Wikipedia defines Stockholm Syndrome as “a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which he has been placed.”
You may have noticed this phenomenon in certain child abduction cases wherein the child strangely starts to bond with the kidnapper, taking on his qualities and purposely avoiding detection from the proper authorities.
What you may not have noticed is the Stockholm Syndrome phenomenon in the context of the online world. The abduction may be in a virtual sense, but the possible ramifications are very real. Are you being held captive without even knowing it?
Capturing Your Interest
Many people dream of the day when they can leave the 9-to-5 behind in favor of running their own business. It’s a proposition that may not be immediately possible to most people, but there is a definite possibility there to start up a successful blog or run some sort of freelancing business.
We are inspired by people like Yaro Starak, Darren Rowse, and John Chow, because we see that they are able to make a very sizable income online without being bound to regular working hours or dealing with less than favorable supervisors. Although they may be honest in their approach, some may be pulling you in and capturing your interest, capturing your mind.
Bonding with a False Hope
Just as it is not impossible to become an NBA superstar, it is not impossible to make half a million dollars a year from blogging. It’s just not likely. Even though he proudly proclaims that he is the root of all evil and that he has no problem gaming Google to make a buck, John Chow has led us to believe that anyone can be as successful as he can.
He has been able to leverage his reputation, making more money because he is known for making money online. As a result, when John endorses a certain money-making scheme or ad network, he is able to deploy his huge following of fans, many of whom have no qualms about signing up under John’s affiliate link.
For all intents and purposes, John has managed to capture all of these readers, in a virtual sense, and these readers have — in turn — bonded with their captor. They defend him from the naysayers. They develop a great sense of loyalty. Meanwhile, John is laughing all the way to the bank.
Breaking Free from the Shackles
I don’t think anyone can blame Chow for what he does. He’s managed to create a very specific niche using a different “hook” than anyone else. He has lured in an ever-growing audience and this audience is hard at work to make him money. Realistically, this is no different than the Oprah empire or any other celebrity. They have their fans in shackles, yet the fans love them even more for it.
Why is this?
According to the psychoanalytic view of the syndrome, the tendency might well be the result of employing the strategy evolved by newborn babies to form an emotional attachment to the nearest powerful adult in order to maximize the probability that this adult will enable — at the very least — the survival of the child.
If you are going to survive in this world, it’s probably best to emulate and latch on to the most successful and most powerful people around you. It might mean that you’ll be a little narrow-minded and it might mean that you will become an online captive. Will you break free? Do you want to?
Oddly appropriate that you publish this the same day I’m holding myself hostage for ransom. 😉
In the online world, though, is it really the Stockholm Syndrome, or even any type of lighter version of it, that drives people to follow John Chow and the others? Or, is it the promise of more money, or people simply buying into the idea that they can make money some way easier than spending an 8-hour day at the office?
Just look at all the “make money online” eBooks, websites, blogs and other offers out there. It’s not that they are all scams (some are, some aren’t), but that they offer something that’s not as easy as it appears to an outsider. Once someone becomes an “insider” by making a purchase, then they see that it is a lot of work. Then, they take one of two paths:
1) They are disappointed that they didn’t learn a real “secret.” They didn’t get a password for the Internet’s ATM which is going to just start pumping money into their bank account. They learn that the “make money online” system is real work, and not as “passive” as it may be often described.
2) They see that it is work and then realize, if this guy can do it, so can I! And then a sense of self-confidence and a desire to learn is what pushes them to follow a certain person, hoping to learn more insights and techniques into just how he (or she) does so well.
Even in that second group, most people aren’t going to make a living off their blogs (or other programs). Some just won’t go all the way with their plans, and some just won’t make the cut for other reasons. And some will keep plugging away, hoping that they’ll one day “make it.”
And, for those handful that do, those are the ones that will get the attention and become well-known.
And then other people will read about him (or her) and think, hey, if he can do it… And so, the cycle repeats.
Great article. I think in the online world its more the promise of being filthy rich and having to do no work at all that captivates these people. I’ll admit that I got caught a few years ago by a similar affiliate guru but my kidnapping only lasted a couple months and luckily I had barely spent any money.
These guys make it seem like its easy as pie to get rich like them.. and ya.. its easy as hell for them and almost next to impossible for everyone to be like him.
I don’t know that it’s easy for any of them. Once you get to the top, it’s easier to stay there than it was to get there, but getting there is where all the work is!
This is a very interesting post…especially the last part about emulating what the “powerful” people do. In some respects this makes sense, but in others it does not….
For example, it makes sense to follow John Chow’s example and imitate him in the sense of posting on a regular basis, using a variety of monetization tactics, etc etc
However, when he was using his old theme (misty look I think it was called) how many other blogs copied that and looked exactly the same? How many other blogs do you see that post about whatever he talks about or do you see that have flooded the make money online niche trying to imitate what he has done…. In those cases, I think people would be better off being original.
I think the problem with the whole idea of an “online captive” is that some people don’t know when to be original and when to follow in the example that has been set.
I don’t even remember what his old theme looked like.
I don’t think I copied it. I’m using a theme that was actually designed as some sort of training theme or something. I just liked the look and it was easy to pop in my own header graphic. Since then, I keep modifying it and using the modified versions on all of my blogs.
So all my blogs look alike, except for one I haven’t launched yet, which looks different but uses the same theme…
I hear ya….I know some people like to do a total redesign every 6 months or so, I personally have been using the same theme and just make changes as I see fit. Over time though, even though I have a free downloaded theme, I don’t think it really looks too much like the one it started from.