Reading TBB comments will make you smarter, more attractive and a millionaire! There have been 475 comments posted here in the past week, which is a new weekly record I think. Thank you to all for taking the time to comment. I dive in and select the ones who stood out to me, call them gems and cut and paste here. Filler content you say? You bet I say. Other bloggers just do a cut and paste of the weekly headlines. I dive in and go through the hundreds of comments! Nobody can accuse me of mailing it in. If you regularly read and participate in the comments do not bother reading this and enjoy your Sunday. Start with the TBB Amazon link? I guarantee it will be an awesome Sunday for sure then 🙂
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order
You can support TBB by clicking/forwarding any of our Referral Links and starting your online shopping at our Amazon affiliate link . Or click on the Amazon Banner on the right, thank YOU!
FROM JUNE 1ST POST
Steve: “Remember when Ingy was taunting us on the blogs a few days ago about how he was very excited to pimp the upcoming SPG 30K offer because he’ll only have to compete with 2 other bloggers this year? LOL”
TBB‘: ” TBB Editorial Board agonizes long and hard when we place a new blog on the lists!
Here are the Yellow Cards (warning in soccer terms):
DansDeals (go from Like to, well, nowhere)
Frequent Miler (go from Ignore to Like)
View from the Wing (go to Ignore)
One Mile at a Time (go to Ignore)
But you know what, I am not making a fourth list. It’s too much work already handling three!”
MilesAbound: “Glad to see MP move to her deserved place. This lady claims Aspen is good for family ski trips because Amex pays for her to go there.
Anyway all of you I HIGHLY recommend you do what I just did. I just wiped out all these shitty blogs from my Feedly. MP, OMAT, VTFW, MMS, TPG all gone. No more “fake Sunday reader question so I can make a video of me in some hotspot selling you Chase cards”. No more “the only thing I love more than my kid is a Chase commission”. No more “I am a big intellectual and post every 5 minutes my opinion on something because I always gotta be in your face to sell you Chase cards”. No more “Chase pays me hundreds of thousands a year, I’m a young, single with no obligations, and yet I still want YOU to pay for my next extravagant trip”. No more 30 part trip reports. Oh wait I’ve started writing them myself. Strike me from your feedly too!!!
But seriously my enjoyment has gone up tremendously. Now my feedly has nothing but decent content in it. Hell stress levels have gone down! I really think you should just stop reading it, you really will feel better 
”
FROM JUNE 2ND POST:
Dia: “…between “Vendoming” and “Kickstartering” I need to start a glossary.”
Seth: “…I miss the days when we were all talking about our passion for travel!”
Steve: ” Those of us who live on planet earth are well aware that Gary, Lucky and The Credit Card guy are in a never-ending race to see who is the most out of touch with actual earthlings
To that end, a strong entry from Lucky in his AUH-LAX trip report
“For example, we sat on the ground an hour before pushback, and I got offered one glass of champagne the whole time”
Just one glass? it’s amazing that Lucky didn’t pass out from dehydration”
FROM JUNE 3RD POST
(THE MEGA RANT!)—->159 Comments, RECORD!:
Ivan: “So George….. Tell us how you really feel?? Lol!! And this my friend is why I click on your Amazon links! You deserve a good pay for all the time and work you put on today’s blog post, you changed lifes for the good and opened new Bs’ eyes! Mission accomplished!”
Hua: ” Wow, “epic” wasn’t an exaggeration — but you’re right, it’s nonstop advertorials where there was once a wealth of useful content. I think it’s about time to get a decent RSS reader and stop giving clicks to these affiliate marketers posing as travel experts. Fortunately, there are still some good independent blogs and smaller networks still putting out good content.”
