From what I've been told directly, it's a quite a bit better than that; or is at least being communicated to be so. Just throwing that out there for now.
I'm waiting on another reply, as I've just answered some questions they had.
7
If anyone is looking for a VW related job...
- Thread starter ReadTheBook
- Start date
From what I've been told directly, it's a quite a bit better than that; or is at least being communicated to be so. Just throwing that out there for now.
I'm waiting on another reply, as I've just answered some questions they had.
GTI Jake
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
My aviation gig is too gravy to leave unfortunately. If it ever isn’t (historically there’s a down turn every so often) I’ll definitely be putting my fabrication skills to good use on a full time basis.
daconchslop
Autocross Champion
- Location
- SC
- Car(s)
- ACS SE/Tech
The Drones are coming to take it Jake ;-)
Nope. I'm sticking to my guns, here.
They dropped off the radar after that.
It's bullshit. If it wasn't, they'd have set the record straight at least in private.
I always give people a chance before planting my flag entirely, but these guys are just collecting data. Done and done. They had their chance.
They dropped off the radar after that.
It's bullshit. If it wasn't, they'd have set the record straight at least in private.
I always give people a chance before planting my flag entirely, but these guys are just collecting data. Done and done. They had their chance.
ReadTheBook
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- Bay Area Smoke Hell
- Car(s)
- DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
they made a VW specific post on reddit not long ago on r/GolfGTI or r/Volkswagen . I asked something like “are you guy person that took their VW specific job?” And got no response.
shovelhd
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Western MA
They can't even spell Volkswagen right.
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
Someone's still gotta fix 'em
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
Collecting data for what?
That's the test!
first time seeing this thread, and I just wanted to say that the only bit in that listing that "qualifies" me is the "grammar Nazis welcome" part....and they blew it.
Your passion on the subject definitely comes through. Do you have an extensive background in marketing, or are you in the C-Suite and know the interactions between departments that well?
I do indeed have a great passion for marketing. It's the core of all business, and it affects everything from product planning to industrial design and part selection. I really enjoy it, because it taps into the mind; it's scientific, artistic, and philosophical. It's also about numbers, planning, tracking potential time-lines... It's a heck of a lot of fun.
Aside from my other activities, I am indeed an owner of multiple businesses and a specialist in many eras of marketing, as well as marketing theory, penetration, and experimental marketing/brand-building theory and application.
My intellectual experience comes from multiple industries and many scenarios quite a few will never encounter, as well as odd-ball concepts such as illusion and even hypnosis. Don't put it past me to hide a layer of resonance and white noise under a track to calm people and ensure the world becomes a little cold when they no longer hear it. My graphic design experience comes from remastering films and simply working with computer graphics for about thirty years now. To be completely honest, I do a lot of things the hard way, because I haven't kept up with new automated features.
I'm pulling my hair out learning some of that stuff now.
I've built many corporate images. I've developed business plans, marketing strategies for other entities, brand identities, full corporate identities right down to official color standards, and so on. I advise on brand adaptation and flexible planning, as well. I've had to lean into this as a result of injuries that prevent me from going out and doing the harsh physical stuff in the middle of nowhere anymore; which kind of sucks, but honestly I'm just as good at this... I just don't like sitting in front of a computer this much. It wears you clean out.
My work has been done in more nations than I can pronounce, in industries from private military contractors to semiconductors and even salon brands; one of which I'm building for myself now, actually... Fine time for that one.
The task now is to pivot from one branch of a business plan to another. Before the virus, a delay happened, and I pivoted to a modelling agency; after building up a portfolio and beginning to push, this current nonsense hit...
So, I pivoted to a production company and media outlet in the cosmetology, modelling, and film industries. Right now, I'm taking a break from standardizing geometric ratios across the entire brand image.
So, I'm planting my foot on the ground and calling these people dishonest and manipulative. What they've done is a dick move. It's the dark side of marketing, and that's a slippery slope. It's so slippery, in fact, that if you step in it even once, you're already down the rabbit hole. Go ahead and discard your values, because you're never getting them back.
Essentially, if a Ferengi like me says someone is taking things too far... They already went beyond the pale years ago.
There are a number of potential answers. Every last one of them is bad.
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
I'd like an example. Not challenging you, I'm genuinely curious
Oh, it's cool. I was just too tired to post again. LOL
The obvious answer is collecting the data to sell it, but that's more complicated than people think. Chinese factories are after that data to develop products for trade shows and associated private labels, and it's not always a monetary exchange. Sometimes it's an exchange of products, development time, or even shaving off development cost by skipping to the brass tacks of the market. After you're done, the factory has the data; along with about thirty other entities.
Beyond that, there's monetizing their electronic properties, which is a big game these days. The web is rather like real estate, in that regard. Any value you bring to your electronic properties sticks. Sometimes, there's a bit of a "pump and dump" effect. I've done it myself, but not like this.
Another possibility is selling their "place in line" within the community by re-branding later; or simply accumulating the data to increase the value of the company itself in the eyes of larger interested parties. If you corner the VW market, you don't have to continue making products. You can simply sell the brand. This is perhaps the nastiest option. In this event, your data is used as an asset in the exchange.
They're not that smart, though.
Right now, I believe they're trying to penetrate the VW enthusiast community in a very nasty way. You promise the world to people, they send you everything they've got, and then the position is filled laterally. If anyone who signs up does indeed get "a job", their labor and time will be abused. They benefit from this by the guaranteed forum post about the position. It was only a matter of time, and I'll wager it hit all the major forums in one form or another.
