Today I watched a movie called, “Expelled,” starring Ben Stein.  The movie got me to thinking about a lot about religion, but more specifically, how easily people on a whole are led.  Yesterday I was surfing around Youtube.com and tapped into the ring of religion.  Needless to say, it was an interesting experience.  At first I found Richard Dawkins.  I don’t consider myself well versed in big, “scientific,” minds anymore, so I didn’t know who this man was when I started.  I watched him for a few minutes, jumped to another video, and then another.  He posed some great and very convincing arguments which didn’t seem to have any counter-arguments (or so I thought).  However, if you have used Youtube, you know that there is always a list of related or response videos to what you have just viewed.  So I ventured on to a video that looked promising- a counter-argument to Richard Dawkins and Atheists alike.  The video was simple, yet very powerful.  It was a slide show type with some intriguing facts.  This video was sort a bridge to another set of videos I began watching shortly after.  This set was also creationist themed and was filled with convincing information.

For about an hour and a half I went back and forth watching videos from either side of the argument.  I like to think that I have an open mind when it comes to religion and other people views, so this is why I was surfing back and forth between the two sides.  In the end, my views on religion did not change, yet my general feeling of people and religion did.  It was not until I watched the Ben Stein video today that I really began to put the pieces together.

What I Noticed

Manipulation can be a very dangerous thing, especially when you don’t know where you are being led.  How many times can you remember being told something that sounded so great and convincing that you didn’t really have any questions or counter-arguments?  I feel that these videos on Youtube and any other manipulation for that matter all follow the same pattern in which the author entices you and then meets his or her own agenda.  By writing this information, and possibly giving some people insight, I hope to in fact help those people who are not already recognizing and aware of these tactics.

One tactic that I noticed right off the bat, was something I first saw a man named Derren Brown do.  Here is the way that this tactic works and why it is so effective.  I will use the most common example which is politicians.  It will begin with a politician talking about something slightly interesting but not too interesting.  He or she will then begin to ramble on and on for what seems to be forever.  Most people are not aware of what the politician is talking about, but are more so drawn in by the initial topic.  The tactic is then ended by the politician doing something a little sneaky.  At the end of this long talk, the politician will throw in a phrase that is at the heart of his actual agenda.  The ending phrase doesn’t even have to be related, but has to be somewhat relevant to what he was talking about.  I would say that this is by far the most difficult tactic to become aware of, simply because it puts you (the listener) in a trance sort of state.  Once the trance is broken with that last phrase, you walk away thinking that speaker really does have all the answers.

Skewing uncommon facts.  This is a probably the most common thing I see in heated religious debates.  Using facts that hardly anyone has ever heard and twisting them to become in line with your own agenda is a great way to proving your point.  For example, taking something from biblical texts and changing it a little is hardly ever noticed by most people.  I personally never attended church on a regular basis and thus never learned specifics about the bible (I know I can just read it and don’t have to go to church to do so).  I know from my friends and family that my position is not unique.  There are many people who are not well versed on the bible.  So can you see now how easy it is to tell me the bible says one thing, and you can be fairly confident that I won’t go to the actual texts to research it?

Conclusion 

In conclusion, a lot of what I see is the product of what are called NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and other conversational strategies being used.  If you are not familiar with the study of NLP, I do not have time to write about it now, but I will definitely talk about it in the future.  I’m not claiming to be an expert, but again I am only trying to help those people that do not notice these tactics right away.  Do you have any questions or perhaps notice something that I don’t? – Feel free to comment below.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

If you have visited Chad’s blog at Cdfnetworks.com you will have noticed that he has a contest running right now for a free week of mentoring which ends on April 30th, 2008.  This is a great concept for a number of reasons, but primarily the winner gets something much greater than most other online contests.

How many times have you seen a contest on the internet (within affiliate marketing circles) which awards the winner with TVs, gift cards, and cold hard cash?  Well, I see them all the time.  To tell you the truth, I get a little sick of seeing them.  Yes, it is amazing that the people giving out the money are giving it in the first place, but they could at least be creative with the requirements to win.