James: “If anyone tries to argue that cash referrals don’t drive content – just look at these two posts from Gary. Both advertsing the SAME deal on the SAME card. Once when it paid a commission vs when it didn’t:
http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/06/03/get-hilton-gold-status-make-money/
http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/02/25/hilton-gold-status-via-credit-card-statement-credit-cover-annual-fee/
The titles alone are notably different. But check out the verbose, gushing (ad) copy when the card pays him vs when it doesn’t”
My2cents: “…Here is an anatomy of newbie life:
stumbles into points and miles shit — > wants more –> Googles miles and points — clicks MMS link (damage has been done) –> first taste of blood —> wants more than CC links —-> stumbles into TBB –> gets educated and entertained —> makes informed decision –> clicks TBB amazon links (healing)…. ok, the last one was a flatterer…lol, but i do use your link for all my amazon purchases…”
Sam: “Dan has posted several times here, saying that you can’t praise a blog for not touting a link they don’t have. Factually true, but that’s not the real point to take from all this.
The real question to me is where should I-we-be spending our time reading online. I have limited time for all this and I want to get the most out of it. That means reading the blogs and other sources which provide useable info, thoughtful ideas and other unique cool stuff. To focus on those areas of emphasis, I have to skip over or skip completely the other stuff which wastes my time. That includes most of the blogs on TBB’s ignore list.
Take VFTW for example-Used to be if there were 15 posts in a week, at least 4-5 contained usable information, such as things I didn’t know or things I knew that I hadn’t thought about in the same way Gary would approach it. Now, it seems there are more posts, maybe 20 a week, but when I toss out the anti-governmental rants, the blatant card pushing, the “how am I doing (“I’m sorry”), the high-end trip reports I am unlikely to ever use, and the other time wasters, there ain’t much meat left on the bone.
And it’s the same for MP, double so for MMS with all the filler, etc.
Dan’s advice was very wise-he said if you don’t like a blog, don’t read it. And I don’t. If there is a kernel of wisdom I miss, I will likely spot it elsewhere, or I will cross it off knowing that I am getting 80% of the good ides with 20% of the time and work.
The people who say there is no cost to click on an affiliate link instead of another link for the same card don’t take into account the others cards they might have learned about, considered and used had they not been reading the marketing pitch your friendly blogger offers.”
MilesAbound: “I think things changed significantly when Amex pulled the plug on a lot of bloggers recently. That was their warning that if they don’t play ball and sell, sell, sell they will lose their income stream. And so any attempt to hold back vanished. The banks have been very smart in all this. When they first started paying these bloggers I didn’t get it… why pay guys who encourage people to sign up for just the bonus and then churn the card? Of course like any great drug dealer they get the blogger hooked first, giving them plenty of freedom. Then once they are hooked on the drugs they start turning the screw. Not allowed to mention churning, not allowed to talk about calling retentions, not allowed to suggest you should cancel the card when fee hits etc. The banks have been expert at turning their enemies into friends.”
FROM JUNE 4TH POST:
Scott: “…I do think we need a new name for these mile and points blogs. They really should not get lumped into the same category as other true travel blogs like yomadic or matador network, or even a legit travel hacking blog like Travel is Free. These days these blogs rarely talk about travel and when they do it is basically an advertisement for their real goal…”it’s all about the conversions.” We should just call them what they are credit card blogs.”
msmcmotown: “My understanding is that FTG/Flyertalk is an afterthought on this deal. The other IB segments are the focus, although KKR thinks they can increase add revenue in the ‘Home and Travel” segment, which includes FT. If they can’t better monetize the eyeball traffic, they’ll spin it off, or close it down. Pumping of CC on the big blogs will look like nothing compared to what we’ll soon see on FT–and it won’t just be cards! Fees for premium services or functions have been discussed. We’ll see increased mining and sales of user data across all the IB brands, including FT. One thing will soon be certain: RIP Flyertalk as we know it.”
Rapid travel Chai: “I visited Sri Lanka in 2009 when the war was still going on in the north and tourist numbers were down. The Ancient Cities, Hill Country and down through Adam’s Peak was one of my favorite tourist routes anywhere, much of the charm of India with much more manageable distances.”
I was lucky to find a good driver and laid out very specific groundrules, such as I would choose my own hotel and if that hotel did not provide free accommodation for the driver, which many do, then I would pay for his room. I spent a little more but got what I wanted. It is not a difficult country to drive and in the future would rent myself.
The best advice from my driver was to minimize time in Colombo and the nearby coast which attracts budget Europeans and Russians on sex tours in the worst of tourist dumpiness. All the way down at Galle things get better.
