Blog Challenge Number One - Illegal Businesses
(businessandblogging.com) Liz and I issued a challenge to you, the readers. We challenged you to think of a business that could not benefit from having a blog.
A number of you have already taken us up on the challenge. (Keep the responses coming!) We’ll be responding to the your suggestions between our normally scheduled posts.
The first response comes from Easton Ellsworth of Business Blogwire. Easton suggested that an illegal business is an example of a business that would not benefit from a blog.
It’s a great answer, but I beg to differ. Of course, in an ideal world there would be no illegal businesses. We certainly don’t want to encourage illegal activity in any way.
However, some illegal businesses (in the form of scams) already have blogs and websites. Of course, they don’t identify themselves as scams. They masquerade as legitimate businesses. However, any deliberate deception on the part of a business could push it over into the category of a scam.
I don’t want to promote illegal activity in any way, shape, or form. So, I’ll not be linking to any blogs that promote scams today. However, I did find this handy definition of a scam from Merriam-Webster Online.
So, I’d say that Easton’s response is both right and wrong. He’s right because illegal businesses shouldn’t even exist and therefore shouldn’t be able to benefit from blogging. He’s wrong because some illegal businesses do, unfortunately, benefit from blogging.
Kudos to Easton, however, for coming up with a creative and unique answer to stump us.
Tags: benefits-of-blogging, business-blogwire, Easton-Ellsworth, scamsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Business Blog Challenge
4 opinions for Blog Challenge Number One - Illegal Businesses
Easton Ellsworth
Jan 10, 2008 at 11:56 am
Touche - I like the way you think. And you’re right - scammy and spammy blogs will unfortunately exist as long as icky businesses do.
laura
Jan 10, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Thanks Easton!
Actually, I wish it were otherwise. I wish that there were no spammy or scammy blogs out there.
Mike
Feb 10, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Hi folks,
I don’t think scamming someone is illegal enough to really qualify. Since it is more of a civil case, and would not be considered a felony, it should not be considered. If it is still considered in the broadest terms then we would have to include our own government for defrauding the general public. I am sure we have all heard about how money is wasted on research projects, or a senator will trade votes on the senate floor go get some extra funds for his/her pet project, just to ensure they are re-elected to office, after voting to give themselves a pay raise.
What about assassins (not state employed - the are consider marksmen) who work freelance, or the drug dealer on the neighborhood corner?
If you take home a pen, or pad of paper, from work then you are a thief. If you are a thief then the whole company is a thief, and breaking the law, by the over simplistic view of things. Before you call me on this consider a case involving a rude salesperson that worked for the National Biscuit Company (now known as Nabisco). It was determined that the salesperson was a representative of the company, and so the company could be held liable for his actions. As an employee of a company you are spouse to represent the company in all things you do, especially at work. Most companies would prefer to call it internal thief, yet the law is what it is.
By the overly simple view that scams are illegal enough then I submit all businesses are illegal, as someone in a company has broken a law, even if it is jay walking, and by that very nature, the company is liable for the employee’s actions. Ignorance of the law, or a worker’s actions, is not reason enough to make the action lawful, nor to waive the liability of all directly, or indirectly, involved.
Just one final view on this - police brutality. The police officer can be charged, and the police department for negligence - failure to train the officers properly, lack of monitoring, failure to screen candidates before employment, and so much more. Just shows that even those charged with upholding the laws can be illegal.
Sorry, just that the overly simplistic view of scams being an example of illegal activity just hit a sore point when there is so much more going on.
Laura
Feb 11, 2008 at 7:56 am
Hi Mike!
Thanks for coming by. Easton’s actual challenge was more like a scam than anything else. Here it is:
“The only “maybe” I can think of is criminal businesses … Joe’s Shoe Shop that sells stinky used shoes and passes them off as squeaky brand new…”
Of course, at some point you have to ask if criminal behavior is really a business at all…
Thanks for sharing your opinion…
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