April 15, 2020
Everywhere you go on the Internet, cookies are tracking your movements (even with a VPN). The technology is over a decade old and they range from tracking pixels, content tracker, cross-site tracking cookies, social trackers and browser finger-printing. The Next Web explains that browser fingerprinting is becoming more popular with advertisers in the article, “Digital Fingerprints Are The New Cookies-And Advertisers Want Yours.”
Digital Fingerprinting refers to a company generating a profile about your device’s characteristics. These can include everything from operating system down to browser settings. In other words, it is more like an anonymous barcode. Your identity is not attached to the digital fingerprint, but your data is for advertisers to send targeted ads.
Banks use digital fingerprinting as a security measure. Banking Web sites can identify the device you are on, but if they do not they ask security questions. Advertisers now want the technology to make more money. For users, it is more along the lines of capitalist Big Brother.
There are ways to turn off digital fingerprinting. Most of the tracking happens when you are on the Internet, so look through your browser settings and see if it has tracking protection. Even if you turn on tracking protection it does not entirely hide you:
“While “incognito mode” prevents your browser history from being recorded on your computer and prevents your spouse to spy on you, it does not prevent websites that you visit from collecting data about you and it does nothing to block fingerprinting. Similarly, clearing your browsing history on a regular basis, while a healthy thing to do, does not address fingerprinting either.
While ad blockers block ads from loading, not all ad blockers also block trackers, even less fingerprinters. Trackers can come attached to ads, but quite often they are not part of the ad delivery process itself. Social trackers, tracking pixels and fingerprinters for instance don’t need to piggyback on an ad to track your data.”
To avoid cookies, use a private connection, a good decent VPN, and browse in incognito mode. It does not work 100%, but it is better than capitalist Big Brother.
Whitney Grace, April 15, 2020
Dark Web Ethicists? Maybe One or Two?
April 15, 2020
Believe it or not, ethical criminals do exist. At least to a point. The Independent describes the line Monopoly Market will not cross in it’s article, “Coronavirus: Dark Web Market Bans Drug Dealers Selling Fake Covid-19 Vaccines.” (The experts estimate we are at least 18 months away from developing a real vaccine.) The market also blocked sales of purported cures and related scarce supplies. Reporter Anthony Cuthbertson writes:
“The site is a relatively new market on the dark web, counting just over 100 active vendors who sell and ship illegal drugs to buyers in exchange for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and monero. The warning to sellers comes amid a recent influx of coronavirus-related drugs and treatments advertised by scammers and criminals across dark web marketplaces. ‘Any vendor caught flogging goods as a “cure” to coronavirus will not only be permanently removed from this market but should be avoided like the Spanish flu,’ a Monopoly Market administrator wrote in a forum post. The site also forbids users from selling items that have been impacted by shortages, such as protective face masks and toilet roll. ‘You do not, under any circumstances use Covid-19 as a marketing tool,’ the post stated. ‘No magical cures, no silly f***ing mask selling, toilet paper selling. None of that b*******. We have class here.’”
Other dark web vendors are still peddling fake and vaccines and cures, to be sure. However, dark web forum discussions show even career cyber criminals feel that the gravity of this pandemic warrants restraint. Furthermore, sites that market illegal drugs are urging their vendors to use glasses, masks, and gloves while preparing their wares. Coming from a crowd that usually does not balk at stoking fears to make a profit, this attitude illustrates how severe the current situation is.
Cynthia Murrell, April 15, 2020
DarkCyber for April 14, 2020, Now Available
April 14, 2020
This week’s DarkCyber program contains three news stories and one feature. The program is available via Vimeo and YouTube.
Geospark Analytics is the subject of a DarkCyber profile. The company has a new president, a new partner, and a public podcast. What makes these announcements interesting is that most firms engaged in geolocation analysis maintain a low profile. DarkCyber points out the downside of attracting too much attention. Geospark Analytics, a start up, is likely to become a disruptor in what is a little known sector of the law enforcement and intelligence markets. The technology is directly germane to recent announcements about tracking individuals of interest.
