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Are bloggers ruining Flyertalk????

Are bloggers ruining Flyertalk????

Old May 8, 2012, 6:54 pm
  #61  
 
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I have seen this a few times. I do have a site that I talk about which is about the United Airlines fleet that I created for flyertalkers that tracks literally every aircraft in the United fleet. I make no money, no ads. It is a hobby of mine, and I don't ever plan to make money off of the site.
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Old May 8, 2012, 6:56 pm
  #62  
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Originally Posted by brasov02
Love it. Couldn't agree more. Kids would have far more fun spending the night in a tree house in the back yard and spending the day at a nearby lake or beach or at the local amusement park than they would spending hours on a boring flight and a night in some ritzy Marriott or Hilton in San Fran or Paris or Rome and exploring the Louvre or Coliseum. Never could understand why parents bother bringing little kids to such places when they are too young to really enjoy and appreciate the experience. I guess some have more money and/or miles than they know what to do with. Yup, in most cases it's more about what they parents appreciate than it is with the kids.
Trips don't have to be to Paris, Rome, etc. They can be to visit grandma. They can be to Disney. They can be to see the Redwoods. The can be to put your feet in the ocean. In fact, due to my kid's age, that is the sort of trip we make and she loves it. If someone is able to visit family three times a year instead of one as a result of miles and points then that is a victory in my book. However, when my daughter is older (though still a "child") those other places will have more meaning, and will be our destinations. I blog for families, because that is where I am in life right now. The deals I talk about are more or less the same as on other sites, but where I am coming from and where I can relate best are family trips. In fact, that is one thing I love about the variety of blogs available. If you choose, you can find one that matches your traveling patterns and preferences. Or of course, you can stick with forums.

One thing that we all seem to have in common here is that miles and points are very important to use for our own reasons. Of course those reasons differ from person to person, but we all want to see deals survive whenever possible. We also all presumably enjoy working together with a collective community be it on blogs, forums, or small private groups. I believe that we are all smarter and more informed as a result of those communities, and look forward to continue helping (and receiving help) from anyone who is interested.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:01 pm
  #63  
 
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Originally Posted by belfordrocks
Perhaps a "master blog blacklist" where blogs could be named and shamed for killing deals would keep bloggers from blabbing everything in order to increase their own affiliate revenue?
I like that idea! Please start a thread like that. People could supply links to posts that inappropriately share killable deals and you can keep the OP updated with post titles and URLs organized by blog. Make sure and list the blogs that don't have any objectionable posts as well, in order to highlight that.

As I noted above, I'm not anti-blogger per-se, just anti-certain-kind of blogger. To my discrete blogger friends, I believe this will separate you from the chaff when this is properly quantified and organized. As it is, we tend to lump bloggers together into one group, while in reality they are vastly different in skills and discretion.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:02 pm
  #64  
 
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This is an interesting debate.

Ultimately, I will come to rest on the side that benefits those who make the effort to keep up on this stuff, read through the lines, and actually work for it. At the same time, while I like the challenge and work, there are economic incentives for a blogger to come along and tear down the barriers to entry and make it mainstream when theres something valuable. I don't like it, but I can accept it in a similar vein that many of us see an opportunity to exploit. Some things are unfortunate but inevitable, byproducts of size and success of this site.

I also don't like to broad brush here, and go on a case by case basis. Some bloggers have really perfected their craft with innovative, unique content and have become real authorities on all things mileage programs and are good resources for matters outside the hot deal of the day. Some-simply- have not. I think there are far too many shamelessly piggybacking off the rest of us here at FT and aren't offering much else.

I'll give props to good business, good ideas, creativity.... I won't give props to the simple minded idea piracy.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:03 pm
  #65  
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Originally Posted by HansGolden
[*]We can't stop the blogging train and crying over spilt milk has never increased one's productivity. The successful FT'ers have already adapted and still have a rich repertoire of private deals.[/LIST]
Exactly, while I regard some, especially clearly money-making oriented, blogs as the cancer that feeds off FT, and just reposts stuff and knowledge contributed by the community - they are a reality.

Having said that, the bloggers do not know everything
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:07 pm
  #66  
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Originally Posted by Tiki
...People "in the know" will know how to best use the points, why blab to the world that they can be converted into airline miles?
Helping to increase the knowledge of the traveling public shouldn't be seen as a shameful or abhorrent act IMO. None of us knew everything when we joined this community. We all learned from different resources. Yes, spreading the information more broadly means more people know about it. That's sortof the point.

