What a Jerk! And are you a Jerk because you hang out with one?

Fri, Jun 29, 2007

Working at Home

Well, the whole Rick Jerk thing has flown under my attention up to now.  I’m not on his mailing list or on the mailing lists of his promoters apparently because I never received one single invite to check out his event. 

I scanned a blog post or two on it – but wasn’t interested enough to take a close look.  In fact, on Lynn Terry’s blog – she was so nice as to mention that someone who is easily offended should not click through – and I took her advice to heart and didn’t look ;)

If I thought about it all for a half a second it was to repeat an oft repeated sentiment in my own head: “Who gives a crap about the Rich Jerk?”  Not me.

Jennifer Knox, a member of Mom Masterminds, brought up the topic on our forums today and I visited her Squidoo Lens to learn more. (And might I mention that she has found a terrific use for a Squidoo Lens – giving commentary about a current event and inviting interaction.)

I read things through – visited some links – and went to finally read the Rich Jerk’s sales letter.  The situation is this:  He is holding a big marketing event at the Playboy Mansion.  The promotional materials have been offensive to many and there’s been a big stink. 

Now the question is – what is my opinion?

Well… obviously, the Rich Jerk is a complete Jerk.  (No shock there.)

I’m disappointed in the men who are supporting and participating in the event.  (Some shock there.)

That they would promote and take part in an event that has such a strong ‘Leisure Suit Larry’ flavor has me… questioning what I thought I knew about some of them.

When you observe someone from a distance – you make an attempt to measure them up the best that you can.  In my case, I often try to determine if a person has values similar to mine.  It’s not easy to be sure about someone – and you can really only make a guess based on what you read with their name on it and hear from their own lips and see in their actions.  It’s not good to jump to conclusions and I think it’s fair to keep an open mind about a person as much as possible.

Why do I even try to get a handle on what kind of person a person is?  Well, to tell you the truth, I really like learning from and working with people who are moral and ethical. 

I want to learn from and work with people who do the right thing. 

If I believe that someone is moral and ethical, I lean towards trusting what they do and the things that they promote.  If I believe someone is immoral and unethical – I ignore them as irrelevant. (Which is why it took so long for this to get my attention.)

You may not agree with me but I know that porn is damaging to the world at large and while Playboy is less unsavory than most porn – it’s still porn.  Holding an event at the Playboy Mansion is a blatant act of disrespect to men and women who have higher moral standards and something that fits the Rich Jerk perfectly.

I just wouldn’t have thought it fit all the others who are participating – but apparently it does.

In this case – hanging out with the Jerk does make you one.

This post was written by:

Kelly McCausey is the host of Work at Home Moms Talk Radio and owner of Mom's Talk Network. She has built a successful internet based home business and helps other moms do the same.

Contact the author

  • I am really glad to see the response to that campaign, because as an Internet Marketer myself, and particular a female internet marketer, I felt that the industry had dropped to the cave man era and was horror stricken that others would feel this was an appropriate event, and the content in the promotions was disgusting. I blacklisted anyone that sent me that piece, because if they support this, God knows what else they do for a buck. Apologies now don't cut it, you just got caught.

    I was very grateful when none of my mentors promoted this, and felt the entire thing was not only degrading to women, but to humanity and the progress it had made.
  • I am one of the marketers that took a public stand against the Rich Jerk promotion both on my blog and to my ezine subscribers.

    As a father and a man I found it offensive.

    As a marketer I looked on in utter bewilderment as guru after guru lined up like so many 'demented popcorn machines on steroids' vieing with one another to burn an entire demographic of their list.

    It has been encouraging to see so many people willing to take a stand for what they believe is right.

    This has sent a strong, clear message to many people and I doubt that we will ever see Kelly Felix (the Rich Jerk) able to get so many famous people to promote his garbage ever again.

    People have voted with their mouse clicks and unsubscribed by the thousands.

    Whilst many of the guru's made a serious error in promoting this event - they are not all fools and no matter what they think about the morality of the RJ they will have no doubt, noted the unsubscribes and will not risk the same stuff again.

    Who knows... they might even start to actually TEST, PROVE and GET RESULTS from a product or service BEFORE they all promote it.

    I'd like to see that!
  • Oooh! My sentiments exactly Vera! I have not and will not click on any links talking about that horrible stuff. I would however like to know who the so called guru's are so I can be sure never to click anything of their's again or inform my readers about their products!

    They need more than prayer! They need deliverance! LOL!

