xSky — a program designed to work in tandem with Skype to allow for mass-messaging to people in your Skype contact list. A program that is intended to spread what you have to say in a viral nature. A program that if used properly, has the potential to be a very effective tool.
Read that last sentence carefully.….I’ll say it again: “A program that if used properly, has the potential to be a very effective tool.”
That is where xSky fails. First of all, Skype’s Terms of Service state very clearly mass-messaging is a violation, and violators can and will have their accounts blocked and/or terminated without notice. When contacted directly about it, Skype’s representatives stated, in no lesser words — if you are on the receiving end of these messages, report the user for spam and abuse, then block them.
So let’s look to what the owner of xSky has to say about this — read his side of it at Craig Caron’s blog. Simply put, Todd Hirsch takes a very cocky and arrogant stance on this — not what you would expect from a product owner. The correct response should be along the lines of “We do not condone or support any user that abuses xSky for spammable purposes. Users of our program found to be in violation shall be terminated without notice.” But sadly, Todd does not say anything like this. Instead, he chooses to counter the truth with a personal attack on Craig and the members of Family Networker, calling list building “Spam” in its own right.
Todd Hirsch, you are pathetic and wrong.
I strongly encourage anyone using xSky to distance yourself from such an unethical and poor marketer such as Todd Hirsch. Even if you do not know the man personally, supporting the software supports Todd. And since Todd promotes software that is clearly 100% in violation of Skype’s Terms of Service, why would you want to jeopardize your reputation and your contact list in Skype if you get shut down? Better yet, what if Skype decides to take legal action against xSky and all its users? Do you really want to get dragged into the legal system and subject yourself to costly court time and expenses?
Do yourself a favor: If you are using xSky, stop. Get out while you can before you get sucked into the black hole with the rest of Todd’s gang. Face it people: If people really WANT to hear from you, you can approach them directly. xSky breaks the ethical nature of Internet Marketing by making marketing impersonal and cold — which is a key attribute of spammers. Spend your time wiser in building relationships with your followers. You will get more respect — and more response — in doing so.
xSky: Unethical, impersonal, improper and downright annoying.
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Excellent post and so true — I personally am so sick of all the Xsky and their users — even tho they start out with messages with no links — they message still is about what they are promoting.
Thanks for the post
Nancy
Skype: nancyradlinger
Hey Brian, great post and as a member of Family Networker like yourself, we don’t need this kind of spamming software ruining Skype for us all.
Jon
Skype me –soonerdad3
Jon Benton recently posted..Fast Cash Club
Well said Brian. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been “spammed” by xsky users. They don’t even approach you first as a courtesy to see if you’d be interested in taking a look at their program. They just “shove” it down your throat. Shame I’ve had to block, delete and report some folks who were misguided by this program and Todd Hirsch. These poor folks have been misled and could accomplish so much more with the right kind of help and guidance.
Jane Porterfield
Jane Porterfield recently posted..Cheap Search Engine Optimization for Home Based Business
Hi there Brian,
Well I cannot say I have had a lot of the xSky spammers,
Crossing fingers eyes etc, but I do think by looking at comments that are all over the place. That there is a lot of troubles and problems being caused by how it is being used. It is as we can all see also making troubles between people.. Which really just should not be. Should it ?
Kevan…
skype:kevan.brock
Hey Brian,
I just put up a response post on my blog.
I hope I’ll be able to drive a little bit of traffic over here, as I always appreciate your analyses (is that the plural of analysis? I don’t know… lol) of programs and products.
- Jared
Jared Silver recently posted..How to Lose Friends and Annoy People – xSky Spamming Software
Thanks for the kind words, Jared — I am honored you dropped by!
Brian
Before you make complaints,try it first so you will know if it will really give good or bad effects..Like tasting food,may look same to others but if you will try some,you will know the difference…:_)…
Hmmm„it is really a part of business world the “crab-Mentality”..Pulling people down….But anyways,I will keep using xSky cause I know it helps not only me but to other people who use it now…Mind your own business Mr. Jared and Mr. Blain:-)…Maybe can focus making videos to help other lives successful…than you use that “crab-mentality” attitude..
Thanks for your comment, but I respectfully disagree. One does not need to use software to be able to speak to their experience with it. Countless poor souls have been on the receiving end of Spam and junk messaging as a result of xSky. I never received junk messages in any of my 3 Skype accounts until this poor excuse of a tool came along. You for one perpetuate this “crab-mentality” by telling others to mind their own business. Guess you and other xSky cultists can’t handle the truth? People like Jared Silver and others will state their opinions on topics they feel strongly about — so strongly, that they care about their followers like a best friend, and will encourage them not to do something that could hurt them. You simply prove the point I made in reply to Todd above: xSky preaches impersonalization. And that, my friend, will gain you far more disgruntled followers than it will sales in your pocket. Money is made when people trust YOU — they buy YOU — not the product. If you are good friends with an Eskimo and they trust you to the end, you could very easily sell them snow. I rest my case.