What's the data for in that event? Well, they now know a shocking amount of details...
Age
Race
Location
Employment history
Name
The middle school you attended
Interests
Level of enthusiasm
Hobbies...
...and so on. Whatever you give them; but this is a resume, mind you... You put a heck of a lot of sensitive information in a resume.
With much less than that, I can sell you your own credit card number. With that amount of data, they've got the inside line on everything here, and certainly who the next demographic is likely to be. That affects product planning.
These guys didn't seem to have much of anything VW-related. Right now they're trying to determine what they should produce, if anything. In that effort, they've mislead people and lied.
Even if someone is cool with all of that, you're trusting whatever hard drive they've stored it on, their cloud services, the service terms related to their operating system, internet provider, their Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts, their internal privacy practices, and a pile of contracts by which they are bound that not a soul there ever read the first word of, and that morning they showed up hung over and accidentally e-mailed your shit to their mother.
That data is worth more than their entire business. They now have a catalog of everything that makes a person a VW enthusiast, and with that, they can seek out more and manipulate those that already exist.
It's disgusting, really.
An easy way to understand why their brand matters so much:
Apple floats near a trillion dollar valuation; but they're not a trillion dollar company. Apple is a trillion dollar brand.
If I offered you ownership of everything Apple for a hundred million dollars, you'd jump at it and there's no question you'd be able to get a loan.
If I offered you that same ownership, but without the brand... You wouldn't want it, and even if you did, you'd have to be Elon Musk to get the loan.
When this company's brand is augmented by so much intellectual property, it doesn't matter what they do. They can always pump that image and dump it the first chance they get. Big companies don't buy these little dime store operations because they want the products. They buy them because they want the position in the market, and they want that "other" intellectual property.
A little while back, I released a computer program; but I was no fool. I knew my software development branch had no clout, and would never make it without a publisher; so I did the smart thing:
I looked through my own vintage software collection, and found a brand I remembered incredibly fondly (my target demographic was compatible) but had gone under. The originator, to my dismay, would not cooperate, but he hadn't thought ahead. He'd let everything lapse, and since he was such an asshole about it, I registered the stuff myself. At that point, I was releasing software to a "computationally nostalgic" demographic; a growing segment of the electronic market that was super hot at the time.
Yes, he was pissed; but not because I took it. He was pissed because he didn't take the money to begin with. It's not as if I had to offer, but I was after his blessing. Whatever. A curse will do just as well.
Now, to dial that back to automotive stuff...
Let's say I'm fabricating parts for Jeeps; relatively small time. I have good inroads into the consciousness of the community, and a great reputation, but I'm just not in it anymore. If those factors pass muster, I can sell my brand to a larger operation. You've seen this happen many times, I'm sure; but may not have known why it happened. The purchasing entity doesn't give two shakes of a dead cat about my product line; they want to step right into the community with a chaperone and leveled up reputation.
Another example is this:
You can show up to Youtube, and produce a high quality, entertaining video every week. That's certainly a choice.
The alternative is to spend a couple of months working your ass off, and build an immediate catalog for the launch to take advantage of everything on offer.
What these companies are doing is the same as the second option. They don't have to build a reputation. They bought one ahead of time.
Apple floats near a trillion dollar valuation; but they're not a trillion dollar company. Apple is a trillion dollar brand.
If I offered you ownership of everything Apple for a hundred million dollars, you'd jump at it and there's no question you'd be able to get a loan.
If I offered you that same ownership, but without the brand... You wouldn't want it, and even if you did, you'd have to be Elon Musk to get the loan.
When this company's brand is augmented by so much intellectual property, it doesn't matter what they do. They can always pump that image and dump it the first chance they get. Big companies don't buy these little dime store operations because they want the products. They buy them because they want the position in the market, and they want that "other" intellectual property.
A little while back, I released a computer program; but I was no fool. I knew my software development branch had no clout, and would never make it without a publisher; so I did the smart thing:
I looked through my own vintage software collection, and found a brand I remembered incredibly fondly (my target demographic was compatible) but had gone under. The originator, to my dismay, would not cooperate, but he hadn't thought ahead. He'd let everything lapse, and since he was such an asshole about it, I registered the stuff myself. At that point, I was releasing software to a "computationally nostalgic" demographic; a growing segment of the electronic market that was super hot at the time.
Yes, he was pissed; but not because I took it. He was pissed because he didn't take the money to begin with. It's not as if I had to offer, but I was after his blessing. Whatever. A curse will do just as well.
Now, to dial that back to automotive stuff...
Let's say I'm fabricating parts for Jeeps; relatively small time. I have good inroads into the consciousness of the community, and a great reputation, but I'm just not in it anymore. If those factors pass muster, I can sell my brand to a larger operation. You've seen this happen many times, I'm sure; but may not have known why it happened. The purchasing entity doesn't give two shakes of a dead cat about my product line; they want to step right into the community with a chaperone and leveled up reputation.
Another example is this:
You can show up to Youtube, and produce a high quality, entertaining video every week. That's certainly a choice.
The alternative is to spend a couple of months working your ass off, and build an immediate catalog for the launch to take advantage of everything on offer.
What these companies are doing is the same as the second option. They don't have to build a reputation. They bought one ahead of time.