Welcome to www.fmbb.net
|
Following Up on Fallacies about Getting Free Stuff
“Free stuff” – the mere whisper of the words is often enough to make many people throw common sense out the window and head for the free goods like a missile to a target. And then there are those people whose eyes glaze over when they hear those words, because they can’t believe anything worth having can actually be free. The truth about free stuff is really somewhere in the middle. Yes, you can really and truly cash in on many freebie deals for things that you want to have, but a healthy sense of cynicism about free gear is also useful. Here are some of the important things to keep in mind about free stuff.
The first myth you should throw out the window is that nothing good comes for free. The fact of the matter is that the price tag on a good doesn’t always match up to the quality, and there are many great free things out there. Case in point: music. Sure, everyone has heard the scare stories about file sharing online, and maybe some big record labels will come after you if you focus on their artists. Dig a little below the surface, however, and you can find a whole new world of really great bands that are more than happy for you to listen to their music over and over again. The same goes for free software. People on the cutting edge of technology who have a passion for creating new and efficient applications often develop open source code software. They’re doing it for the love of it, and they often have more talent than any ten suit-and-tie tech guys trying to hock their latest product for a mega profit margin.
Here is where the reality part comes in, however. Yes, you can find wonderful things that are completely free – but yes, you can also find a lot of free things that aren’t worth your time at all and in some cases can cause you a lot of trouble. The net is a great place to fall victim to a “free stuff” scam, but you can also sometimes come across these scams in the mail as well. If something is free, but requires you to give your credit card number or bank details, run the other way.
Another myth people have about free stuff, especially free stuff on the internet, is that when you try to cash in, the only free stuff you will be getting is an inbox full of more spam than you can handle. The truth about this is, well, that is can certainly be true. Many companies give away free things in exchange for your email address, so they can try to hit you up to purchase things in the future. What makes this a myth, however, is that it can be avoided. If you don’t want to choke on an inbox of spam, and who could blame you, set up a special (free) email account that you will use exclusively for freebie hunting. You’ll have the best of both worlds.
The last myth about free stuff involves the “catch” people are always looking for. Often, for free stuff, the catch is a bit of junk mail or email or the fact that you have to submit to a time consuming survey. Sometimes, the catch is that if you get free stuff through a trial offer, if you don’t cancel it, it keeps coming, and this time you have to pay. The truth about these catches is, however, that the catch is in the eye of the beholder. These things don’t make products any less free; so don’t write off every free offer offhand. You might just find a catch you can live with to get a great free product you really want.
Proctor and Gamble Great at the Freebie Thing Do you have a favorite manufacturer that you like to tap into for free product samples and coupons? For those in the know, the Proctor and Gamble Corporation is one of the best companies for getting your share of freebies. This popular manufacturer is well known as the creator of many fine household products. For freebie hunters, the Proctor and Gamble Corporation are known as one of the most reliable sources for awesome freebie deals and promotions. Here are some hints and tips at become at an ace at getting freebies from your favorite manufacturer. Get to Know the Proctor and Gamble Corporation for the Best Shot at Great Freebies If you want the best shot at getting the best freebies from Proctor and Gamble, you will find that they are very generous with their free samples and coupon freebies. But you will have to take the time to know the company. Peruse their website and get to know their promotion schedule. The Proctor and Gamble Corporation is a favorite with many freebie hunters because it provides consumers with a wide range of products and they even maintain a special webpage dedicated exclusively to their current promotions and offers. Once you have located this page on their official website, go ahead and bookmark it for future reference. Check with the site periodically to see what offers and promotions are currently on the table. Enable Flash to Get the Most Out of the Proctor and Gamble Page Recently, the Proctor and Gamble Corporation, along with many other streamlined websites, has added a Flash based scrolling design to display their current offers and promotions. In order to view these promotions, you will have to make sure that you have Flash enabled on your web browser. These scrolling offers are shown at the bottom of the page. Check these often and carefully as new offers are added periodically. Read the scrolling items carefully. Some of them will link you to official sweepstakes offers, while others will lead you straight to freebie offers and coupons. Selecting the Proctor and Gamble Offers that Most Interest