Stay in heritage hotels in Kandy and the Hill Country and have a fantastic time.”
FROM JUNE 6TH POST:
Oliver2002: “Internet Brands was owned by two equity firms before that, H&F and JMI. The bought it for 640MM and just sold it for 1.1B. The feared carving was already done by the previous owner, the former IB had 12 or so categories, now its just 4. The yahoo version of the press release mentions FT as one of the assets. The Autodata Solutions segment has absolutely nothing to do with vbulletin based forums for example… I’m sure it generates more cash too, but needs a lot of TLC. FT is a cash cow by page impressions alone, don’t get misled by the CC pumping, that ship has sailed and the cash CC companies will invest into that kind of customer acquisition is bound to dry in the next year…”
TBB: ” Yeah, at the end of the day, this segment of quirky points obsessed addicts is a tiny segment of the market. The BIG money is in targeting the newbies, get them interested, hold their attention (using pics of FC flat beds, champagnes, caviar, suites, lavatories with showers, blah blah) and then serve them an Ink Bold or an SPG card. A tiny percentage will get it and stick with it and do it right (always paying off balances). Some will screw up and the banks will milk them. Then more newbies are hit…and on it goes. The current system allows the banks to keep doing this (higher bonuses and paying bloggers to sell product). Nowhere else this system exists. We love it of course but there is a very high societal cost that is being paid and that really bothers me. The pumper sellers do not give a shit, they just count the money and are prowling for more newbies to hit. And on and on we go…
Bonuses are not getting higher, more devaluations are coming, the road to full revenue based is ahead within a few years, banks are not paying more for apps and looking to leave the affiliate ranks (Amex). Still value in it, YES! But it sure is not getting any easier for the mile junkies. The luxury aspect of the game is ending too. GL is smart, notice the latest tiny shift to “love flying economy” lol.”
Steve: ” MMS has moved on from having Emily modeling Chase cards to having her model Chase brochures as well
Anyone else pissed off at the National Donut Institute for making National Donut Day the first Friday of June?
Why would anyone want a free donut from Krispy Kreme today when they can get 3.21 points if they pay for it instead?”
FROM JUNE 7TH POST:
Tim: [Delta Points will ban Tim pronto. TBB features his negative comment of me as a gem and I thank him for such a thoughtful constructive comment!]
I will try to keep this concise as possible, offer my critique and then offer some suggestions.
In my view TBB is close to becoming a ‘blog I ignore’ – which would be unfortunate because I think the concept is a good one.
Critique:
Let’s use some of the criteria mentioned in this post.
Content quality – Good in places but repetitive ranting about the evils of credit card links makes it difficult to find the quality content in some posts. Also, some posts appear to be very rushed – if you are too busy then perhaps be less ambitious in your scope for each post. Mile Nerd strikes this balance well.
Content originality – Good at times but the repetitive nature of the anti-credit card link rants very much lowers the overall originality score.
Content analysis – There are too few attempts to provide a more nuanced view of the value a blogger provides. Perhaps a cost benefit analysis is warranted where the cost is the shilling of credit card links, and the benefit is the content.
Bias – Extreme bias against credit card links. As above, little attempt to form a balanced view that recognizes that quality original content takes time to produce and that bloggers need to eat and have shelter over their heads like the rest of us.
Suggestions:
1) Make the working assumption that your audience is of at least a moderately sophisticated nature because a) they are in the game of accruing points at low cost which requires a certain level of organization, motivation, credit score and acumen and b) they are bothering to read your blog. Whereas many folks might read Hunger Games, only a select few will read the New York Times review of Hunger Games. Your blog is the New York Times.
