The ultimate form of flattery?

Saturday, April 26, 2008

It used to be that imitation was the ultimate form of flattery. I guess that's another thing Web 2.0 has changed. In this day and age things like Identity Theft or Spoofing are more likely candidates to the title. And then I just recently discovered another form of flattery, a modern way to have a bit of someone else's glory rub off on you. Powered by Google...

If you do a Google search on 'Whizpr', the top sponsored link on the results page... is of our competitor Lewis PR!

Very flattering indeed. Does it bring them much extra business or credibility? I doubt it. Someone who is able to spell Whizpr correctly probably knows why he wants us, so I doubt the link will convince him to take his business elsewhere.

And then I started to experiment a little, and sure enough: if you misspell Whizpr and type in 'Whipzr' instead... again the top sponsored link takes you to LewisPR. Well, now I'm really flattered. Such an effort and willingness to take on any Whizpr leftovers... :-)

I guess it's true: 'If you can't beat them, join them!'

posted by Ward @ 10:24