Butman beat me to the punch with his recent 90Days posting, but here goes…
Things are very busy around here at the Central Hive, but I wanted to take a quick moment of your time to address a very important issue. PESTS!
There is a small minority of BzzAgents that take advantage of the BzzAgent system. Plain and simple. Fake accounts here, multiple accounts there, disingenuous BzzReports to rack up BzzPoints and so on and so forth. You’d be totally amazed (as well as a little saddened) with the garbage that people try to pull on us. I often find myself sitting here wondering how in the world people have so much free time in this pursuit. My advice? Find a fun hobby and/or take this energy and volunteer in your community. Trust me it’s much more satisfying than trying to spend your time trying to take advantage of us.
Which leads me to my main point. When people take advantage of us it affects the entire BzzAgent community. Each and every one of us! It really comes down to that. The time, effort and resources that we all spend on these individuals is time and effort that could/should be spent on improving things for hardworking honest (ie. the large majority of us) BzzAgents.
Here’s just one small example. When BzzAgent X creates multiple aliases for BzzCampaign Awesomeness Cleaner he/she/they can potentially be taking a “spot” that a legitimate BzzAgent could occupy.
So, YES, there are currently measures that we take to protect ourselves from fraudulent behavior. Additionally during the coming months we will be modifying and enhancing our fraud policies to further safeguard all of us. PESTS you have been warned!
In closing an extremely LARGE majority of BzzAgents are in this for the right reasons. They really believe (as much as I/we do) that they are part of something really special. In fact I can’t even begin to tell you the amazing stories that BzzAgents share about being so excited and thankful. It’s truly humbling!
Jono
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the whole idea of getting something for nothing was absolutely absurd, or so i thought. when i first heard the buzz about Bzz on Npr i had to check it out. (I actually thought it was a scam) But the thing is: it isnt. and people need to show some dignity and respect the fact that this is somebody’s buisness dream and realize that if you take advantage of something good, then it loses the strength it needs to stay good; so, dont let that happen to Bzz.
There is something great about being a BzzAgent. I love being a part of this program, even though I haven’t been offered a campaign to join in yet I love the quizzes and the 2 bzzblasts I got to take part in were so much fun. I actually get excited when I log in to see if something new is there for me to participate in. I thank everyone at the central hive for everything you do! I love this site! I hope that you can find a way to crack down on these lairs, cheaters, and scammers. (I’m not completely sure scammers is a word but who cares, you know what I mean)
Happy Monday!
Just out of curiosity, has it occured to the Hive that perhaps when you see Agents coming from the same address that maybe you should only allow one of the people at that address to get in on a particular campaign? I was offered Take 5 (slurp!) and then, approx. two weeks later my son was offered Take 5. Now sure, he has a different group of people he could buzz about them, but, I gave some of mine to him to spread to a few of his friends, he and I ate a couple, and the rest went to work with me to give out. He was offered the campaign, but declined due to me already being in on it. I realize that this is again, people reigning themselves in, but I’m just trying to help you at the Hive figure out what more you can do to keep people from making aliases.
there are a lot of people out there that try an get lots of things for free even on those pay to click sites you wouldn’t believe how greedy some people can get when it comes to free stuff both me an my other half have a BzzAgent account but we was both offered the take five blast but only i signed up an he declined we have both said that depending on who gets the word first signs up first so if it comes into his account before mine he will sign up an i wont an vice versa . i thought that somewhere there was a catch to being a bzzagent an that somewhere there would be a charge to occur but you have to try to believe bzzagent is a great business offering many opportunities to a lot of people just a shame so many take advantage of a good thing ..
to all at BzzAgent keep up the great work
I was just the other day wondering if things like this happened. I have been a Bzz Agent for over a year now and was only able to participate in ONE actual campain the entire time, yes one. I’ve done a couple BzzBlasts since and because I don’t get into any campaigns anymore my points just sit there and I can’t even use them on anything. I have friends and family who signed up and it kills me that they get in and I haven’t seen a thing in a year for a Campaign. I would suspect that the freeloaders are one of the possible reasons and I hope that there is a way to get rid of people like that here.
My husband and I are both bzzagents. We heard about BZZ through WOM, isn’t that the concept?
We tend to take it very seriously when entered into a campaign, and feel it is our duty. I am simply amazed at the people who post messages on freebie sites letting people know that they have 3, 4,10 bzz accts.! I feel that if yu send me a product etc to try for free, and I tell people about it or share it with them then that is my job, NOT try to get as many of the said free product as i can. Some are only in it for “what they can get free”.
My household all enjoys being a BzzAgent. When I asked about how many could be in a household I was never given an answer. We do not abuse the system. There are others who will make as many names as possible switch stuff around so they can possibly get into all the campaigns. I think the few that have done this ruin it for those who are following the rules and who have more then one person in the family who wants to be a part of BzzAgent. There should be safeguards yes, but what will be done about people such as edbson, and myself? Or what about those that make up fake reports, who write about nothing but just say one mention of the product? There are so many different areas of “pest” that need to be handled.
