What you do when nobody is watching.
...that determines your ethical state. Or maybe it's what you do when you think you are anonymous. At any rate, your ethics define who you are more than any one thing you do or say.
Everyone has those instances when they wish they could take something back. Ever say something and instantly wish you could hit that "unsend" button? I think that experience is common to all people everywhere. We all make mistakes, and that is not what I'm talking about here.
What I mean is the willful intentional act that someone only does because they think they can "get away with it". Maybe it's rationalized, and maybe not.
What does any of this have to do with affiliate marketing you may ask?
Well, there is a great community here at WA, but like anywhere there is a large diverse group of people there is the chance that you may see something that appears to be unethical.
I'm a trusting person and I like to always see the good in people, but I try not to let my naivety cloud my judgement. Let this be a word to the wise, and be smart.
When I find myself in a position to take an action I'm not quite sure about (I'm still a newbie after all) I ask if it feels like I'm getting away with something, or if it could be harmful to someone else. If the answer is yes...well it needs some thinking.
Competition is great and good, but plagiarism, or outright copying a whole site brings up the question of the core morals of the person contemplating the action. Following through on said action removes the question, and that person should take the time to seriously examine themselves and think about who they really want to be.
This is a great community! Let's continue to be good influences where we can and practice good ethical behavior in our competitive affiliate marketing endeavors.
BTW...please don't take offense at my opinions here. They are just that. My opinions.
Recent Comments
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I just shared an experience where someone copied my entire site and even left my picture on their site...So unethical. I am trusting as well...thanks for watching out for me! - Joy
Thanks for your honesty Ken. If people choose to run their online business in such an unethical way then it's not going to be long before their niche works out that they can't be trusted. Those are not the models of practice that build trust among people.
I share those same values you do when it comes to ethics, and I too would need to think hard about how I would deal with this if confronted with the same issue.
Thanks for sharing :-)