To use this kind of script on your server you certainly need to be a security expert, to prevent the script from beeing hacked. Security is a very complex task.

It is also a huge risk that your mailserver ends up on Spamhaus and SpamCops backlists.

We looked at this and ran the other way! Why take the risk when there are far better options available?

Ken you have a lot of great products that we use, but, like Michele, we will walk the edge only when it is pretty solid ground.

Great topic Andy!

I agree that there are risks with any online script,
and there is a *potential that this product could
be abused – just like any other ethical marketing
tactic.

There’s a ton of great info to read here on your blog
Andy, I’m glad I discovered it!

If you, or anyone, has any suggestion to improve this
product, please contact me directly – my toll free #
is on the site, as well as my helpdesk link.

Thanks again Andy for sharing your expertise, I look
forward to being a daily reader to your blog. :-)

Talk soon!
Ken

I am the guy who packed his bags and moved to Poland

I know Reed’s script is being used in one upcoming product launch, which is the primary reason I haven’t written about it.

I think there is a big difference between finding friends you already have on a particular social network, and using it to encourage others to join.
Recent social networks doing something similar indiscriminately got totally slammed.

I am sure something like this will work gangbusters on your Myspace clients.

Just imagine something like this was stuck on a “mail this link to a friend” for a blog post – it would be fairly devastating to all but a dedicated server.

I can just see it coming – 3 friends is just not enough

“Mail this to at least 100 of your friends to receive the second part of this tutorial where we reveal….”

Add in an Ajax counter to see how many you have ticked so far, and also send the emails without refreshing the page, with the reward link appearing immediately.

Add in a “Downspam” where they only have to send 50, and they just get the audio without transcript.

Add in the “Upspam” for those who sent the message to 100, as they might send you another 100.

Wouldn’t it be so much easier to say on the thank you page “Refer 50 friends and get a free upgrade to Gold member status, just forward the introductory email we sent you to them” ?

# Ken Reno: Viral Optin Generator has no interaction with aWeber.com, and aWeber.com, nor any autoresponder is used for this script.

Ken,
so what? Did you read Aweber’s ToS, policies, and comments from their top level executives on their Blog? I personally did, and I had correspondence with AWeber in that matter.

Bottom line: Everybody, who uses TAF in any way to drive visitors to an AWeber opt-in form bears the risk of loosing the AWeber account. It’s not YOUR definition Ken, it’s AWeber’s.

It drives me mad that so many TAF script/service providers claim, “This works with AWeber…”, and herein put their users in a potentially dangerous situation. That sucks, sorry.

On the other hand I have to blame AWeber for not stating their TAF terms precisely enough! There is indeed some room for speculation and interpretation. –John

The most likely problem someone will encounter running a script like this is having their domain on the SPAM blacklists, as people receive the messages sent by their friends and then marking as SPAM, and that’s something one needs to consider before implementing such a script. It can keep you from getting in touch with valid, interested recipients later on down the line.

There’s a lot of other things that *could* happen, (hacking a server, hacking another insecure script to gain access to server, etc.) but I don’t believe it’s Ken’s responsibility to account for it all (that would be impossible).

That being said, *I* don’t give my Gmail login info out, anywhere. :-)

-Michelle

The tell-a-friend process has been around for a decade now
online, and is used on perhaps millions of websites, blogs,
and newsletters. It’s not just the major players using this technology, it is now available to the masses.

If I asked you for your Gmail username and password, are you going to tell me? Is my server safe and secure? what if I was to hack your script so it did store the passwords? here is an interesting question, if I did modify the script and some one sued you how would you react?

Sure Andy, I would always worry about that too, but I think
the misunderstanding is that our claim is not that it keeps
“no records” (because as you said – everything online has a
record) – but the fact is, that our script collects no
records, and stores no information that is pit in the form.

You are aware there are a host of legal reasons why you have to maintain records, from data retention laws here in the UK, to CAN-SPAM and COPPA regulations in the US. Without maintaining such records you leave yourself open to law suit. So while it would not be wise to record the passwords the actual mail and information sent out should be recorded, of course then you get into the realm of data privacy.

However, it looks fantastic as I’ve often wondered about how MySpace/Facebook/etc does it.

Will look into and may purchase!