    Kelly, as your friend, I know it had to be something horrible for you to even give it an ounce of attention. Thanks to you and Jennifer, we know what we're really up against!
  • You know what? I was choosing not to say anything about this but this post really sparked me up. To me this guy is someone I care not to hear about, I don't even have to say why because I'm sure you know how I feel on this issue. I would much rather learn from people with respect for all human beings men and women. I read Lynn Terry's post about it too, and chose not to click and I still won't click to see it because it's all garbage to me. Garbage in - Garbage Out. I choose not to fill my life with crud. I'll just pray for him instead. ;-)
  • I have been purposely trying to avoid the Rich Jerk, but he seems to be popping up all over the place. Well, I'm linking to anything he has to offer, and would suggest that others do the same - male or female.

    By the way, anything having to do with the Playboy Mansion is an automatic turn-off for me. I'm not interested in anything that's associated with it in any way, shape, or form.

    Thanks for the article.
  • Can I comment on a comment? :) Julia's comment is right on! Vote with your dollar!

    And what an astute observation about the hiding behind a fictional character! That was a great observation!

    So many good, honest people are going to benefit greatly by this entire thing. I hope that ethical marketers who have something truly fantastic to share will reap rewards for showing respect to the masses. They should be rewarded!
  • I agree with what you've said Kelly... porn is very destructive, and the whole thing is in very bad taste, the whole thing. Although we shouldn't expect internet marketers to be any different than any other segment of the population in terms of morals, I guess maybe we do a little bit. At least, I do. It really disappoints me.
  • Julia
    I've lost respect for alot of the guru internet marketers associating and endorsing themselves with the Rich Jerk. They are marketers, they knew EXACTLY what they were doing and still did it.

    Money talks to these morally and ethically challenged marketers so be careful where you spend your hard earned bucks. It's good news that they've outed themselves as the dinosaurs they really are. Now we can direct our money to people who share our values and help them achieve their dreams.

    The Rich Jerk and his "buddy buddies" spoiled internet marketing jerks will never see a penny of my money and by doing so I am sending a clear message how I feel about their love and support of the Rich Jerk and his demeaning and sexist marketing tactics.

    It's even worse how they want to discount the whole thing by saying "Oh the Rich Jerk is just a fictional character." This is nothing but a cynical ploy to shut down criticisms and not take responsibility for their actions which will have long term consequences. Hiding behind a "fictional character" is a device used by ethical and moral cowards and all who support them. Take responsibilty for your actions and be a real man and not a spoiled rich brat.

    Spread the word to your lists and on your blogs and websites. The Rich Jerk doesn't care about his reputation but the "family guys" will totally feel the heat from their association and endorsement of their sleazy and demeaning "fictional character" best friend.

    How ridiculous they are supporting the sexists and demeaning views of a "fictional character". They want to now be the "cool, hip kids." The internet marketing gurus are truly living on a different planet now far removed from the majority of people needing help making money on the internet.
  • I'll tell you exactly what offended me most (having read the original salesletter, which was much worse than the one you see now, and having read several emails from "major players" about this evening)...

    It was the comments made in regard to the event. Like "getting a permission slip from the wife" and "dont tell anybody what you see me doing if you go" etc.

    Then there was the fact that their emails (and the sales letter) were written exclusively for a male demographic - with no regard for the female segments of their lists. They all but said outright "if you are female, you arent invited".

    There isnt even a "token woman" mentioned on the sales page. Not that I wanted an invite, mind you... but I certainly dont like being sent 3 or 4 emails from men I previously had respect for, talking in this manner (and showing a complete lack of respect for the women in the industry).

    They all came out smelling like JERKS if you ask me.
  • Hi Kelly,

    First of all, thanks for the link!

    In response to Nell's comment, let me just say that I couldn't reprint really ANY of the original sales pitch on my site because it was so offensive. And, interestingly, the majority of the people whom I have seen come out against it have been men.

    Kelly, I think what you have said about wanting to do business with people who have morals and ethics is so important. It's difficult to trust people who say they believe in something and show through their actions something completely different. I too was surprised and disappointed at how many well-respected men aligned themselves with this. Ethics, and just the ability to put yourself in someone's else's shoes and think about how what you say affects people is important, and I think this was a tremendous lapse in judgment on their part.
  • Nell
    There needs to be higher profiled internet marketing women on the www...bottom line. And, not just because of the "good ole boys club" that appears to be present online (as often you find offline), but because women have so much to share and teach and I for one prefer to learn from women.

    I can only think of a handful of women compared to the hoards of men. I’m not trying to imply I don’t want to learn from men, but there really needs to be a better balance in the sexes in internet marketing.

    I haven't read the sales page or any of the "pitches" by high profiled men marketers, but the intense reaction it has caused by women AND men leads me to believe it was terribly offensive and demeaning to women. And that truly is a shame...a shame that such smart men, whom I’ve learned from, would promote it.
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