You In order to get the best deals, visit the promotions page on the official Proctor and Gamble website. From there, you can select all the free offers that most interest you. The Proctor and Gamble webpage usually comes loaded with a healthy selection of free samples, sweepstakes and coupon offers. Another thing you can do to make sure that you always have access to great Proctor and Gamble promotions is to get on their mailing list. Make sure you select the products you are most interested in so that you will get pertinent mailers and coupons. Read the Fine Print on Proctor and Gamble Offers and Promotions When it comes to manufacturer promotions, time is of the essence. Most great deals and offers will not last forever. Make a note of the expiration date of the deals you are interested in. Read the fine print on the promotions. Most will only be available to United States residents. However, international customers do not have to despair. Simply look for the global link on the main page. This will connect you to other pages that offer you pertinent promotions for your country of residence. For the most part, Proctor and Gamble has established itself as a worthy generator of freebies, coupons and sweepstakes offers. Chances are that you will find your freebies in the mail within a few short weeks of making your initial request. Are There Any Risks Associated with Getting Proctor and Gamble Promotions? Some people are wary about handing over their personal contact information to a company. If this is a concern with you, make sure that you read the company's own privacy policy. As a general rule, you should avoid making requests and giving personal information to companies that do not offer you easy access to their privacy policy. Copyright Music Infringement Copyright Music Infringement is Not Preferred Method for Music Lovers In recent years, copyright music infringement has seen an unprecedented leap in scope and scale. This is largely due to online services that allowed unchecked file sharing among their subscribers. While this abuse of copyright is not by any means limited to music, this is where the most profound effects of file sharing have been observed. Industry giants of file sharing are cropping up left and right with the demise of the pioneer for illicit file sharing, Napster. The Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) has made copyright music infringement their primary cause to fight. They estimate that peer-to-peer file sharing takes around 4.2 billion dollars each year worldwide from the coffers of the music industry. I really cannot blame them that is a fairly large chunk of change. The problem with their estimates however is the assumption that people would actually buy every piece of music they download or that they aren't buying the music they would have bought at any rate. While I by no means condone copyright music infringement or any other copyright infringement I do believe they are overestimating the damage to the industry that is being done by these file-sharing programs. One of the primary arguments that the RIAA is using in order to, hopefully, discourage people from not supporting their favorite groups and artists by buying their recordings, is the fact that new and struggling bands are less likely to continue making music because it will no longer be profitable. The bulk of musician's incomes are the result of royalties, which depend entirely on the sales of their albums. The RIAA is using the legal system to back them up by taking the fight to court. Recent claims made by the RIAA include one rather controversial claim that people ripping CDs they have bought and paid for does not constitute fair use because CDs are not "unusually subject to damage" and that if they do become damaged they can be replaced affordably. This assertion has raised more than a few eyebrows and is giving rise to opponents of the RIAA who claim that the lawsuits and crackdowns against those presumed guilty of copyright music infringement are actually hurting music sales and the profits of the music industry. During the height of Napster popularity (the hallmark by which all file sharing seems to be compared) CD sales were at their highest rate ever. People were exposed to music and groups they otherwise may not have heard without file sharing. As a result of enjoying the music by these groups people went out and actually bought the CDs of the music they enjoyed. It's ironic that the very lawsuits designed to stop copyright music infringement have actually managed to stifle file sharing enough that CD sales are dropping noticeably around the world. Opponents and critics also challenge that rather than being a source of copyright music infringement, peer 2 peer networks offer unprecedented exposure for new artists and their music. Another argument against the RIAA is that the real reason for the lawsuits against file sharer is because they want to keep the prices for CDs over inflated while keeping the actual royalties coming to the artists relatively low. The copyright music infringement claims made by the RIAA have become suspect. The music industry is currently working on ways where fans can legally download music. This will mean that fans have access to the music they love from their PCs and directly to their music playing devices without resorting to illegal copyright music infringement. The truth is that most people want to do the right thing and given viable alternative will elect to do so. |