Gosh like some of the other BzzAgents, I haven’t ever received one product. I have been a member since 2005. Of course, I haven’t been the best of agents since I gave up coming to the hive. My daughter came in and told me about this great new place she found …I guess you know where it is!! The Hive. Now she is mad at me for not telling her about it. I usually share all my great finds. I guess I didn’t this one because I expected a little more upfront when I first joined.
Oh well I am one of those agents that just need more motivation. You don’t have to worry about my family or friends abusing the Hive. Heck I would just like to sample some product. My daughter already has received a box from the Hive. I feel so left out. Guess I am being punished for not BZZZZZ enough!
There are always going to be people (agents) who enter this business with the intent of “getting mine.” It would be extremely difficult to weed them out, as they infiltrate everywhere. The work of the good probably outweighs the damage of the bad, but it is sad to see that so many do take advantage. I am a brand new Agent. I admittedly found out about Bzzz through a freebie site that I do read. I see so many braggarts, but I also see the occasional poster who appears to be sincere in their efforts to make Bzzz work. It is because of them that I applied. One by one, we can make a difference. Sounds corny and cliche, but simplicity has always been the best route to take, in my opinion. Eventually the ones in this for what they can personally receive will fall by the wayside, and the ones who want to help this business grow will persevere. Again, corny but true. WOM has always been the best method of “getting the info out there,” and it was great to see that someone finally put the concept into a workable partnership. Glad to be aboard.
I agree, pests are sleazy. But, it had to be one of the first things you considered when creating BzzAgent, the company. People are greedy, they love “free stuff”, you kind of have to accept that. It’s true at BzzAgent, and in everyday life situations. I saw a rich celebrity on TV the other day, at an even that was giving away very expensive gifts to – the already rich celebs who could use them least. He said, “no matter how much money you have, it’s great getting free stuff.” It makes me sick to hear that, but I know it’s the reality. I think it would be helpful to weed out these pest who become bzzagents, by making it harder to become a bzzagent to begin with. Not impossible, but hard. Like through referals of top agents, or from special banner ads, that are few and faw between. If people feel like they are more “special” for being a member, they may be less inclined to be a pest. Just my 2 cents.
I have to laugh at this, because I think this may be directed at me, possibly, and it SHOULDN’T be! My husband and I are both BzzAgents, and we both generally Bzz to different groups of people. He works in an office full of potential Bzz targets, and I interact with other SAHM’s, friends, etc.. There have been times when we’ve both been offered a campaign. Whether we both sign up for one depends on whether we both feel we have the target audience to Bzz to. We both signed up for a campaign a few months ago, and he took the contents of his kit to his office to Bzz. I never received my kit. I contacted jono repeatedly, to NO response. ZERO. ZIP. Finally, after I contacted him under a different heading meant to catch his attention, I got an “I’m going to look into this with our accounts department tomorrow and get back to you by the end of the day.” No reply. This was last week, and I have emailed him again to see what the response is, and NOTHING again. So, I’m guessing that if he actually bothered to check with the accounts department, he might have found that my husband and I were both signed up for the campaign, and he then decided I must be some “pest” trying to scam the company. Nope, just an agent trying to do her job and spread the word. I was sent the campaign survey to fill out, despite not receiving the kit. What good does it do the client to ask for poll information from an agent who was not given the materials to Bzz? So, if expecting a timely response to a VERY simple question qualifies one as a pest, and if honestly expecting to use the BzzKit for the intended purposes and for different targets than my husband Bzz’ed makes me a “scammer” of some sort, then I guess you’ve got me dead to rights, jono. Good show!
Either your kit was lost in the mail, or the system flagged your account for just the reason you’ve surmised (well, there’s a bit more to it, but I don’t want to give away all the keys to the castle). That means at some point I’m going to come to your account in the LONG list of accounts pending investigation, and if you’re telling the truth, revert your account to normal status. While I’m confident that the number of legit agents who get their accounts permanantly restricted is extremely minute, there are always going to be those who get caught in this purgatory-like state. Sorry you’ve been flagged, we all wish we didn’t have to do stuff like this. If you tell me your username I’ll bump you to the top of the queue.
Evan,
Do you have sweatshirts available with “pest buster” on them? I think that would be neat. (BTW, since I am known for occasionally making sarcastic statements, want to make clear that in this case I’m serious!)
Awhile ago, in one of the other numerous threads on this topic, I suggested that certain campaigns be clearly labeled that they are “one per household”. I have a feeling JL might be referring to the Home Cafe campaign and I would think that campaign would be a prime candidate for such a restriction.
Having said that, it does seem to be a murky area for many Agents. My wife is also an agent and generally we avoid signing up for the same campaign unless it is clear we are not going to be bzzing the same people. For example, we were both in the Listerine Pocket Pak campaign with very little or any overlap.
I guess the main point I am trying to make is that a clear policy on this issue would be benifiel to insure that honest Agents aren’t frustrated by the inadvertent violation of a rule they did not know existed.
There’s more to it than just two bzzkits going to the same address. No one is ever penalized for that alone, other criteria must be met to invoke the wrath of the flag.
