If you have listened to ANY of the “Your Preparation Station Radio Shows” from the last 3+ years, then you’ve heard me preach this before. “When it comes to learning more about being well prepared, do a little recon on the person/website from whom you’re taking advice.”
Even today, a website came across my path that is merely copies of many other blogs written by a myriad of original, well respected authors to which none were given proper credit or attribution/link backs to their original sites. Now while the original authors were not being given credit nor linked to (shame on this website for copyright infringement) the original authors (as best I know some of them) do have good intentions and good information…but unless you know who wrote what, it would be easy to be duped into believing that this was somehow great, unique content or instruction from the site or facebook page on which it was posted. Hmmm….. annoying yes?
Th
e sad thing is that this blog/website is like so many others out there now. Some are so well put together that it helps avoid the suspect of the complete emptiness or reproduction of their content. Not only is the material simply reproduced (often illegally or misleadingly) but a reader/visitor to the site cannot find out who owns the site. No ‘contact us’ link with an email address or phone number are visible. No name of a person attached to the site. The ‘about us’ page may be vague at best. Sites like these, as well as some of the monster facebook pages with thousands of ‘likes’, are suspect to me as very affective, yet simple marketing portals to the unsuspecting prepper.
Sure. There are many good folks who make a living on line. It actually is one more avenue of self-sufficiency. I don’t condemn that at all. We do it too. But to simply re-post the work of other bloggers or authors, load up links with pictures on facebook, never make reference of credit to where the information came from and fill a site with items of primarily NOT THE OWNER’S INFORMATION is misleading at best. Depending upon how vague the information or unavailable information of who owns the site, it may be a downright move for marketing alone. The Prep site owner has simply found that the preparedness world as a new monetary marketing niche, just ripe for making money – yet he/she/they don’t believe in living a preparedness lifestyle at all.
[wpgfxm_contentbox width=”80%” bg_color=”#FBB564″ b_color=”#D1490F” style=”groove” top=”1px” right=”1px” bottom=”1px” left=”1px” radius=”0px”]Think about it: Do you really want to do business with, support or listen to someone unwilling to be forthright when it comes to your preparedness planning? Trust is a factor. [/wpgfxm_contentbox]
So you may be wondering: “How on earth can I find out about the validity of a website? BBB labels? Security Verified? The ‘s’ in http url?” Sure some of those things can ad up, yes but they can also be ‘faked’ with good graphics. And most of us are not detectives of how to track things on all the prep sites. There are, after all, millions out there now that the term has gone main stream. Besides – “ain’t nobody got time for that.” (:
Here are a few easy to decipher and remember – quick points that anyone can do for recon to find out who’s behind it all. You don’t have to be a cyber slooth to get this in-tell from the prep site you’re on.
Please back away & take your hand off the mouse, if you see these Red Flags:
[wpgfxm_bullets bullet=”red-arrow”]
- ~ Don’t listen to someone who says you have to do it all exactly ‘their way’ or you won’t make it.
- ~ Don’t rely on an expert who simply copies articles written by others to populate facebook, their blog, etc.
- ~ Don’t listen to someone who pushes your fear buttons and causes you to be reactionary.
[/wpgfxm_bullets]
Please support, click, connect with someone who is forthright when you see these Green Lights:
[wpgfxm_bullets bullet=”red-arrow”]
- ~ You hear or read consistencies in their personal story from a variety of venues.
- ~ They tell you how to get in touch with a real person via ‘contact us’ or verbally.
- ~ When you email them, they reply – eventually – with your original email below.
[/wpgfxm_bullets]
I am not saying that automated newsletter systems are bad or that if someone doesn’t want to give out their home address and phone number that you avoid them completely. Not at all. We all need our privacy. But if there is no way of having some form of one on one communication either with a customer service representative, the business owner or the blog writer – you may wish to take your questions, clicks and loyalty elsewhere – to someone you can trust walks the talk. Just sayin’. For what it’s worth.
And, well if that doesn’t matter to you, please at least be on the look out for someone selling you this valuable piece of real estate:
