Guy who got a negative review going crazy on John Chow
I know that a lot of BloggingTips readers are subscribers to John Chows Blog (including myself) however i thought that i would bring this to everyones attention to those who have missed it 
John did a review through reviewme recently for a site called Seven Day System. The site’s design is the same as those crappy clickbank marketing sites which promise to make you a millionaire in a short space of time with little or no effort - and by the sounds of it this site is the same. Thankfully John realised this pretty quickly and gave the site a negative review on his blog and the owner Michael Nivola has been less than happy!
You so rarely see a really negative reviewme review on blogs so i’ve found this whole ordeal hilarious if im honest!!! 
Just remember guys, there are no get rich quick schemes to get rich - it takes a lot of time and hard work. And if there was a system that could make thousands of dollars in a few days, why would anyone sell it for a few hundred bucks. If its too good to be true on the internet it nearly always is - remember that!
Why Choose John Chow for a Review?
I’m really baffled why anyone who runs a scam ‘get rich quick’ type site like this would order a review through John.
Let’s simply things and breakdown the type of blog reviewers you have :
- 100% Positive - Bloggers who always rave about the site they are reviewing and say nothing negative about the site at all.
- Just the Facts - Bloggers who just rip content from the site they are reviewing and display the facts and figures.
- The Fair - Bloggers who give a fair review and write about the good and bad points about the site.
When i first started reading John Chow’s blog i thought that he was a ‘100% Positive’ type reviewer as the first 4 or 5 reviews i read were positive. However, ive since read more reviews and believe that he’s pretty fair and tries to only review sites which he likes. Clearly in this instance he decided to review a site he didn’t like and bank the cash which is something i haven’t seen much of. Think about it - How many really negative reviewme reviews have you seen in blogs?
Which brings me back to why im bafflled. Why would you order a review from any blog which you think is going to expose your site and warn people against you - surely ‘any publicity is good publicity’ isn’t applicable here!
The Backlash Backfired
Michael Nivola, the owner of the Seven Day System, has been on a commentating rampage the last week making negative comments on John’s blog posts. God knows the number of cans of red bull this guys drank to keep this up. You can see dozens of his comments in this post and this post. Thankfully John has allowed of of these negtive comments to remain so the entertainment has just got better and better.
This is one of my favourite comments :
I’ve gotten over it. But now that I have found him, and read his postings (I am a new reader), I must expose him. This time it is for two things:
1) do my part for karma to get back at him
2) open the eyes of his readers to see beyond what he is doing, saying, or telling you allIt’s a community service, let’s just put it at that.
I am really busy, but it is worth the time and effort to see that an egocentric, evil guy like him gets a piece of my mind.
Talk about transparency? Well here it comes.
Unfortunately a lot of the comments are not as pleasant as the one above though i doub’t JC will lose any sleep over it. As you would expect, this massive revolutionary backlash hasnt suceeded.
Would you review a site you don’t like?
As i mentioned before, i wanted to write about this because you so rarely see negative reviews through reviewme.
I think it brings up some interesting questions. Would you review a site you don’t like and give it a really negative review?
kevin
Mark | May 25th, 2007 at 1:20 am #
Oh man, I can’t stand those kind of sites — the type that goes on and on forever on one page. I can smell “scam” five links before I get to them. I’d swear they’re made by the same person.
Btw, I’ve appreciated your content. I’ll be posting a link back to you from my latest edition of the Drum Corps tomorrow.
Kevin | May 25th, 2007 at 2:58 am #
yeah - im sure some of these sites are legitimate but i swerve 100% of them.
thanks for the link back :):)
Kumiko | May 25th, 2007 at 3:24 am #
From experience, writing a negative review is a lot more difficult than a positive one. You have to keep in mind that they’re paying for it so every negative point has to be backed up and constructed fairly. But when it has to be done, it has to be done…in the end, you’re presenting nothing more than the truth
TechLemming | May 25th, 2007 at 5:49 am #
It depends on what you mean by “you don’t like”. If it’s about a subject that I don’t enjoy but the website is good for those interested I would write a review.
If the website is bad, it doesn’t matter if I enjoy the subject or not, I wouldn’t write about it. I can’t take someones money just because they didn’t have enough brains to make a solid website before going on a spending spree with reviews.
Then again, if it’s a scam and not just a badly designed/poor information website, then I might take the money just to teach him a lesson in my review.
Blog About Money Online | May 25th, 2007 at 6:44 am #
I can’t stop laughing at this guy. Here’s my favorite comment:
“He’s a greedy scrooge.
Has he ever given you all anything from his own pocket?
He has always given away to you all things which he got from someone or somewhere.
He is so greedy that, if he really thinks this is a scam, he wouldn’t even do the review, knowing he has dumb readers. But he still does it. Not to protect his readers, but to put down this opportunity, as it will mean fierce competition for him, and at the same time, he wants the money, to go to some fancy restaurants, selling something I would never eat in a million years, and show it to all of you.
That’s John Chow. Selfish. Egocentric. Evil.”
Greedy scrooge? I’m not sure if Nivola is aware that all income from John Chow dot Com goes to charity. Curse those greedy charities!
Romantic Ideas | May 25th, 2007 at 6:49 am #
Hilarious . . .
Success Online | May 25th, 2007 at 11:50 am #
That guy has way too much time on his hands. Maybe he should pop on over to my blog and learn a few things about the right mindset to achieve real success online…..
No scams allowed!!!!!
Leroy Brown | May 25th, 2007 at 12:57 pm #
I wouldn’t hesitate to accept and write a paid review on a site/service that I disliked. In fact, I would jump at the opportunity. Why? Well, it would really prove to your readers that you speak the truth, even when money is on the line.
Could it cost you future review opportunities? Sure, and that’s unfortunate. But it would cement your credibility with your readers, and I think that may be more valuable long term.
Tay | May 25th, 2007 at 1:25 pm #
That’s just hilarious!
Anyway, about your question. From the point where I am standing now, yes, I would review a site I didn’t like. Money is money. Of course, I would never give a really negative review. I would list the bad points, but I would also find good points and list those as well. I would be completely honest. I mean, it is a review. It shouldn’t be biased. It should contain pros and cons and views from both sides.
~Tay from Super Blogging
Jenny | May 26th, 2007 at 4:14 am #
I was surprised when I read John’s negative review as I’d never seen him be scathing in a review before, a little negative yes, but scathing no.
It was a good review though, good as in fair. As I’ve been watching the comments it’s pretty clear Michael saw John was popular and ordered a review thinking it was just another way to make a buck. His bad luck that the site was actually “reviewed” not PR’d.
Makes me keep wanting to go back.
Community Building Blog | May 26th, 2007 at 12:21 pm #
I think it all comes down to personal integrity. Just because you have taken money for the review, you should still report your opinions honestly.
John did just that - I think it’s the most credible thing he has done for a long while.
- Martin Reed
Kevin | May 26th, 2007 at 9:38 pm #
agreed - the review was fair. I think when you order a reviewme type review you should expect criticism. Infact you should want to see criticism - it shouldnt just be about traffic.