If you search for my name on Google, you’ll find that I appear in the top five positions, and then you come to a flutist, comic book artist, mathematician, and so on.
On the right margin are paid Google ads, which they call “sponsored links.” Here resides the pond scum that Google sweeps off to the sides and collects money from. The links use my name and brand to draw people to them and services which I wouldn’t touch with someone else’s ten-foot pole.
For example, the first and fourth of the four ads spell my name incorrectly! The fourth is a tacky site that produces a “background” about me which is largely fabricated, and calls for “reviews” of my work, meanwhile selling around the margins every slimy “come-on” you can imagine. The nature of the offerings are nicely augmented by the lack of taste in the formatting and graphics. They provide “home based businesses” and all provide “six figure incomes.” These are proven by a photo of some jerk sitting on a beach as if he’s making his money while sitting under the sun. This low class operation is run by the J.C. Sbicca Company.
I called John Sbicca. He told me his reviews are written by others and I’d have to send him exactly what was incorrect. How about the fact he claims I was born and raised in Montreal?! (You can begin to realize that it wasn’t so odd that Egyptians worshipped insects.) At another point: “His theory….are not correct.” No, but at least my grammar is. You have to gargle after visiting this site.
Another sponsored link on my name brings you to the “proven way to increase your computer consulting clients,” which of course is one of my great core strengths! Two women are shown smiling at a keyboard. This garbage is run by KIS Tech Comm. Corp., according to the information, but it’s hard to believe anything on a page that “guarantees to grow your computer company and profits—right away!!”
This is the price of being a public figure. If these guys were ethical and honest, they’d be providing real value and not “money back guarantees” and offers to “make six figures overnight.” It’s appropriate that their graphics are as tacky as their ideas.
In the Broadway play “Avenue Q,” one of the puppets sings a song entitled, “The Internet Was Made for Porn.” The point is that there are positives and negatives in the cyber world, and this stuff is the pond scum of the cyber waters.
Officially, I have nothing to do with this con game, neither should you, it’s “Alan” (my parents could only afford one “l”), and I love Montreal but first saw it when I was 26.
Do you think I could put a sponsored link next to these disgusting, deceiving sites and offer fresh air and a clean shower?
© Alan Weiss 2007. All rights reserved.
What’s even weirder (if that’s possible) with the site that claims that you were born in Montreal is that there is a menu item for “Scams”. It lists a number of sites that I assume are supposed to be scams. Obviously, it never occurred to them to include their own site in the list…
Richard Martin
Yikes! Sure sounds like a scam. I guess that is the price you pay for being a well known public figure. On the bright side, at least there is this blog that can set the record straight.
WOW!
The greediness/scuminess of humanity is unreal.
These ad trawlers are kind of like the ‘rag mags’, making money from someonelse’s fame.
At least they don’t have pictures of you with Angelina Jolie — or would that be a good thing?
Seriously though, I hope they lose tons of money of click throughs.
Lyle
Hey Alan,
The way to protect yourself is to trademark your name and company name. Then you can simply go to Google and they’ll take down any infringing ads. They also put a big mark on the account doing it and a few of those will get the account banned no matter how much they spend.
Sbicca is committing an economic crime and is in violation of the FTC’s laws on typical results and selling a un-registered and approved franchise.
The income claims are amazing. He’s using my trademark and we will hit him and all his friends at the same time and then gather the evidence for the Attorney General and FTC.
John Sbicca is making unsubstantiated income claims and not stating the typical result of the average purchaser in violation of the FTC’s laws in this regard. He is also guaranteeing on-going support and implied success which is evidence of an unregistered franchise with erroneous claims. This one paragraph is proof of the aforementioned.
http://www.jcsmmg.com/
STAY ON THIS PAGE AND READ EVERY WORD! YOU HAVE FOUND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR! LET THE FULFILLMENT OF MY DREAMS FULFILL YOURS! I AM LOOKING TO CREATE 100 MILLIONAIRES AS MY QUALIFIED JV PARTNERS!
Brad, why are you getting so exercised over a moron? If you need to, get your attorney on it, but then get on with your life. You’re enslaving yourself to to a scam artist.
Agreed to your last remark. We will have an interesting time in discovery.
John Sbicca uses trademarks illegally violating the Lanham Act. He’s the worst example of the Internet; Cyber Pond Scum is a great summary phrase.