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Behind The Firm List Blog
Unclear on the Concept
I apologize if this particular entry seems a little bit... on the attack, but sometimes
people can be so frustrating.
Now, I know some people just got online yesterday, and all of this is new to them. But for the most part, people have been
around to understand (hopefully) a few concepts. One of those is that you have NO control over what someone else does on
another site. Sure, you have legal recourse in the realm of slander, libel, copyright/trademark infringement, etc. But
other than in that area, and other than with legal action, you don't have much recourse nor do you usually have any case.
But I am not talking about someone wholesale copying a site, stealing the images and content. I am not talking about someone
badmouthing some celebrity or operating under the name Nike to sell their brand of cut-rate shoes. I am talking about linking
to a site.
There, I did it. I linked to a site. I didn't ask them for permission. They never gave
me permission.
Now, I may or may not be providing anyone with a service with that link. People might or might not use that link. Amazon could
never ever know about the link, but does it do them any harm? Will there business suffer for it?
Why am I ranting about this? Well, occasionally I get emails from people who just don't seem to get it. Get what? Get the whole
nature of this web thing.
You see, you have absolutely no chance of screening and authorizing who links to you. It just can't be done. What you hope to do
is to do everything possible to make sure as many of those links as possible are for positive reasons.
Who wouldn't want 10,000 websites linking to their company's website? Well, most companies would love that sort of attention. In
some cases, it could be a nightmare because it sends the wrong crowds (they think you're something you're not) or because your site
cannot handle a lot of traffic (this has become especially true for a lot of independent websites.)
But short of the link being in reference to how much your company sucks, most people would say "any traffic is good traffic."
Which leads me to ask why a high-tech recruiter which someone submitted to The Firm List for inclusion in the regional resources for
3 states, would have such a problem with being included? How can it hurt them to have new media professionals in those 3 states
visit their site offering jobs/recruiting services in those 3 states?
And while I can think of possible answers to the above question, I can't figure out why their response would be to say their company
"has NOT registered nor given permission to be included on your resource link." Excuse me? Permission?
I've been pretty accomodating with The Firm List. It's a personal project of mine and I am not out to bother anyone. I don't sell
my lists, I don't spam, I just try to create a resource that's useful to all parties. When a web design/development firm doesn't
want to participate anymore, I do remove their full profile and any other additional information they may have submitted at some
point. That's only rightfully so, as it's their information/property by nature of their generating it. But I rarely, if ever, remove
a firm from the general listings. Unless that firm ceases to exist or changes what they do, I believe that listing them is perfectly
fine for me to do, as the directory as a whole is nothing more than a yellow/white pages. By nature of you having a website and your
being a web design firm, I am going to list you. You don't need to place an additional add or upgrade a listing, but you're in there.
You could argue that I am forgetting about unlisted numbers. I am not, I just don't see that they translate very well (or at all) to the
world of the web. The web is a PR/marketing device not a contact device. You know how a firm can have an unlisted presence on the web
(and many do) is by having a URL that allows them to send and receive email but then having no web presence. No one can link to you. Unless
you give our your specific email address (or you set up your mail server to send all undefined email to a defined email) no one sending a
random email will get to you.
And if this is the case, you're not listed on The Firm List anyways. I only list firms with a functioning web presence.
So anyways, sorry for the rant, but it just bothers me when people spend their time on matters which are so meaningless and clueless.