2) With the working assumption that your audience is of at least a moderately sophisticated nature, there is the opportunity to undertake a more nuanced analysis
a. Recognition that no one is going to actually unsubscribe to VFTW and other genuine leaders in this space. So make your critique and recommended course of action in a slightly more evolved fashion than ‘ignore’. Your readers will likely reach a more nuanced conclusion anyway and you still have the opportunity to add a valuable perspective.
b. A more nuanced conclusion could include a cost benefit analysis that might lead to some sort of scorecard. Positive points for original content, negatives for you know what, extreme negative points for promoting links that are not the best available offer and missing disclosures and then we all could form a reasonable conclusion.
c. A relaxation of the extreme bias against credit card links for the following four reasons:
i. Take it as given that your readers have applied for many credit cards in the past and will apply for many in the future for the simple fact that they are the most efficient form of point accrual. Start a personal finance blog to warn of the dangers of credit card debt. It is likely that if they weren’t able to manage credit cards responsibility then their credit score would quickly suffer and they probably wouldn’t get approved anyway.
ii. I suspect many readers, as I do, consider clicking on referral links as an acknowledgment of the value they have received from the blog. Kind of like tipping at a restaurant except it doesn’t actually cost us anything (provided that bloggers are promoting the best offers out there).
iii. Referrals fees are not evil. They are just a form of compensation, which is perfectly ok with adequate disclosures and maximum effort to only promote the best offers.
iv. Bloggers need to eat and have shelter just like the rest of us. If they are not compensated in some small way for the time required to create the content then they are likely to have the ability to do so, and then we will all suffer.
Anyway… that’s all I have. Hopefully this is interpreted as constructive. Of course, I am free to ‘ignore’ this blog rather than write a long comment, but I’d rather see this blog improve and fulfill its potential.
TBB responds:
Wow, LOVE reading the TBB comments. I really appreciate and thank everyone for taking the time to comment. That shows me you care!
I have always felt that I learn more from negative comments, so thank you for them too.
This comment will just be a general reaction to all the comments after I read them once and then will try to respond to each one either above or starting a new comments below.
My blog is about ENTERTAINMENT. Maybe hard to believe but it is primarily for my own entertainment. I am just shocked more than friends and family actually care and read what I have to say!
I never hid the fact that I totally despise pumping credit cards. I see this as the NUMERO UNO CANCER that has totally invaded this space. It’s everywhere!! Everything is so driven FROM it that every day I go through the blogs I am about to gouge my eyes out! I can’t help it, I go through blogs and then I type what’s on my mind. I have a hard time holding back from getting this blog to be a stream of swear words…so I keep it to just a few WTFs
If you are no longer entertained, perhaps you get a little educated from all the great content I find and highlight here. If the anti cc rants (now placed at the very bottom and substantially reduced from the way it was here in the first year!). bug you you can skip them. If they bother you so much why are you even reading something that is upsetting your inner peace? Makes no sense.
For the record, the long rant on pumpization (is that a real world? like irregardless? lol) was BY FAR the highest traffic post in the history of TBB. Most comments too. Not that I ever gave two flying squirrels about that stuff…but I was shocked about that. It was building up for a while and felt GREAT (therapeutic even) pushing the Publish button. My goal on that post was to get something down so convincing for new people in the hobby to make them understand what it really is about and the charade going on. I will make it a permanent spot on my homepage when I learn how to do it.
I had no doubt I will piss off many Gary and Lucky fans. They crossed MY own threshold (they had yellow cards by the way and so does Dan!). As you may have noticed I deleted the reference “in order of importance” from the Ignore list. And these two are the bottom meaning they likely do have the better content than the rest. Heck, even TPG does have some good content along the way. It is a VERY subjective judgment going on here guys. You include my personal bias (I don’t give a F* about the hamburger in First Class and the texture of a crappy pajama all right!) in all this and you get a list that will have its haters. I get it, it comes with the territory. C’est la vie.
My point on the lists is mainly to show new readers (they come here, it’s not ALL about more advanced hobbyists who read me) that there ARE better blogs out there who blog responsibly and put the reader first at all times. My dear hobby is improved EVERY time someone clicks on the cc links of Travel is Free instead of FTG or MMS! And it has happened several times as I have been informed. And that feels good TO ME and keeps me “working” on my blog for endless hours. I feel like I am contributing to improve humanity when some of these “bloggers” paste crap about the amazing First Friday CSP 3x promotion. This is MY compensation. It is psychic income and it is WHAT keeps TBB going so far.