But to say that anyone here should be able to decide that XYZ deal is only for "us" and other deals are OK for "them" is a tremendously selfish and not particularly realistic approach to the world IMO. Either you're in it for yourself or to help others. Neither is necessarily wrong. But that also means none of us should get to decide that the others are wrong for doing what they do.
Originally Posted by Tiki
The LINK to the deal is not what needed to fly under the radar, it's the exploitation that did.
So the disappointment is that others got it before "you" in this case, right? Meaning someone who thinks they discovered that Wyndham points could be converted to miles should be first in line to get those points, after someone who learned that from someone else? Again, which other communities do you propose be shut down to "keep the secrets?" Certainly we have to kill AFWD, MilePoint and DansDeals, right? Probably FatWallet and a few others, too.

If anyone knows about a deal then it is reasonable to assume that others will, too. The key is to be smart and quick. Get what you want while you can. No deal is going to last forever even if no one knows about it.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:09 pm
  #67  
 
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OMG!

Preach it, Mommy Points! I am a huge fan of your blog.

All I can say to you old-times (your term, not mine) is, Oh my goodness! Do you hear yourselves? Do you have any idea how selfish and elitist you sound?

Life in the blogosphere is changing and changing fast! Theres no turning back! Pining for what used to be serves no good purpose and it will NOT slow down this train! If you dont stay current, youll be left in the dust. And maybe thats best for everyone! You probably also complained when kids started using calculators because they didnt have to do as much work as you did to figure out math problems. Or maybe you complained when the abacus was invented because it didnt require as much work.

When I get old(er) I want someone who cares about me to give me a swift kick in the a** if I ever start sounding like that!

At some point werent you all noobies, too? Some of us are at the beginning, just like you were, spending time "reading, learning, sharing tips/tricks, etc. I started reading FT recently and have been both thankful for the help I have received and disappointed at the snarky, caustic, vitriolic comments I read.

Please gain some perspective this is SUCH a first-world problem! And so what if you get to fly a little less and others get to fly a little more because the deals are known by the masses? Power to the people!
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:09 pm
  #68  
 
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Originally Posted by tatterdema
If the people who listen or read about it are lazy, they will give up quickly. If they are knowledgeable and persistent, they will find deals, to post here, that may help all of us long before the bloggers find it.

In the mean time, there will always be deals to be had.
Good points. Even when spoon fed some people still won't catch on. I should know, since I've tried to spoon feed several of my friends trying to get them in on this amazingly fun and lucrative pastime. But some, I daresay quite a lot, of people just do not and will not get it. It's like I'm speaking a foreign language to them when they just nod and say "that's nice" and then proceed to continue to pay full fare for the few flights and hotels they can afford. Very frustrating. I think I've only truly converted one person. I've pretty much stopped trying. It's really strange that to most of us this "hobby" is about as difficult as falling off a log and yet to most others (in my experience) it just doesn't compute. For some reason they just have it ingrained in their minds that miles and points and credit cards are just way too much work for the return. So be it. More for the rest of us.
So anyway, I don't know if these blogs spoon feeding things will really change the game all that much. Some of those spoon feeding blogs will help those that would be willing to put forth the work eventually anyway and yet their blogs will still fly over the heads of those that will just never get regardless of how remedial they are.
Either way, not much anyone can do about it so we'll just have to deal with it.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:19 pm
  #69  
 
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Originally Posted by ajoy
When I get old(er) I want someone who cares about me to give me a swift kick in the a** if I ever start sounding like that!

At some point weren’t you all noobies, too? Some of us are at the beginning, just like you were, spending time "reading, learning, sharing tips/tricks, etc.” I started reading FT recently and have been both thankful for the help I have received and disappointed at the snarky, caustic, vitriolic comments I read.

Please gain some perspective – this is SUCH a first-world problem! And so what if you get to fly a little less and others get to fly a little more because the deals are known by the masses? Power to the people!
Can we kick you in the a** when you miss the point? (Noobies can say the cutest things sometimes. )
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:21 pm
  #70  
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Originally Posted by saacman5033
To answer the thread title, I think the obvious answer is no. Sure some deals might be overexposed and die early deaths but that's no real skin off my back and I don't think flyertalk depends on exploitation of deals to survive.
I think there are two different factors at play.

First, the blogs kill deals that used to be well hidden. This is pretty much incontrovertible and there for anyone to see (if you spend the time to read through some old threads). Read some threads from 2006 about churning or account funding, a 2007 thread about TYPs (the original version, where 60k points could yield a $9k ticket), the 2008 DL Budget rentals, Shutterfly in 2005 ... these were deals that were lucrative beyond-your-wildest-dreams, but things were kept quiet. If you asked an inquisitive question about churning, someone would PM you and ask you to edit your post, and you'd make friends you exchanged information with in private. It all changed, I'm not sure when and why, but secrecy is no more. Deals that were going on for years were killed overnight. Good men may disagree about what's better, secrecy or openness, and we can argue until we turn blue whether it's better for a select few to use a deal for years or thousands of people for a few days. But will this killing of deals damage FT? Probably not, although a case can probably be made that with every bright mind and knowledgeable poster wandering off to a private forum, FT loses out (and make no mistake, this is happening very frequently).