Wow…. xSky is helping another “internet marketer” get some traffic to his blog. I guess we are the hot topic of the day.
I want to first say that I am a co-owner of xSky. There are some false statements here on this page.
First of all.
We do provide training on the right ways to use xSky. We have daily webinars and we have 3 Skype rooms full to the limit that we use for trainings and questions. We teach to use the ignore list feature that we have so that people that are super sensitive to a broadcasted message can be put in the “ignore” list. This way you can still stay friends.
We teach people not to send out only sales messages. We teach people to use the tool responsibly. There are many others features xSky also besides just the broadcast feature.
This Guy…. Brian Schilling… is funny…”I agree with you, there probably are countless users of xSky and other software like it (including Message Magic, which I use) who use it responsibly.”
Message Magic has NO ignore list and they never did trainings on the “right way” to use it.
xSky also is a contact management tool and has some really cool features besides the broadcaster.
Some people here make some valid points. To me it is funny to see how sensitive some are to receiving an offer of any kind. I agree spam is annoying, but some people I think have anger issues towards life and take it out on “spam”.
When you accept someone as a contact on Skype you agree to get messages from them. If you do not like a certain message you have the option to block them. People have been “spamming” on Skype for years already. You do not need xSky to spam on Skype. People copy and paste messages and spam that way. Message Magic has been out for 3 years now and never put options in to make it more like permission based marketing.
We at xSky have features that make using xSky more like permission based Email marketing. You can “opt out” of broadcasts. There are many people using xSky responsibly. I send out broadcasts to people in my list and I get nothing but positive results. I have built relationships on Skype and there are people in my list that LOVE my broadcasts. I also however have people in my ignore list that I never broadcast to.
I believe that xSky should be used wisely and not just to go crazy with it and send out sales message after sales message. It is annoying a little.. but some people are really cry babies about it I think.
I get some sale messages everyday (spam) it however does not bother me and I actually look at the offers sometimes. A major point you missed is that if you accept someone as a contact you agree to get messages from them.. sales messages or not. It is just funny to me to see an “internet marketer” crying about spam.. but then they pitch you something right after…lol
xSky is really meant for the people with big Skype lists that want to organize them and have the option to broadcast messages. It is an amazing tool.
It is true that marketing on Skype is more effective then E-mail marketing.
Most marketing Emails never get opened.
I am happy that people are discussing the positive side of xSky here also. We at xSky Software LLC do not condone spam. We Do teach responsible use of xSky. People learn fast to use it responsibly or they get many people blocking them. xSky will be here for years to come. We developed with the help of the Skype community. We are 100% in the TOS guide lines of Skype. We have 100% right to make xSky. The MSN buy of Skype will not change anything as far as the Skype API.
Thank you for the discussion. xSky is growing everyday.
Have a wonderful day.
Todd Hirsch
Skype Me…toddhirsch
Todd,
Funny how you mention you have 3 Skype chat rooms filled to the max with training and advice. It clearly is not working or effective AT ALL. And you are wrong about Message Magic — the Getting Started Guide very clearly trains you on how to set up your Skype contact list into the proper groups, so you can pick and choose who you want to receive a message. They very clearly state their opposition to Spam, and teach you how to use the tool responsibly. And I can assure you, they DO take action against their users who abuse the product.
What’s really funny to me is that I never once got junk and garbage messages from ANYONE in my contact lists across several Skype accounts until xSky came on the scene. And I don’t recall a single xSky user EVER asking me if it was okay to add me to their xSky broadcasting list. NOT ONE PERSON. Even funnier that the messages never contained any kind of opt-out instructions until people complained EN MASSE about the abuse received from Spam junkies. And I find it even funnier how some of these people spam out messages from xSky, and don’t even realize what they are saying; when they get a response they say “Huh?”. Interesting.
xSky is intended to perpetuate Spam. It is marketed to carnivores known as Network Marketers. It is marketed under the premise of impersonalization. The website says so itself:
“xSky is a next-generation Skype marketing tool, that helps the big-list marketers to communicate with their entire list personally, but without the tedious tasks like copy-pasting the same message, and changing the name for every contact you are sending a message to. xSky also helps the small-list marketers to obtain that big fat list that the big guys are bragging about. ”
Boy, how much more impersonal can you get? What is so tedious about taking a moment to personalize a message? What is so hard about changing a message to address someone by their name? Why is it so hard for folks to take time out and get to know the people on the other side? xSky clearly does not care about the recipients of messages sent through their tool. Laws have been created because of recipient complaints when it comes to email — the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 was the result. And for those not familiar with that law, it very clearly stipulates that all email lists must have clear opt-out instructions included in every message, both online and offline. xSky is being touted as an alternative to email blasts.……so basically xSky amounts to circumventing the law.