I always felt you need to do the right thing and things will take care of themselves. This is what I am doing here. I would LOVE to make some money from my blog but so far I have not gone down that murky affiliate path other than a lame attempt to talk with Credit Karma sometime last year at a conference. After my interaction with them and what I know about Bentoffers I do not feel comfortable being associated with these two companies. So…I keep using the Amazon link which is a complete joke in comparison to the credit card links and the ones who mention I pump my Amazon link here are delusional douchebags!
I have been spending way too much time on my blog for almost nothing other than psychic income and it is a problem. I HAVE a problem. This has become very addictive. I have neglected some parts of my life due to it because….”I gotta do the blog post”. I am SHOCKED I am still at this 19 months later, never in my wildest dreams I would imagine I will still be here with so many “fans” (which is kind of weird, never felt comfortable in this role and never will).
FTG gave me great advice months ago. Quit TBB, rebrand to personal finance and expert on miles and credit cards. I agree IF the goal was to rake in a lot of dinero. But it does not feel right. Where is the originality in that, yet another expert pushing product (at least I would be qualified as a true expert LOL). I like to do things and be an original. My little TBB corner is unique and its anti cc bias is part of its DNA. You all get everyone you know to stop from helping the Ignore blogs to get them to change their tunes, help the more responsible bloggers and then I stop bitching about what I see EVERY day in my Feedly feed! If no one draws attention to this stuff WHO WILL? Everyone is too $$$ oriented and does not want to burn any bridges from fellow bloggers while I burn bridges every day (I pretty much shot myself in the foot by including Gary and Lucky in the list). Well, I do what feels right to me. In a way, I want to inspire Gary and Lucky to get back in their blogging ways which were ahead of so many. Their latest turn was extremely disappointing to me.
I have been looking for some type of intervention to get me to take action to act to take my blog to a certain path…since my ponderings in Lake Louise in July of 2013. Instead, I keep going and doing my thing and leaving that moment to hit me at a later date. Tim’s comment certainly hit me as I did not expect it and I certainly appreciate it. Delta Points will certainly ban him lol.
May not get to the rest of the comments and may not do a Gems comment tomorrow.
For the record, I had a hard time picking the proper name on the Blog black list. Despise was too strong. Dislike was too soft and did not have the “stop clicking on their cc ads” bent).
Thanks all again for taking the time to comment and challenging me.
For your entertainment, TBB blog made 54 cents yesterday. To infinity and beyond!
Kumar: “…It is not just about credit card pumping which is the worst thing these bloggers do. Come on, you want to get breaking news about pajamas and bare feet with follow up articles? And cleverly articulated posts on economy class flying or Indian poverty, so as to not miss clicks from those readers who like them? This sucks. True, they had some quality stuff earlier but their approach to travel blogging caring the least for the readers and diminishing quality of posts and poor reviews of flights which doesn’t add much value in real life except for those living or preparing for living in a fantasy world and maybe those who are flush with money not knowing what to do with money. Travel blogs have long lost their meaning but some blogs are able to maintain the motive or goal with which they started their blogs. Those are the real travel maniacs who add value to their readers based on their experience and come up with suggestions to improve reader experience and also save them some money. I will happily click their links instead of those posting just to fill pages – pajamas, burgers, ice creams and what not, and get clicks in the process. These are kid stuff to me. I just read them for some alternate entertainment and for nothing more…”
Eric Jensen:” Don’t change. Keep fighting the system.
I have no other ideas to add. Like I tell my wife, ‘If you want me to change, I probably wasn’t right to begin with.’
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs I Ignore
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TBB
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Not claiming first
Thank You for our restraint.
thank you for your restraint. miss cleo is no stenographer.
I grilled a bavette steak tonight. Holy cow (pun intended) is that a tasty cut of beef. It’s a must try people.
Morning Buzz, you me got hungry for a gyro with your comments last nite, thanks alot. There is not 1 Greek Diner in this city (Portland). Regarding Tim’s comments saying TBB should look at the Milenerd format, disagree totally. I like Milenerd and check it daily, but it is the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading course of blogs. It’s like my sex life, I’m done there in about 30 seconds. While TBB is like drinking a fine Port Wine that I’d like to savor and enjoy. Full disclosure, Ramsey does not drink, substitute joint/smoke. Also Tim use’s quite a few words that I need a dictionary for. As a proud graduate of Nassau Community College Class of 75 (2.0 gpa), I was having flashbacks to text books that I had no idea what they were saying…..You are who you are Buzz, don’t change!
