Monday, November 05, 2012

@DNSAssociate - is it wise for an accountant to use spam comments as a means of attracting business?

Since giving up CAPTCHA, I have dealt with a stream of spam comments on my blog that CAPTCHA used to block. Strangely enough, it means that I get reminded of things that I have done in a curiously, rather appealingly, random way - an iPod shuffle of my 'greatest hits' if you like.

And you can guess as to the nature of the comments - US drug sellers, internet sales for all sorts of weird and wonderful things. However, today saw something different.

For one thing, the comment had a name attached, Chris Smith, rather than 'Anonymous'. Naturally, I assumed that it might be a real comment, so took a rather closer look, only to find that it was a spam comment, but with a twist. The advert was for a firm of accountants/financial advisors in North West London, DNS Associates Ltd, and read;

"Great post and i am an accountant and my company DNS Associates service provides Online Accountants and Online Accounting. DNS Associates Accountants for Contractors assist with all industries with specific focus on Accountants for IT Contractors.
corporate tax planning"

(I've taken out the link, for obvious reasons.)

Alright, I accept that an accountant's primary skill requirement is to be numerate, but am I likely to be impressed by such a poor display of literacy? I think not. And am I likely to draw the conclusion that this is a reputable company if it uses spam as a core part of its publicity strategy? No, don't think so.

And, given what I do for a living, was it wise to pick on me? Probably not. Luckily, although I have a very long memory, I do tend not to hold stupidity against people, so think of this as a polite shot across the bows...

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