All I can say is buyer beware. I for one, do 2 things: 1) I never promote to my list and hammer my followers over the head to buy the next hot trainwreck of a product launch. I take the time out to use the product myself first, before I go out and recommend it. 2) I reach out and build friendships and relationships using Skype, Facebook, and other social media outlets. My followers stick with me because I do not utilize methods to mass market and impersonalize my emails or Skype contact. Everyone hates being pushed into buying something. Poll 100 people and ask them if their idea of a good time is a visit to the car dealership to shop for a car. Most people HATE it. Why? Because they know on the parking lot of the dealership is the vulture of a salesman waiting with a drooling mouth to push you into buying a car. The sales cycle just will not change. People will make their own decisions and buy based on being informed. Buyers who are respected and given the chance to make a rational decision are far more loyal and repeat customers than those who are pressed into making an impulse decision that later turns into buyer’s remorse, leading to refund requests galore.
I thank you Todd for perpetuating the discussion to emphasize the truth behind xSky. I have seen far more comments here and on other blogs indicating how much opposition there is to methods of Spam and impersonal messages. Making a buck at the expense of pissing people off is a truly piss-poor business model. Well done.
Brian
P.S. I also thank you for taking the time to write a personal reply here, instead of using a canned message that you have posted everywhere else. I guess your next software release will be a mass message posting tool for blogs where you don’t need to customize the message to the person you are talking to?
You are funny again…
Message Magic has no opt out feature… xSky does!!
We have added features to xSky that make it much more advanced then MM.
We do not promote it as a spam tool. We do train the members on using the tool responsibly.
People misuse MM also.
I am glad this topic could bring your little blog some much needed traffic.
The little book you just wrote (posted) sounded like mindless dribble.
I have work to do now.
Have a nice day.
I just checked our numbers… and WOW…
xSky sold a lot of copies today!! Our members did!
One guy sold 30 copies by himself.
so my point is.. while you were acting childish and trying to prove a point… xSky was growing…
Success feels good….
Arrogance and cockiness doesn’t answer the issues at hand. Honesty and integrity are your weaknesses. I find it most amusing that you persist in branding yourself in this light, and you just don’t get a clue that instead of selling a measly 30 copies.….if all of these were positive and uplifting comments, you could have sold 300, or even 3,000. You just don’t have a clue how to run a business with morality, integrity and class.
And for the record, I do not write about this stuff to earn traffic to my site. My mission as an Internet Marketer is to leverage my 10+ years of experience in this industry in a way that helps others and keeps them out of trouble. I am not out to brag about big numbers. I am not out to brag about my successes. That’s really no one’s business but my wife and family. Grow up and accept that people have a right to express their opinion and state the facts. If you can’t handle the truth, don’t enter the arena.
Brian
Wait until a few weeks.. we will have xSky on Click Bank and you will see it more in your “in box”
We are only 5 weeks old.
Craig is not a “big marketer” and neither are you.
I am sad for you that you market like this and that you are so blind.
Todd, I don’t really care if you are bigger than me or I am bigger than you, or even if Craig is bigger than one or both of us. I for one, do not consider myself to be a big name marketer. I thank you for the allusion that I am — and I thank you for generating the exposure to who I am and what I stand for. I leave judgment to the masses, who have been following this ongoing discussion.
So you sold 50 copies now.….WOOT. How many of these 50 users will be around 1 month from now, once they have successfully pissed off their contacts, gotten reported to Skype, and no longer have a Skype account to use the software? You call that “Service”? That’s customer disservice.….and a true shame.
I also find it quite amusing the product is not ALREADY on CB.….I would think that would be one of the FIRST places to market a new product!
I know you well enough. I think the converse is far from true. You left Family Networker, you dug your own hole. Keep diggin your way out, you’re just getting in deeper.
Brian
We sold about 50 copies just TODAY alone… We are only 5 weeks old.. and A LARGE number of xSky copies have been sold.
That is the truth.
We will only get bigger and bigger.
That is the truth.
To bad you don’t really know me.
If you really knew me then you know I am a nice guy and have very high morals and ethics.
I am a very hard working business man like yourself.
Have a great day.