DarkCyber reports that bad actors are going to great lengths to make credit card theft easy. The story explains the principal features of a new point-and-click way to obtain names, credit card data, and the codes printed on each card. Also, this type of “skimming crime” is going to be further automated. After paying a fee, the developer of the skimming system will automate the theft for the customer. How much does the service cost? About $1000 but if a customer does not have the cash a revenue split is available.
A 2014 report produced by the US Department of Justice suggests that predictive analytics may not be as reliable as some experts assert The original document was not available to the public, but it was obtained via a Freedom of Information request by a watch dog group this year. The 2014 report reveals information about the somewhat dismal performance of predictive analytics systems. The outputs of these systems from well-known vendors were not helpful to enforcement and legal officials. The DarkCyber story includes a link to the full report as well as a link to a recent analysis of predictive analytics systems efficacy in identifying life outcomes for young people. The results of both studies appear to call into question the reliability of some predictive software.
DarkCyber’s program concludes with a reminder that virtual private networks may not be private. An online news service identified a number of comparatively high-profile VPNs that are not particularly secure. A link to the source document and the name of three suspect services are provided.
DarkCyber is a production of Stephen E Arnold. Programs are released twice a month and provide news, analysis, interviews, and commentary about the Dark Web, cyber crime, and lesser known Internet services.
Programs are available on Vimeo and YouTube. For the current program, you are welcome to navigate to www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
Kenny Toth, April 14, 2020
The Roots Behind Criminality: Cyber and Regular
April 8, 2020
Coronavirus scams, global Internet traffic hijacking, and attacks on work-from-homers. Where does crime originate?
In the United States, true crime documentaries and fictional detective shows are popular. People love these shows because it explores the human psyche and tries to answer why people commit crimes. Mental health professionals have explored criminals motivations for centuries, including University of California Santa Cruz professor of psychology Craig Haney. Phys.org shares more on Haney’s work in the article, “New Book Debunks Myths About Who Causes Crime And Why.”
For over forty years, Haney researched the real causes behind crimes and he formulated the hypothesis that criminal behavior could be tied to childhood suffering, such as abuse, trauma, and maltreatment. Haney had interviewed many death row inmates and noticed trauma patterns in them. His colleagues were skeptical about his findings, because there was not much research not the idea and few studies. Haney wrote about his findings in a new book, Criminality in Context: The Psychological Foundations of Criminal Justice Reform. In his new book, Haney discusses forty years of research and what believes to be the root causes of criminal behavior, how it differs from accepted conventions, and what reforms are needed in the criminal justice system. Haney stated:
‘“The nation’s dominant narrative about crime is that it is committed by bad people who freely choose to make bad decisions, persons who are fundamentally different from the rest of us,’ said Haney, who holds psychology and law degrees. “The only thing that is fundamentally different about them is the lives they’ve lived and the structural impediments they’ve faced.’”
Haney found that the people most at risk to commit crimes were those exposed to childhood trauma and often experienced even more maltreatment in places meant to protect them: school, foster care systems, and juvenile justice systems.
He also argues that poverty and racism are key contributors to criminal behaviors. Poverty is a gateway to criminal behavior, because it leads to trauma, unmet needs, and less opportunities. Unfortunately ethnic minorities who experience poverty and trauma are more likely to end up imprisoned. By proxy ethnic minorities receive differential treatment and represent the largest criminal populations.
Haney’s research exposes bigger holes in the already broken criminal justice system. He points that bigger reforms need to be made than simple criminal justice. Crime prevention strategies need to start at the cradle, most importantly combating social inequality and and poverty.
While Haney’s research may sound new, it only augments what other mental health professionals have been spouting for years. Everything is connected when it comes to mental health, but humans usually are not taught how to properly care for their minds.
Whitney Grace, April 8, 2020
DarkCyber for March 31, 2020, Now Available
March 31, 2020
DarkCyber video news program interviews Robert David Steele, a former CIA professional, about human trafficking. Among the topics touched upon in the video are:
- Why human trafficking is useful to intelligence operatives
- The mechanics of running an entrapment operation.
- Jeffrey Epstein’s activities
- The role of Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of Israeli spy Robert Maxwell.
Mr. Steele’s comments reflect his involvement in a book about human trafficking. The video provides a link to a free download of information not widely disseminated.
You can view the program on Vimeo at this link or on YouTube at this link.
Kenny Toth, March 31, 2020
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