[moonsurf]

I was thinking of posting below in one of the specific thread. But, I would rather share it with more people.

IMO,

First, I am not much of a contributing member, but I would like to say this out of my heart. I joined head-fi in order to find people's personal and true opinion. And, I did find the information I was looking for, and overall I enjoyed the finding process. Especially, I throughly enjoyed reading reviews by good reviewers like Skylab.

However, IMO, I find this place full of marketers. I have not a single problem with people who try to promote their proud products and their earnest efforts. But, I suspect there are many lead man and backstage man and set-up plays in this community. . In my personal opinion, whatever those people may think themselves are, I think they are liars. It may be the elementary kid still in me, but I still believe that a liar is a bad person. Please excuse me if I am the only person who has such a suspicion.

If indeed my assumption is true, I think not everyone will be offended by such activities going around this community. Some people may say this is way supposed to be that it's only natural for such things to occur. But, I hope there are more who share my thought.

 

[TSi]

This is why you take each review and comment lightly and in the end, you make your OWN decisions.

Follow your heart, follow your brains.. dont be peer pressured!

 

[achristilaw]

Thats a broad, sweeping accusation. You can PM those you feel are "lying" and get their response (if any). What are the particular instances pray-tell? If you have that kind of courage, and want to continue to go out on the limb.

 

[Kees]

I think you are wrong.
There are members that have a commercial interest and they are marked as MOT.
The others that seem to push certain brands are just fanboys. And sometimes they feel really important because some MOT treats them as a critic that has to be taken really seriously.
I don't think there are any commercial plots against HeadFi-integrity.

 

[greggf]

Former Stereophile writer Chip Stern wrote an essay that's available online about how some audio forums (NOT Head-Fi specifically) may be populated by "paid shills" who pose as normal forum members. I think it's mainly an essay about an audio show experience. It's an intelligent and enlightening and infuriating read. Those interested can Google on the appropriate terms.

If there's product placement on TV and in movies, and if tobbaco companies pay people to smoke outside of bars, then commercial entities are certainly capable of paying "shills" to inhabit seemingly innocuous forums, no?

I wonder how much one could get paid?!

 

[Currawong]

I think it's more likely what was complained about in another thread somewhere, that Head-fi is filling up with inexperienced people writing like they know what they are talking about, when they don't.

 

[tfarney]

There is a very common viral marketing practice in which people are paid to pose as normal posters in online communities where they open threads about products and say positive things. As a marketing consultant, I've had this technique pitched to me by interactive agencies more than once. I always turn it down, because it is dishonest and, in the long run, not good branding.

It could happen here, but I seriously doubt if it is common and anything but unorganized and informal if it does. Most of the products that get pushed hardest on these pages, become the flavor of the month, and develop the over-zealous fanboy following are very small cottage industry products. If there was a lot of covert viral marketing going on here, the opposite would be the case. The little guys don't have the money.

Tim

 

[PhaedrusX]

the largest headphone forum on the net.
68,000 members worldwide.
a place where small niche audio companies are made and broken, based on word of mouth.

honestly, i would be very surprised if this sort of deceptive shilling didn't occur around here. this really has nothing to do with the integrity of Head-Fi, or over-enthusiastic consumers posting love letters about their gear and proclaiming their allegiance to manufacturers whom they have had good experiences with.

it's about using the most influential headphone website to create a buzz around products, utilizing the power of peer approval, introducing new products, and doing it all for free, under the guise of an innocent, upright member.

i've seen enough threads where a new member posts a product description, asks if anyone knows anything about this, and then promptly disappears to at least be suspicious of their motives.

in this day and age, it really shouldn't be a shocking revelation.

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhaedrusX /img/forum/go_quote.gif the largest headphone forum on the net. 68,000 members worldwide. a place where small niche audio companies are made and broken, based on word of mouth. honestly, i would be very surprised if this sort of deceptive shilling didn't occur around here. this really has nothing to do with the integrity of Head-Fi, or over-enthusiastic consumers posting love letters about their gear and proclaiming their allegiance to manufacturers whom they have had good experiences with. it's about using the most influential headphone website to create a buzz around products, utilizing the power of peer approval, introducing new products, and doing it all for free, under the guise of an innocent, upright member. i've seen enough threads where a new member posts a product description, asks if anyone knows anything about this, and then promptly disappears to at least be suspicious of their motives. in this day and age, it really shouldn't be a shocking revelation.

