My Biggest Pet Peeves of All Time (For Now)

by Jack Humphrey on Jan 2

1.  Blogs that force people to log in to comment.

2.  Marketers who continue to think interruption marketing is going to work on social sites.

3.  People who see someone succeeding with a certain kind of blog and build one just like it filled with content just like it.

4.  People who start sites identical to sites like Digg or Twitter who can’t figure out why it didn’t work for them.

5.  Spammers.  Twitter spammers make email spammers seem almost cuddly.

6.  The fact that email is even still required.

7.  People who do crazy backflips to cheat a system when, using it the way it was intended, is 100 times easier and more effective.

8.  Laziness.

9.  People who know you’ve been working online for a very long time who want you to tell them how to get where you are in a month.

10.  Thinking of a great idea for a post only to read it on Problogger.  Even worse is when that post was inspired by Chris Brogan.

11.  Inventing something that’s already been invented, but not finding out until after you’ve spent 3 days figuring out exactly how you’re going to spend the millions you are about to make with it.

12.  Dogs who are better Twitterers than me.

13.  People with glass eyes who continually tap their pens on them to freak you out.

14.  Adsense splogs.

15. Content thieves.

16.  People who treat web business like it’s just a big game.  (General Motors would sure as hell like a piece of this “Game” right about now!)

17.  Instant experts no one has ever heard of.

18.  People who only TweetLater and never TweetNow.

19.  People who think we really need to know they’re bored.

20.  Ted Nugent

  • http://www.twitter.com/littleavenue Darren Little

    I would like to add an addendum to #19….

    people who feel the need to constantly tell you they are depressed or diseased and feel no need to do anything about it.

    Darren Littles last blog post..LittleAvenue: @bendtheweb raising two hands!!

  • http://www.frusketing.com/blog Ruben Ricart

    Great List Jack! many of the ones you listed are pet peeves of my own….never experienced the glass eye thing but hey maybe this year lol.

    Ruben Ricarts last blog post..What will you do different in 2009?

  • http://www.funwithopinions.co.uk Andrew@Fun with Opinions

    I would have to go with comment spam as my number one I think. My general pet peeve is selfishness and comment spam is the king at that. F*** the community as long as I get mine. Because of this SEO often comes a close second, although not all SEO.

    Andrews last blog post..Utilitarian moral choices

  • http://marketingblogtools.com rheyanna

    And the drum roll please.
    People that join a group that you started just to spam all over it, then do not get what they are doing wrong.

    Great post, Hope you have a great weekend
    Rheyanna

    rheyannas last blog post..Social networking With Skype

  • http://www.tributebandreviews.co.uk Tribute Bands

    Hiya Jack

    I particularly like 1, 2, 12 and 19…(dogs that can tweet…freaky!)

    I’d also like to add another one of my own…

    21. Product Launch Promotion Pimps!

    Let me explain…I’m sick and tired of all the product launch promotions that I receive throughout the year, everyone of them promises overnight riches and blah, blah, blah. One of my new year’s resolutions was to unsubscribe from every one of these ‘product launch promotion pimps’ mailing lists and I did that yesterday so, that’s one new year’s resolution that I’ve actually managed to do something about. You are one of the very few people that I actually listen to and have anything of value to say. Keep doing what you’re doing cos it’s good…really good. Hey, I love your ‘Simpsons’ avatar, it looks so much like you…it’s SPOOKY!

    John O’Hara
    United Kingdom

    Tribute Bandss last blog post..Bob Marley Tribute Bands: Legend

  • http://www.directoryofkilleen.com Kent@Directory of Killeen

    I agree with you all the way to Ted Nugent!!! Come on dissing Ted? Nothing like a stark raving maniac that with bows and arrows, guns and a questionable history of lunacy to give you a warm fuzzy. I can remember as a teenager wandering what he would do next but still enjoyed some of the music. Can’t believe that he makes it on cable news as a voice for conservatives…little scary.

  • http://drewmaniac.blogspot.com/ Andrew Weaver

    Excellent post. If I may be so brazen as to add #21 to the list…

    21. People who comment on a post and try to get you to click on their junk by saying something like, “Great post! I posted about something similar here *add link* on my blog!”

    Thanks, but no thanks. Not clicking on your junk.