A lot of people might think that money is the best prize in any contest, but when it comes to affiliate marketing, (or any field for that matter) experience is the greatest thing you can receive and gain.
You now might be wondering why I gave you the above quote, but I think it relates quite well to Chad’s contest.  In terms of the traditional contests, if you win money, the money will at some time be used up and you will have to find another means of getting more.  Yet, if you are given the ability to make your own money, you will be given something much more valuable.  You will be given a way of sustaining and growing your income.

In conclusion, I definitely think that experience tops a hand out in any situation.  It will also be interesting to see how Chad manages his 100+ comments (as of now).  I tried to be a little creative with my response by meeting his requirements, but also getting around the rules a little.

Hopefully you saw this link back to your post Chad. I didn’t want to fill up your comments with a massive book, but I did feel that I had much more to say.

Hello Chad,
My name is Jason and I’m definitely interested in this opportunity. Why should you pick me? - If you pick me, you will find out how devoted, punctual, creative, and passionate I can be. I just turned 22 yesterday and have been blogging for about a year now. For about two months I have been religiously reading your blog and learning everything I can about affiliate marketing. I have been reading a few other blogs, but I can say for certain that I already look to you as a mentor on my journey.

Where do I ultimately see myself?

This might sound funny, but I’m not doing it for the money. Yes, money is great, but when it comes down to it money is nothing. I’m in it for the long haul for multiple reasons:

Community - I want to build lasting friendships with other people in the field.

Freedom and Success - Right now I work at a children group home. Even though the job is very fulfilling, there is a need that I must meet within myself. At heart I am an entrepreneur and already have a business plan or two written for other projects I will begin. However, I require more money to get the ball rolling.

What is my experience?

As far as my technical background goes, I have experience programming in: HTML, some Java, PHP, and Actionscript. Actionscript is a programming language used in Adobe Flash (a program I have been using for a long time.)

Conclusion

Well Chad, once again I hope you found this post because even though I already learn a lot from your blog, I really look forward to working with you one-on-one.

Thanks

I apologize if I got you too excited with the headline, but I just felt like one of those kids selling newspapers on the street corner in old New York.

Have you ever had an idea that you felt was so great that you should tell everyone you know?  Yet, you know that it is such a good idea, that you might want to keep it on the down low for a little while until it takes shape.  Well my friends, I have such an idea, but that is not what I’m going to talk about.  However, I just wanted to address that feeling to tell the world that you get when the idea first comes to you.

That best way I have found to help myself keep the idea secret is to journal about it, write about it, and express it in anyway I can.  The idea usually stays in my head because I am trying to develop it only in my head.  When I start to build the idea in another medium, it is still in my mind, but not completely occupying it.  This way I can hold off talking about the idea to other people until I think it is to a point that they will completely understand it.  That gives me an idea for another post…

My thoughts on affiliate mangers.  Take note that I am fairly new to everything, so this is just my opinion.

Affiliate managers are supposed to support you or motivate you on some level, any level, to promote their offers.  My understanding is that affiliate managers make a percentage of what the affiliate makes, so this is why they should strive towards bettering their affiliates.

I understand that affiliate managers are busy people.  Affiliate managers manage, as you might have guessed, affiliates…  So it is no wonder that they are probably receiving a ton of e-mails on a daily basis.  This is a bad thing for affiliates who are trying to contact their manager for something they desperately need.  If the lines of communication break down, people start to let their anger get the best of them, and in the end make assumptions about the other party.

I can assume that most affiliate managers don’t put too much effort into newer affiliates for a big reason- a new affiliate will most likely not do much of anything for them.  If someone is not giving you anything, they why should you give back?  Affiliate managers probably invest X amount of time into new affiliates, but do not invest 100% in the hopes that the affiliate will become a super affiliate and make them big money.

Room for Improvement for Both sides

Yes, I may have to prove myself by giving something to the company, but I want to see the initial open arms from my affiliate manager.  E-mail and tell me that you have some offers I might be interested in.  E-mail and ask me what I’m doing.  Or better yet, answer my e-mails and I’ll ask all the questions for you.

In conclusion, I think I understand how and why the affiliate manger does what he/she does, but I just expect a little more.  I expect what I get from most customer service - even if you don’t want to, try to treat me like I am your best affiliate.  Who knows, I might surprise you and turn out to be some day.