There’s Alexis but that requires you to eat in Old Town. If you need a good gyro check out the Aybla Grill food cart on Belmont.
will do, thanks….best out here in the sticks, Gyro House (Iraqi) in Beaverton
Litmus test: lamb cuts on a spit or just “hamburger lamb”? I need to know before I make that trip!
2 of those slowly spinning cookers thingies at Gyro House, just off Baseline and 205th, on the way to Hillsboro (past the Nike Campus)/ cannot speak for Aybla Grill yet……..We gotta get Buzz and family out here/ half of his fan club live here!……..Maybe we can take him to Hung Far Low in Old Town ……….. http://www.yelp.com/biz/hung-far-low-portland-2 …….the food isn’t any good but I bet he would wear their T shirt.
I’ve seen them put the Lamburger stuff on the vertical spit. I would not take that for free but, if it’s meat cuts on the spit, I’ll drive an hour.
Can you do a quick recon mission the next time you are in the area?
From Hung Far Low we go to Too Fukn Good lol
Agreed! Did Tim just learn of the word nuanced or something?
@ bluecat: Your modesty is exemplary!
@ MISS CLEO: Hi there, where have you been?
@ Scott: Bavette steak? Hmm, I will look for that next time I go grocery shopping. Not going to happen today Sunday, it is raining. Last day of festival, BOO!
@ RAMSEY: I check every day here to see your comments and laugh with stuff such as “30 seconds” “Evelyn Wood speed reading” “fine Port wine” “proud graduate of Nassau Community College Class of 75 (2.0 gpa)”. Raining here, not sure what the plan is about the Festival…will likely go again to watch the princess dance after personal trainer kicks our ass in the gym in a few hours. Need to keep up my sexy physique for the ladies you know lol. And what’s up with no Greek diner in town, that’s messed up!
Unless you shop at a pretty awesome grocery store you are unlikely to find bavette there. Go to a butcher and ask for it. Bavette is also known as flap steak, so they may know it by that name too. Rub olive oil on it, liberally apply salt and pepper, then sear to medium rare. Cut into thin strips across the grain of the meat, yum!
Will try to look for it, sounds kind of special to me!
You might want to be careful with your “Blogs I Ignore” list, George, as it is starting to look like the “Who’s Who” of travel, miles and points “blogging” to which others may actually aspire instead of avoid…
You have a point I am afraid!
Not speaking for any of your other readers, but like most adult males, I just like to look at the pictures..
+3 – enjoyed with my wife and kid:) I have brought you two more readers, George. You must be really proud of me.)
Give those readers your credit cards and my Amazon link #winning lol
TBB, you are not the only one ranting:
http://www.nerdseyeview.com/blog/2014/06/08/travel-blogging-2014/
Here’s two excerpts:
“…. It’s a lie to make you spend money on things you don’t need. It’s a lie to make you feel like you’re failing if you don’t live abroad six months out of the year. It’s a lie to make you go on needlessly complicated routes to Philly because it allows you to stack up the miles to get the airline status to get on the list for a free upgrade for flight across the Atlantic which you may or may not get because 30 other people are ahead of you on the list, did you know that? It’s a lie to make you feel like you will be a better happier taller prettier more interesting and therefore much more lovable and oh, smarter too if only you buy this idea.
…
…
I want travel marketing companies to stop mistaking bloggers for online marketers. Some are, some aren’t. Know the difference.
I want bloggers who engage in marketing initiatives to fully disclose to their readers, up front, what they’re doing. “I was paid a day rate plus expenses to travel to and write about this destination.”
I want my “friends” and my friends to stop using their feeds to sell to me.
I want people who equate travel writing with a “lifestyle” to disappear.
I want anyone who says “I gotta make a living” as an excuse for sleazy web practices to talk with people who *really* “gotta make a living.”
I want publishers to stand behind their sponsored content so completely that they’re not afraid to tell their readers exactly what it is….”
Yes, yes, and yes to all of this.
