Dell Computer Center
to xxxxx
(snip)
Dell™ Laptop delivery receipt #469e-319G
To: Member xxxxxx@gmail.com
To receive your delivery, please click on or cut and paste:
http://www.paracrostic.com/dell/
(snip rest)

That URL took me to the Perfspot registration page. Spam recipe time, methinks…

In the end, this is nothing more than turn people into glorified spammers. Although I acknowledge the creators of Friendvouch for their effort, Butcher is right, when people are openly benefiting from a transaction such as this, the trust isn’t there and the medium won’t prosper.

They would have been better off offering the tool without compensation . Customers invested with the products will then voluntarily act as ambassadors, rather than losing credibility through self-interest driven promotions.

Yes, I may, as a PerfSpot user, use Friendvouch to send interesting offers to my friends “with transparency and integrity” but even if they are relevant I can guarantee that my friends would start getting annoyed by this. To act otherwise is to not be human.

My view is that the “cap” you place on the number of referrals that can be made should start and end at zero.

I really don’t think it’s going to work.

However, if you users like it, then that’s fine by me. I just don’t think they will.

One of the most important considerations here is this: the friendvouch system works only if the referrer acts with transparency and integrity. Spamming your friends isn’t a viable approach. What is viable is being up-front with the people you’re referring, extending offers to that that are truly relevant, and not being excessive. Likewise, from the advertiser’s perspective, this system works if that offers being extended are relevant and valuable.

For our part, we’ve worked hard to design a system that protects people. Part of that involves the “cap” we place on the number of referrals that can be made. That cap is in place at the outset, and a cap always remains in place in some form, correlated directly to the customer’s performance. Additionally — though the article seems to take these steps out of sequence — friendvouch actually verifies the information, and the interest of the contact, BEFORE any information is shared with an advertiser. That’s a critical component to the friendvouch system.

Lastly, we do in fact pride ourselves on being one of the few social networks that actually has a customer service phone number that is staffed 24×7. I think that’s one testament to the kind of value we place on our customers and our relationship with them.

We’ve spent a good deal of time thinking this through, talking with others, and building a system we think will work from the outset. Obviously, we’ll make refinements as we go, as any responsible company would. In the meantime, we think this is a good way for influential folks to bring relevant offers to others and get compensated for it, provided the approach is honest and up-front.

Thanks again for the feedback.

I am keen to start seeing more Web 2.0 initiatives where there is enough value in the service that the guys beyhind it have the guts to charge. That will sort the wheat from the chaff — and quickly.

Perfspot is less than chaff, as it knows it has nothing to offer except rewards for signing up and sponging off your friends. I am amazed and saddened in equal measure that they managed to find 24 million people that see their buddies as a dollar sign.

Ian Hendry
CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz

The assumption must be that people are generally opportunistic, greed machines while simultaneously being grossly materialistic. This company has no vision whtsoever.

Notice the large spikes and declines in their traffic. This is a definite sign of purchasing traffic.

Perhaps FriendVouch should learn from the mistakes made by many greedy and unscrupulous internet marketers that have lost their businesses in the past. Here is a lesson for FriendVouch, never ever conduct aggressive marketing styles….