DISQUS

The Far Side of Tech: Uncovering The Web2.0Effect.org Hoax: How Virante Marketing Solutions & Burton Hosting Fooled the Web

  • Kris · 2 years ago
    I remember being suspicious when that article came through digg, but I didnt notice anything at the time. Thanks for the post.
  • Russ Jones · 2 years ago
    Please consider my comments currently at reddit. I am Russ Jones, the creator of the test...

    1. I didn't try to hide my identity
    - I submitted the story with the russvirante account at Digg.
    - I gave my name and company in comments at Digg and Reddit
    - I expressly said I created it.

    2. There is no link between us and the winner of the competition.
    - I use a random whois address and a psuedonym for whois because I dont want spam mail
    - Our IPs were both from Georgia, but theGoogleCache is hosted at Peer 1, who was not competing.

    3. We used basic text and code to ensure the answer we wanted was the answer we got. Using mysql would have shown us which servers have the best combination of database caching and bandwidth throughput. We just wanted to know about bandwidth throughput. This was an intentional variable control.

    There is a lot more thorough information that discredits the entirity of this story included in the reddit post that i have linked to...

    http://reddit.com/info/242sd/comments/c243x6?co...
  • Russ Jones · 2 years ago
    Please, someone rerun this test. I believe you will find similar results and it will answer this question once and for all.
  • Marc · 2 years ago
    An excellent explanation. I was suspicious when their test site had only text on it. Pretty much any web host should be able to take hits on a static page without even any large images, right?
  • Aerik · 2 years ago
    Wow, social bookmarking their own shit then commenting on their own shit as if they just happened up on it to make it sound like it's more popular than it really is? Sounds amiliar!
  • Russ Jones · 2 years ago
    If any of you are smart enough to read this:

    I am Russ Jones. I not only rigged the hosting experiment but I also wrote the above article. I am Russ Jones and I just stole your attentions. Consider yourselves NOOBIFIED!
  • Jim Reardon · 2 years ago
    The hostname of the Burton account is "viranteviral" - hmm, a Virante viral campaign maybe?

    Interesting choice of host name, Russ.
  • anonymous coward · 2 years ago
    Whatever Russ, you conman.
  • People of the Web · 2 years ago
    From Digg Comment:

    Russ, you forgot to have bruton change the apache server sig for your 'test'.

    Apache/1.3.37 Server at www.viranteviral.burtondns.org Port 80

    (just hit http://207.210.100.214/foobar)

    ooops!
  • mark · 2 years ago

    Very well researched!

  • Bios · 2 years ago
    This really was a 'super smart' viral marketing tactic, it's something we should all learn from I suppose and get creative with
  • TV Online · 2 years ago
    Yea from the getgo I was suspicious of it, it seemed odd that any ordinary person would willingly pay for a few hosts - none of which include the popular hosts used by Diggers. Not to mention that the site itself was hosted on Burton Hosting - and it managed to stay up showing clearly that they knew the site would make it to the Digg frontpage - and extra resources made available for it.
  • blandname · 2 years ago
    I hate to say it, but it's pretty common. The only thing that strikes me as odd is that he commented on reddit, and also that he tried to defend himself.

    I have a feeling he was getting paid quite a bit to have this done, and the phony "CTO" moniker probably helped.
  • Hostjury · 2 years ago
    Unsurprised to say the least.
    I've caught Burton Hosting posting fake reviews to a number of web hosting review sites previously as well -- including our own. They've been spamming on digg for awhile under a few different aliases.. a number have reached the frontpage.

    We did remove the fake reviews though on Hostjury but other sites have left them up:
    http://www.webhostingstuff.com/review/BurtonHos...

    Our own are available at http://www.hostjury.com for the curious out there.
  • Russ Jones · 2 years ago
    A couple of things...

    1. The tracker was always dynamic. Just go check Google's cache of the document from July 6th at 7 GMT (3 AM Eastern Standard Time)...
    http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:ctR5Mtfy9c...

    This shows ixwebhosting being tracked before that comment was posted. Most importantly, if you just ran the tracker yourself, you would see that it is how I determined whether or not a page was timeing out. Go ahead and test it yourself!

    2. The host title you see for Burton is the client name we used, viranteviral. You know how hosting companies work, the name use use is the temporary address you get.

    3. I chose a random address for the whois information. I live in Durham North Carolina -- where my company, Virante, Inc. is. Which is why my phone number, 919-459-1035 is a 919, US number.
  • Hitfirm · 2 years ago
    Russ you and your gang are weird, interesting, but weird.
  • The UK is not the US · 2 years ago
    118 miles is quite a long way over here... :D
  • al · 2 years ago
    HostJury does indeed post and manipulate user reviews - David always is up to something!

    I prefer to use http://www.hostreviewsite.com

    legitimate reviews and it actually looks better too!

    cheers
  • Steven · 2 years ago
    Excellent research. With the popularity of sites like digg, reddit, and /. I imagine we'll see more and more stuff like this going on. I can see in the future companies who's business model is based around pumping the popularity of posts on social news and bookmarking sites.
  • Sheree Motiska · 1 year ago
    This is the most fun I've had reading a blog post for quite some time. I feel so warm and fuzzy inside as I witness this much needed purging effect that is taking place right now.

    Ah, web 2.0 marketing.

    A quick fix for sorry fools who still cling to the belief that there really is a magic secret to building a successful Internet based business overnight and with minimal effort?

    Wrong.

    A hot new buzz term ripe for the exploiting by anyone quick enough to claim they have a guru degree?

    Wrong again.

    A poor man's alternative to the basic elements at the core of an Internet business plan? You mean I never have to learn any new skills now that I can grab free affiliate links and sneak them in front of unsuspecting people who are just hanging out on the net?

    Nope.

    A powerful addition to a legitimate business if unobtrusively and naturally used to enhance the credibility of the individual trying to make a name online? If I let people freely utilize a skill that I know how to do by giving them videos, and written step-by-step instructions will I slowly, yet steadily gain credibility in the eyes of my market?

    Ding Ding Ding!!! You got it.

    The best part about it is that the collaboration taking place among regular people who aren't online to figure out the best ways to be a slimeball. All that is good and true is becoming a giant super power capable of outing the savviest of scam artists.

    A stunning display of the power of Karma.