Could some little headphone amp company send in an employee or a friend to pose as a community member and try to generate some buzz? Absolutely. An organized viral marketing campaign? This stuff is not cheap. If that was going on it would be coming from Senn, AKG, at least Headroom, but not the tiny little companies that tend to become the fanboy faves around here.

It could be happening on some small scale, but before I go there I'll take simpler, and exceedingly common answer: The enthusiasm and hyperbole of audiophiles who have just spent their hard-earned money. The obvious is usually obvious for good reason.

Tim

 

[d-cee]

Read everything with an air of suspicion.

I would not be surprised if this were the case at all.

 

[PhaedrusX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tfarney /img/forum/go_quote.gif Could some little headphone amp company send in an employee or a friend to pose as a community member and try to generate some buzz? Absolutely. An organized viral marketing campaign? This stuff is not cheap. If that was going on it would be coming from Senn, AKG, at least Headroom, but not the tiny little companies that tend to become the fanboy faves around here. It could be happening on some small scale, but before I go there I'll take simpler, and exceedingly common answer: The enthusiasm and hyperbole of audiophiles who have just spent their hard-earned money. The obvious is usually obvious for good reason. Tim

well, "organized viral marketing campaign" are your words, not mine.
i don't think the OP was hinting at a large-scale big budget marketing conspiracy either, so my post was in response to the opening statement.

to be clear, i am merely stating that this forum, due to its influence and size, is open to these kind of insidious tactics, and that i for one would not be surprised if this took place here, no matter how small the scope.

 

[tom hankins]

In such a niche community as this where everything can be checked out either on line or at anyone of a bunch of meets held all over the world, it is easy to find out wether you agree or disagree with someones opinion on a product. Most of the people pushing products do so because they have either tried a lot of stuff in the same price range and feel product "A" is better. Or they are pushed by people who have little to no other time with competing products but what they have sounds great to them. One way or another nobody is lying. Some opinions just hold more weight than others.

 

[Hadden]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hankins /img/forum/go_quote.gif One way or another nobody is lying. Some opinions just hold more weight than others.

Come on Tom, that's pretty naive. Advertiser plants are standard in marketing, and it happens here too, regularly. There is more than one Head-fier with huge postng counts I have been suspicious of for a while.

 

[Sovkiller]

I'm a member of the trade (MOT), and as such, I have somewhat interest in selling the products I represent, but trust me that behind that cloak, if I truly feel, that something that I was trying to sell you will not be at the end your cup of tea, I will stop doing it, as at the end, I always have to believe in what I sell, otherwise I will not recommend it to anybody. But trust me that lying in any case will lead to a good result, not even for a dealer or a seller, at the end if you lie to a customer, or future customer, most likely that you will end with an unsatisfied one, that will return the product, or will create more problems than benefits for you...That should not be our mission at all IMO, we should try to be honest, and try to establish a good relationship with our customer, based in trust, confidence, and satisfaction...

In my personal case, and I think that this has been the case for some others as well, far before becoming member of the trade, and selling the product we represent, we tried them, and love them, and shared our opinions here and there, and probably that was the main reason we establish the relationship with the manufacturers, that lead us to be later on part of their family, the same way we want you to be part of it later on...

Anyway, being a dealer, or being an enthusiast, or being a fanboy, always our opinions are biased to the products we sell, or like, or pray, so always take all our opinions, as a grain of salt, as what is good for ones, is not for others...

 

[fordgtlover]

I think the OP is overstaing the issue by calling people liars. Personally I tend to agree with other posters here that much of the hype is due to relatively new and over zealous members. Geniune, but over zealous.

I trust that mostly people are expressing their own opinions. Those opinions may be based on hype, excitement or firm held beliefs or past experiences (the baggage that we all carry). I take everything I read with a grain of salt, as I do with everything I read outside of this forum. Newspapers are full of partial truths. Does that make journalists liars?

If the OP doesn't trust this community, then maybe this is not the place for him.