I agree, my husband and I agreed upon sign up that we would not sign up for the same campaigns, or we make sure that we have a different “target audience”. I do not believe that we have ever BOTH signed up or even been offered the same campaign. We have 2 very different targets, so that is probably why, or maybe we have also been *flagged*. i dunno.
Well I think something needs to be done other than just “flagging” agents and then letting them rot in purgatory forever. Let them know! Then they can either clear up the confusion or, if not, then you can cancel their account or something!! Don’t just let them sit there waiting for a Kit to come; that’s just rude!
Actually, the one that we both signed up for and I never received was the Take 5 Blast, not the Home Cafe one. Neither of us was offered that one (although I wish I had been because I could have Bzzed the heck out of that thing!). And if I had been “flagged” for some reason, it would have been nice for jono to just tell me that in response to one of my emails over the months since then. I agree with Laurie–let people know if you flag them for some reason, and they can clear up the confusion or at least know what the problem was. The Take 5 Blast was something that my husband and I each thought we had our own set of Bzz targets for, and I would have explained that to jono had he just answered me at some point and told me I was flagged because there were two people signed up at the same address.
Evan, do you have an email or something where I can privately get you my info so you can look into it? My account doesn’t seem totally inactive–I’m still getting polls, and I am in the Scrubbing Bubbles campaign, which I believe I got into after the Take 5 one. Also, my husband’s account doesn’t seem to be inactive, as he is in a couple different campaigns right now. Thanks, it’s nice just to have someone responding!
I was under the impression that this was a sight to tell our opinion about products we try and use at home. I didn’t know people really ever got anything. I did download some partial books to review from the site today. I entered a few surveys including the take 5 candy bar. I have never heard of it or tried it. I was under the impression that I would have to buy it and try it and then let you know how I liked it. Which would be fine with me since I love candy and chocolate. I will have to look for it at the Wal-Mart next trip on the candy isle. There are many products I use and some brands I have used for years and I always recommend them to everyone until I probably drive them crazy. Like the Swiffer. I didn’t believe the advertisements. It seemed too good to be true. My sister got a free sample when she bought something (just one or two sheets when she bought a cleaning product) She bought the Swiffer broom after that and told me how great it was. I bought one and absolutely love it! I use the wet ones to mop. Sometimes I just attach a wet thin cloth onto the end and squirt hardwood floor cleaner on the floor and do a quick mop. I love the way it gets under things. I told a friend who was moving into a newly built house. It was very dusty and dirty all over the hardwood floors. I took my Swiffer and cleaned her floors. I left my Swiffer for her to use for a house warming present and bought me a new one. I also got my mother using it (who never tries anything new). She loves it too. I have thought about buying the Swiffer Wet Jet but I had rather see what somebody else thinks about it before I buy it. I am a word of mouth kind of person. I never pay attention to tv advertisments. They are trying to sell their products and are always going to try and make their products seem better than they really are (in my opinion) I think this site is great and I hope I can give some insite to some products that I already use and listen to feedback from other mom’s wanting to save time and clean their homes most efficiently and some good foods to try too. Working 8 hours a day with a school full of kids and then taking my children to after school sports activities music lessons doctors appointments and all I need all the help I can get. I don’t know if anyone ever leaves feedback on prescription drugs but I would like to know what products have most helped their asthma allergy children. Even if it’s an over the counter drug or product I’d love to hear about it. I am very excited to find this site! I also saw that someone was in a scrubbing bubbles campaign. I have tried it and nothing works better than Comet powders. I have tried different cleaners to clean my tub and Comet is the best product. It leaves a beautiful shine in my tub. Everyone in my family uses it. It is also very affordable compared to Scrubbing Bubbles.
I’m thrilled to be a Bzz Agent, I enjoy each and every Bzz Campaign and Bzz Blast that I’m invited to join! I would never ever consider cheating…..why would someone? We are in this mainly for the fun, points and prizes are secondary to me. Being a Bzz Agent has made my life seem worthwhile again. I have been severly ill and in pain for over two years, I had to retire from not only my job but it seemed I retired from my life too…..I was unable to even drive for that time, couldn’t clean, couldn’t cook and I could hardly even walk. (for a period I couldn’t even do that). The things I did on the internet (mainly emailing and talking with friends and family) helped take my mind off my pain. Then when I became a Bzz Agent it helped not only take my mind off my pain, it seemed to give me something fun, important and worthwhile to do with my time! The points and prizes were nice too but at first they came slowly. I’m a rather shy person but being a Bzz Agent helped me push myself a little bit harder to get out of my house and talk with people! It was fun too and really helped me feel so much better about myself and my situation. The new convertible my husband surprised me with on my birthday didn’t hurt either, he used it to get me more in a mood to forget the pain and painpills so I could drive and that worked too. …..but being a Bzz Agent helped much more! Thanks Mr. Juno! Thanks BZZ!
Luv Ya,
Barbie
Bzz Agent wtr27513
Yes abusing the system is bad. But lets not forget the BZZ we all do is not a gift to BZZ agent. It is not an act of kindness. They are making there money off our hard work. This is the nature of their business. Small treats to encourage millions of dollars of business. Lets not feel too badlly.