Thursday, September 7, 2006

Counterpoint.

It is a fact that Independent Modeling has been the target of con artists, model scams, and unethical people in the modeling industry who steal things from this site and then try to use those things to enhance their business or as bait to lure people in to bait them. This seems to be an Internet issue and is not unique to us. So, what are we going to do about it? What is our counterpoint to the people who try to leech off of us?
We are bringing back a new model scam definition database and new model scam-fighting tools. We will also assist professional allies such as Tampa Bay Modeling in fighting models scams (Tampa Bay Modeling has helped us out a lot in recent weeks over a model consultation scam using our site content as a source of material to bait models and try to resell to them. They effectively defended us). The most effective strategy, however, will be to undermine their ability to operate as a business in this market and anywhere else in the industry. How is this possible?
We will saturate the market with free information and tools that are better in every way to what they are trying to sell to models. Are they trying to sell industry contacts? You will find more and better in the TALON Database. Are they trying to sell models on their ability to teach models how to promote their own careers without an agency? You will find better information here, and at no charge. How about if they sell the models job leads with the condition that they buy services from them before-hand? It will be very hard to that that when we have all the best job leads here, along with free tutorials on how to book them, here on this site and free of charge. Model schools will find it difficult to sell models expensive courses, too, especially when better information and lessons will be here for free.
Those that steal from us are going to lose the ability to do business. It is our way of saying "thank you". We are just now beginning to saturate the market with better information and better tools at no charge to the model, and models will know about it, and they will also know the true source of the material that these people are trying to sell to models (us), which will cause stealing our things to be a professional credibility risk; models will not trust you if they know that you are taking things from others, and if they do not trust you, they will not buy anything from you. Independent Modeling is the only model school or professional modeling consultant that you will ever need, and we are free.
In regards to our job board, which has always been a target of theft, we are working on a lock and key system where it will backfire for anyone to use information off of it. Parties who post job notices to our board will be educated about the ethical issues and professional risks (i.e. model scam trying to sell their free job notices to models), and will be encouraged to include a statement that they will only "consider models who respond to the post on the Independent Modeling job board and that the model must mention the source in their cover letter", which should be Independent Modeling. Think that job post theft will be worthwhile if models who respond from some obscure web site or model consultation company are not considered? Ah, our clients shall indeed be encouraged to consider the source in their go-see process. Educating the companies who are the sources of model jobs will be a large priority as we build our job board into the most professional source of model jobs on the Internet.
Allies such as Tampa Bay Modeling, on the other hand, will fight model scams in their own special way. Model scams, unethical agencies, and unprofessional con artists are going to be fighting a losing war on several fronts, and they deserve it.

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