Wow – I didn’t know Kitches was into the Travel Hacking malarkey!
I’ve been going round and round if I should ask Kitces to cease and desist using Nerd’s Eye View, I hold the URL and trademark — have for long before that guy started using the name, but this is the very first time I’ve been mistaken for him. I wasn’t mistaken for the Richmond, CA, rapper who released an album under the name Nerd’s Eye View either, but wow, the folks sending friend request during that time sure were a different demographic than my usual readership.
When I saw TWA44’s link I was surprised as I personally know Michael Kitces and consider him to be a good friend (and colleague). Michael is VERY well regarded in the financial planning community. He is a nerd for sure! I don’t know how these trademark stuff goes but we are talking about two different subject matters.
Pam: I REALLY enjoyed your blog post and will share it with my readers tomorrow. I recently wrote something similar and I just went all out:-)
http://travelbloggerbuzz.com/travel-milespoints-blogosphere-has-turned-into-a-giant-credit-card-pumpization-scheme/
I wonder if Michael is aware of your blog and the name “situation”. Anyways, I added you to my ridiculously long blog list I follow on Feedly!
I didn’t mistake you, I was just teasing 🙂
You should probably let him know- nothing fancy, no scary words, just open a dialogue.
So George, what are the basic requisites to join the TBB marketing team? Any entertaining comments please. Steve, looking at you as well.
Next step to TBB marketing evolution….learn how to do Amazon text links…expect it in 2016 at this rate lol
Let me take a dig at this. Here are the pre-requisites for joining TBB marketing team:
1. You must never ever get angry. Only the CEO can be angry:)
2. You must never ever utter the word “credit” or “card”. You will be sacked if you do so.
3. You must keep on repeating the mantra “amazon link” for as many times you like. The more you do this, you will be considered for more bonus.
4. You must know where and when to use the word WTF. You must also learn to repeat the “WTF” mantra as many times as you can after chanting “amazon link” mantra.
5. You must be able to come up with some of the best pictures from the internet and never fail to give the owner the credit.
6. You must come up with original ideas of boosting revenue for the site but it must not be from credit cards. Anything else is fine as long as you think about the impact that it makes on the readers. Always, readers first. Heck, dont ever ask how can you do that. That is your job.
7. You will be paid 1% commission on the revenue earned. There will be no other salary paid. Come on, TBB is a hobby not a business entity. Dont ever mention that you will not even earn 10$ a month this way. You must be proud working at TBB not keep crying about your salary. If salary is your motive, go join true business “travel” blogs.
8. Despite all the odds, you must be able to come up with ideas for improving the quality of this website and add value to its readers daily.
9. You must have tons of humour.
If you meet all of the above criteria, you may apply.
A week later, CEO calls for a board meeting:
CEO – So, how many applications did we receive for our marketing team advertisement?
CFO – Zero
CEO – WTF
Especially LOVED the ending:
CEO – So, how many applications did we receive for our marketing team advertisement?
CFO – Zero
CEO – WTF
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
So….I need to up the ante. And go big. 1% did not work…how about 10% then?
There was a big order yesterday and 10% would be 64 cents for this staff team member. No health insurance or 401k plan provided, sorry about that! WTF did you expect? hehe
#2: I love credit cards. I love screwing the banks out of their miles more! I just despise how they are being sold in our little space, that’s all.
I am still angry about MMS today trying to sell the Chase Freedom card by showing a picture of dog (or cat food). WTF is that! If no one gets angry about stuff like that you probably do not have a pulse…(or follow what I recommend by ignoring the site).
Right now I have this craving for a watermelon!
Didn’t take long for Google to get me to Michael Kitces’ blog and sure enough, I came upon the second Nerd’s Eye View! Confusing indeed! It was my first visit to both blogs. His latest post – “Weekend Reading for Financial Planners” – may be well respected but it is not my cup of tea. I am glad to have stumbled on your blog, Pam – I found it on Twitter – and I am delighted it has been added to TBB’s Feedly. I look forward to reading it on my own and perhaps to seeing links to it here!
Michael’s blog is pretty much a must read for all top financial planning experts.
He is always in some top 10 list like some others around here. I am sure Matt will soon be too 🙂