Someone from another OAI forum posted a reference to this article which was discussed in yet another forum. The article says that eBay hired posters for its boards to keep the discussion lively and positive and never identified them as employees.
What amazes me is that I've never seen this article discussed anywhere previously--especially here at AW, where almost nothing of any consequence that was written about eBay ever seemed to escape detection. Though I suppose that it could have been discussed sometime when I was away from the boards and I often didn't catch up on what I missed.
posted on February 2, 2002 10:11:56 PM new
Now I recall why I wasn't ever impressed with eBay's boards -- intentionally difficult to carry on a decent conversation there.
Borillar
"Friends don't let friends vote republican"
posted on February 2, 2002 10:43:31 PM new
Yeah, and though they conveyed some useful information, they were pretty dull reading except for the fights. I always thought that their purpose was as much entertainment as information. I wonder now how many of the trolls who used to drop by were eBay employees.
posted on February 2, 2002 11:11:11 PM new
Yup, I encountered one of those eBay "Ambassadors" when I was posting on the eBay Canada board in January/February 1999. There was an friendly American posting there very regularly. I thought she just liked Canadians and the friendly fluffy atmosphere which prevailed on that board (compared to the much more "lively" DNF board for example).
Then she e-mailed me and revealed her connection to eBay. She tried to recruit me as an eBay "Ambassador" and mentioned some of the perks.
posted on February 3, 2002 01:08:29 PM new
I remember several years ago when posters on the Q&A were all in a tizzy because they believed that eBay should be paying them to post--the ones who weren't employees. It was all rather interesting, to say the least, and of course resulted in the token Skippy awards, the receipt of which was quickly elevated to a mark of high achievement. The boards have been a fascinating study in aspects of human nature which are much more apparent in this medium than in real life. Especially the experiments in behavorial psychology.
posted on February 3, 2002 05:07:26 PM new
"The boards have been a fascinating study in aspects of human nature which are much more apparent in this medium than in real life. Especially the experiments in behavorial psychology."