But second, and more importantly, there has been a significant change in the way content is created and discussed on FT. Think, for instance, about the current Radisson promo. In the past, this would have created a huge buzz on FT, with rich discussions. Now, it's essentially, "blog A says this" (often, this is posted by owner of blog A), "blog B says that," and there's very little discussion on FT. It takes place elsewhere, or not at all, because mommy or secrets, or whoever they are posts an "idiot's guide" with colorful illustration. And this effect, which has become more noticeable over the past few months, is threatening to FT, and I am greatly concerned about it.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:23 pm
  #71  
 
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Originally Posted by HansGolden
I like that idea! Please start a thread like that. People could supply links to posts that inappropriately share killable deals and you can keep the OP updated with post titles and URLs organized by blog. Make sure and list the blogs that don't have any objectionable posts as well, in order to highlight that.

As I noted above, I'm not anti-blogger per-se, just anti-certain-kind of blogger. To my discrete blogger friends, I believe this will separate you from the chaff when this is properly quantified and organized. As it is, we tend to lump bloggers together into one group, while in reality they are vastly different in skills and discretion.
I love the idea in principle but the problem is that giving exact links would drive more traffic to the offenders and boost their Google rankings.

I would like to see Internet Brands ban links to blogs that have a proven track record of copying info off FT in people's siggys. I have seen at least one such case within this thread. Why should FT and Internet Brands help them get higher Google rankings and boost their personal income?
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:25 pm
  #72  
 
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Originally Posted by Tiki
I love the idea in principle but the problem is that giving exact links would drive more traffic to the offenders and boost their Google rankings.
This could be avoided by not linking to the offending site but, rather, providing the offending site's name.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:25 pm
  #73  
 
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Gosh, information (could be news articles, could be music or videos downloaded, could be information on great travel deals) on the internet, freely distributed? Who knew?

Welcome to the problem that the New York Times, Sony Music, and Time-Warner video have faced for years--who owns the information? Once it's published on a public website, what's to stop an information aggregator (in the current state of things, The Points Guy, View from the Wing, Frugal Travel Guy, Mommy Points--but who's to say in the future, it won't be Google itself?) from disseminating the information? Nothing. I mean, the irony of folks who have benefited from information they've learned on the internet complaining about many others learning about the same information, but just from other sources on the internet, is mind blowing.

And, from what I can see, many of the bloggers, such as our wandering friend, FTG, and Gary (before some other board was formed), were (and still are in some instances) leading contributors here. It seems like a chicken-and-egg question: would FT be what it is without the contributions from some of these folks who moved on to do what was a natural evolution of information on the internet? The development of information consolidators whose value was absorbing, digesting, and making accessible information from a ton of sources. And, as many have pointed out, they do make the information accessible. Also, don't flatter yourselves, it's not all information coming from FT. And, from those original consolidators, a second generation, such as Mommy Points, TPG, and Lucky (somewhat hesitant to put Lucky here because despite his age, he's a vet and a pro, but he's young enough that I have to).

There's a lot of work to do to comb these threads. There's little automatic about it. A lot of the bloggers now make money through credit card referrals and other avenues by separating the wheat from the chaff, including from sources like FT.

I'm too lazy to do all that work so I appreciate their efforts. And, guess what, when I go to the blogs, I never see a worthless, whining thread such as this that does nothing to earn me miles and points.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:26 pm
  #74  
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Originally Posted by sbm12
If anyone knows about a deal then it is reasonable to assume that others will, too. The key is to be smart and quick. Get what you want while you can. No deal is going to last forever even if no one knows about it.
I beg to differ.

There are quite a few deals kept quiet to keep them sustainable long term.

These deals, if were on the blogs - would be done quick.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:27 pm
  #75  
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Yes. In their arms race to drive traffic to their affiliate marketing and to differentiate themselves from their competitors, it's in their best interest to publish strategies rather than sit on them. Driving hits to credit card signups in huge size is going to make more profit for them than whatever they might have made executing the strategy alone.

For people who aren't going to find stuff on their own, however, the bloggers create much more value than they destroy.

As to the relative level of bonuses, maybe they'd be higher if affiliate links didn't exist, maybe not. There's no going back now though.
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