    Andrew Weavers last blog post..Global Economic Cooling

  • http://intellectualcapitalreport.com Augie

    I hate number 11. That one happens more than I’d like to admit!

    Augies last blog post..Lower Real Estate Investment Tax with the Right Accountant

  • http://hidama.tv hidama

    I agree with #5 – Twitter spammers are awful compared to email spammers. And while I find that #10 is often true and a serious matter, I wholeheartedly laughed at that. How frequently we find that our ideas have aligned with someone else, just a few days earlier or a few days later, who has the larger voice. It sucks. :)

  • http:..www.GaryMcElwain.com Gary McElwain

    Hi Jack

    I like your list. Some are pretty funny. But I think your making fun of my dog with the glass eye who tweets about content thieves. And he does back flips over Problogger and Chris Brogan. And he has a bad case of cat scratch fever.

    Have a Happy New Year.

    Gary McElwain

    • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

      Gary – I was hoping you wouldn’t pick up on all that!

  • http://www.ebusinessmagic.com/blog Rhonda@eBusinessMagic

    Hey Jack,

    I have to say I agree with most of these.
    #2 is a biggie…What part of the word ‘Social’ don’t they get anyway?

    Looking forward to all your helpful content and how-to’s in 2009 :)

    Rhonda Crosby

    Rhondas last blog post..Time Management and Productivity Tools to Kick Off The New Year

  • http://NetBizHandbook.com Sonja

    Jack, Jack, Jack…This one here is too funny and for me the best;
    “People with glass eyes who continually tap their pens on them to freak you out.”

    Yeah I see those people all the time…haha!

    Sonjas last blog post..Keyword Density-A Thing Of The Past?

    • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

      Sonja – See? I’m not the only one! There should be a glass eye law or something.

  • http://hghtruths.com Hugh@HGH Reviews

    I have to disagree with you on number 8. If necessity is the mother of invention then laziness is the father. Without laziness we would not have remote controls or video games. We might not even have computers, television or social networks.

    A case could be made that adsense splogs are a result of laziness but I think it really comes from extreme slothiness.

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/Octisage Susan Owen-Thursfield

    Hi Jack –
    Loved the post. Just one thing, as a newbie to Twitter, what do you think constitutes Twitter spam? I have read that “I won’t be following you for long if all you do is Tweet boring stuff” but on the other hand pimping a product is understandably spammy.

    I agree about the TweetLater stuff – sometimes I can see there might be a need for it but the fun of Twitter is real time!

    Cheers
    Susan

    Susan Owen-Thursfields last blog post..Students Of Alex – I’m Being Interviewed!

    • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

      Susan – the most insipid, despicable twitter spam is when people make fake accounts in the names of well known people to get you to follow them and to spam affiliate links with them. Then there’s direct message spam if you mistakenly follow someone you thought was legit. In-your-face promotion without giving and sharing a lot beforehand is no good either.

  • http://www.howtospoter.com Alex Sysoef@WordPress Spotter

    Interesting list Jack, although I don’t know how Ted made the list :-)

    Alex Sysoefs last blog post..WebProsperity Pre-Launch

    • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

      Alex – I just saw him on TV that day and he got on my nerves. :)

  • http://www.funwithopinions.co.uk Andrew@Fun with Opinions

    I feel the need to add a new one after my experience today: People who drive the wrong way around supermarket car parks. I know that the arrows go in both directions but there is an accepted route through the car park and by being different you just f*** everything up.

    The same goes for inside the supermarket.

    Andrews last blog post..Tastes like chicken

  • http://intellectualcapitalreport.com Augie

    How about escalators that go the wrong way… like we live in England or something.

    Augies last blog post..Lower Real Estate Investment Tax with the Right Accountant

  • http://www.allrealms.com Jay Philips

    Great blog. I’m okay with #1 on making people login in order to comment but what I don’t like are the sites where I can’t even read the blog till after I login/register. I don’t register for every single site I come across but only the ones that actually have info I’m interested in.

    Thanks again,
    Jay

  • http://joerobertson.com Joe Robertson

    Jack,
    Picked up on a great tip or 2 and 100% with you until you hit “Ted, White & Blue” – but that’s OK because you still “rule” in the online marketing world :)

  • http:..www.GaryMcElwain.com Gary McElwain

    Hi Jack

    OK I forgive you for making fun of my dog. But if you start picking on my 3 legged cat Dammit, I’ll have issues. Now about Andrew and the supermarket.

