Can Fake Stories Go Popular on Sphinn?
By sorvoja on Mar 19, 2008 in Social media
Update: Please note that the referenced blog post was not written by DazzlinDonna. All she did was to submit it to Sphinn. What I want to address in this post is not this single case, but the larger issue. This Sphinn story is just one example of
problematic stories going popular on social bookmarking sites.
From time to time there is a bogus story going hot on social bookmarking sites like Digg or Sphinn. I this post I will look at the factors that might have played in getting one phony story that got to the Sphinn front page.
The story in question is: Google to punish PageRank for Digg stories?
- It was submitted by a well know user: DazzlinDonna is a well known user, and most of the stories she submit goes hot. When I see a story submitted by her, I often Sphinn it before thinking twice. I guess some Sphinn users are like me. It might have played in that she got a lot of friends and followers
- The story is about Google: Sphinn users like stories about Google, especially those who are sort of negative
- The story was unknown: It is more noteworthy when a Sphinn submission is about something new, like a new Google penalty. A story about writing press releases on the other hand don’t get that much attention
- It is about social bookmarking: Not only that it is about gaming social bookmarking something that many Sphinn users do on a daily basis.
- The referenced blog post looked credible: It named one Google engineer, and it had a quote that was supposed to be from the Google research blog.
It took a while, but some Sphinn users started to doubt the story, since:
- the story was absolutely unverifiable.
- the Google engineer referenced had a different job description.
- the Google research blog doesn’t cover that topic matter.
- Matt Cutts posted a comment saying that this was fake.
A few blogs around the world picked up this fake story and presented is as real:
So what is the lesson to be learnt here?
I am not sure. Please post your suggestion in the comments.
Update:This post has been submitted to Sphinn. And several members have commented on this issue.
I call shenanigans! I think this story is fake, you instigator! So THERE!
Michael VanDeMar | Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
Lesson is that when we play amatuer reporters (ie; social media) we should still try occassionally to verify a controversial suposition prior to running around like chickens with their heads cut off. How many people started commenting before even trying to find the original quote? I didn’t…. went hunting.
Thus is the nature of ’social’ media though… corporate media have their own agendas and biases that drive the content… pick your poison…
Dave
theGypsy | Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
I have updated my post on Fire Town. I am waiting how this plays out. Dazzlin Donna has been a part of the SEO community for years and it’s hard for me to imagine her pulling a scam like that, but who knows. Matt claiming there is no Jeff Walz when there really is has encouraged me to leave my blog post as is and leave all options open.
~ Mike Dammann
Mike Dammann | Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
Hello Mike,
Donna has not pulled a scam, she was probably just a little bit quick to submit this one story to Sphinn many others myself included was a little bit quick to sphinn it. Jeff Walz is the “Director of University Relations at Google“. Why would he write a blog post concerning webmasters gaming social bookmarking sites?
sorvoja | Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
As a writer that is focussed on newbie learning and newbie love I think it’s important for them know things like this. (as well as all of us of course)
Just because there is stigma attached to a name, doesn’t mean we have to buy into everything they say and do. We need to research and think for ourselves.
spostareduro | Mar 20, 2008 | Reply
I recall reading that Sphinn and frankly it seemed a bit odd. My only thought was, WHY would they?
I guess it goes back to the old idiom, don’t always believe everything you hear (or read for that matter).
Despite the reason, it was interesting enough to create a discussion. What is even more appalling is that this is now news…
SEO Design Solutions | Mar 20, 2008 | Reply
Let’s make this clear. I did not pull a scam. I merely submitted a story that SOMEONE ELSE WROTE that I thought would be of interest to the community. It is not MY JOB to determine if the person who wrote the story was telling the truth or not.
DazzlinDonna | Mar 20, 2008 | Reply
Hello Donna
I am not claiming that you have pulled a scam. I am addressing the larger issue of fake stories going popular.
You could have spent a few minutes to verify the story before submitting, but more importantly users like myself should perhaps have done the same before pressing the “Sphinn” button. And it seems like the admins of sphinn doesn’t do anything when a fake story goes popular. At the very least someone in charge should have appended something to the description e.g. “The accuracy of this story is disputed” or something like that.
sorvoja | Mar 20, 2008 | Reply
I know you weren’t saying that, Sorv, but others here were. And because you’ve got my pic there, it looks to the casual observer, that I’m the one writer, rather than someone just pointing something out. And I still don’t think I needed to verify the story. Again, not my job.
DazzlinDonna | Mar 20, 2008 | Reply
If you find an article on a social networking site from a blog or site that you have never heard of, then it is quite stupid to take it at face value. It’s one thing to take a reputable news source at face value, though this isn’t the best idea either, but another here…
Social networking is in some ways an extension of chain mail it sometimes seems, except it’s better presented and looks more plausible. Either way, people believe it the same.
Jake | Mar 21, 2008 | Reply
“Fake stories?” No story is ever “FAKE”
If you mean “Fiction”, after the fact of even a “real” experience, so much is forgotten, that you may as well call all stories “Fake”. A story is the persons recollection of an experience, wether inner our outer and cannot be “Verbatim”.
So how can you arbitrarily judge a story fake or real? Perhaps you are not in touch with what is real.—Doug Rosbury
Doug Rosbury | Mar 23, 2008 | Reply