Is Brant Walker an Anti-Social Networker?

Is Brant Walker an Anti-Social Networker?

This came to my attention via a Digg
shout, sent to my by a friend in my
network.

It raises several very good questions
for us as Social Marketers. Hopefully
it will also inspire us to think in new
and profitable directions.

Check this out HERE

The story is about Brant Walker, a
Social Internet Marketer that has
started several controversial Web 2.0
Websites.

Each one approaches the social interaction
at the core of Web 2.0 from a different
perspective than had been attempted
before. Many say that this is from a
negative one.

The sites are all successful enough that
he has sold some for a good chunk of change
so this may fall under the "No such thing
as bad publicity" category.

Go read the article and think about these
issues. Is there such a thing as negative
Social Networking and therefore negative
Social Marketing?

One thing is for sure. Brant Walker's sites
have garnered significant attention. At least
two of his sites have been taken down:
BumFinder.com and FakeYourSpace.com.

The first due to negative publicity and the
second die to a cease and desist order from
Fox (Owner of MySpace.com)

His most recent success (that we know of)
is another Web 2.0 endeavor that also leans
to the negative side of social networking:
RottenNeighbor.com

This site appeals to a darker side of social
interaction by giving people a place to bitch
and moan about their neighbor's uncut lawn,
garbage pile and late night carousing.

Whether you think this kind of site is a good
thing or a bad one, you can't dismiss the fact
that Mr. Walker is getting serious traffic!

As of this post, RottenNeighbors.com has an
Alexa Ranking of 55,552.

Nothing to sneeze at is it?

It will be interesting to see what form of
Social Networking this guy will come up with
next. We may neer know, as you will note in
the article, he has had to go covert with his
sites to avoid too much scrutiny based on his
previous sites.

I dunno about you, but this does make me
rethink my site ideas. Social Marketing will
never be the same again. Which is just fine,
as one of the best aspects of Web 2.0 (already
headed for Web 3.0) is it's ever changing nature.

Haven't you noticed that blog posts, Squidoo
Lenses, HubPages and forum threads all get
higher rankings, more traffic, and greater
exposure when there is some kind of controversy
involved?

I know that I have, and fortunately I recognized
it for what it was, and capitalized on it. We should
all be doing so!

To do so requires that our blogs, lenses and every
other web property that we develop be as interactive,
as "Web 2.0"-ish, as Social as we can make it.

Wikis, polls, guestbooks, rating systems, and comment
encouragement all need to be utilized, and more...

So my answer is that Brant Walker is a very successsful
Social Networker and Social Marketer. How can you
blame him, or cast aspersions on him for getting to the
very essence of the Web 2.0 Phenomenon.

Floyd Bogart