    I think this is funny, but a good marketing gimmick. They have moved the toothpaste and mouthwash isle to be across from the candy shelfs. So the kid in the cart grabs the candy. And Mom turns the other way for toothpaste and brushes.

    Brilliant idea?

    Gary McElwain

  • http://www.HappyFeetz.com Kim

    My current peeve is people who tweet non-stop HAPPY! w00ts! ‘Squillions’ of times!!! Every DAY is GREAT! Don’t they realize they are annoying enough w/out all the caps? Wanna smack ‘em.
    But the glass eye thing is right up there too…

    Kims last blog post..Artificial Ankles Are Improving

  • http://aplawrence.com Tony Lawrence

    How about sites that take hours – sometimes days – to moderate your comments, even after you have been a regular for a long, long time?

    Tony Lawrences last blog post..Hitting the Google Sweet Spot

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/Octisage Susan Owen-Thursfield

    Augie – Not all escalators go the wrong way! Some just plain don’t move! Like those LOONNNGG travalators at airports!

    Susan Owen-Thursfields last blog post..Students Of Alex – I’m Being Interviewed!

  • http://www.dwave.com.au Robinoz

    I agree with most of yours Jack … the glass eye bit I’m not sure of. I’ve seen heaps of women with false breasts and at least one with a modified vagina, but glass eyes … hmmm?

    People piss me off who put a photo showing two or more people on their site and caption it “Robin Blogs” or “Me”. Men sometimes have an attractive women, “Look who I’ve got!” Sometimes you don’t know who the hell is the person whose site it is. Why not just show yourself?

    Another annoyance is when people on public fora rabbit on about how their religious idol created heaven and earth in a week and how he’ll come back and save us because we are all doomed sinners.

    Religious fervor is great for those who need it, but they should keep it for the right fora. I don’t give a rat’s bootlace if you believe in the tooth fairy … I don’t want to know about it on a business forum.

    Robin
    Central Australia

  • http://imnirvana.com Alan Petersen

    You had me until #20–Ted Nugent rocks! Wango tango!

    Alan Petersens last blog post..Entering a New Niche Using PLR Products Video 9

  • http://potpolitics.com John Sullivan

    Happy New Year Jack and everyone.
    I could add plenty but am opting for a more
    positive attitude this year.But I did get a little
    pleasure relating to yours.ahh I want to add some…
    Peace to an awesome 2009

    John Sullivans last blog post..Google Page Rank update

  • http://daisydandelionwine.blogspot.com shea

    Great list, my # one peeve is also having to register or log in to comment, and guess what, I say never mind

    sheas last blog post..Happy New Year!!!

  • http://www.e1jobs-blog.com Robinoz

    Another thing I hate are those security boxes that present scrambled letters and you have to unscramble them and enter them in a dialogue box before posting.

    Adding numbers is easy (I do have a calculator), but some of the scrambled letters are so scrambled it’s hard to know what they are and after two attempts I move on. (Maybe that’s the idea).

    Robin
    Central Australia

    Robinozs last blog post..Government Job Vacancies Still Strong

  • http://newwpthemes.net Susan@New Wordpress Themes

    Ugh, I thoroughly agree with #1!

    Susans last blog post..True Elegance

  • http://www.trishjones.com Trish Jones

    I just love your sense of homor Jack.

    Great list and so real!

    Trish Joness last blog post..Carbon Copy Marketing “No No’s”

  • http://www.yourmindbodyandsoul123.com Colleen

    Ok Jack what is your number 2 pet peeve? Do not understand what you mean. Ted Nugent?? What is up with that?

  • http://www.directoryofkilleen.com Kent@Directory of Killeen

    I agree with you all the way to Ted Nugent!!! Come on dissing Ted? Nothing like a stark raving maniac that with bows and arrows, guns and a questionable history of lunacy to give you a warm fuzzy. I can remember as a teenager wandering what he would do next but still enjoyed some of the music. Can't believe that he makes it on cable news as a voice for conservatives…little scary.

  • http://astramatch.com/blog Pemo Theodore

    Well Gary I have to say Twitter spammers are my biggest hate & as you say are definitely not cuddly. The only redemption is that you can blame & shame them if they are incredibly persistent!

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