Maybe "punk'd" is the wrong word but I have a few questions about the "award"badge seen on the Fookem & Bug website that they pasted on seen on the right side of their main page near the top (see screen capture of Fookem & Bug with the badge award picture). The blog award badge says "TOP HEARING IMPAIRED BLOG 2010. AWARD WINNER" and clicking on that badge links you to the Medical Assistant Schools "top hearing impaired" web page that lists "hearing impaired"....uh... "blog winners" including some of the well known and recognized blogs like Candy, E?What?Huh?, Jared Evans Global Microbrand, An American Mom in Tuscany, and Dorkette:Exposed.
Eh?What?Huh?
http://www.ehwhathuh.com/
Found in Blank
http://www.foundinblank.com/The Frost Village Blog
http://frostvillage.com/blog/Adreanaline
http://www.adreanaline.com/blog/Grumpy Old Deafies
http://www.grumpyoldeafies.com/Deaf Special Needs
http://www.deafspecialneeds.com/Show of Hands
http://aslperformingarts.blogspot.com/Diversity In Deafhood
http://deafprogressivism.blogspot.com/Ben Fletcher
http://benfletcher.wordpress.com/Big Ben Factor
http://bigbenfactor.wordpress.com/Sharlyn Ayotte's Blog
http://billyclarkstudios51.blogspot.com/Candy
http://candysweetblog.wordpress.com/Deaf Chef At Large
http://www.deafchefatlarge.com/Tactile The World
http://tactiletheworld.wordpress.com/Just Singin' & Singin' in the Sun
http://danielgreene.com/Hearing Mojo
http://hearingmojo.com/Deaf Chipmunk
http://deafchipmunk.com/Deaf Civil Rights Movement
http://deafcivilrightsmovement.wordpress.com/Deaf411 Online v\Blog
http://deaf411online.com/blog/Deafinitely Girly
http://www.deafinitelygirly.com/Going Deaf
http://denareiter.blogspot.com/Donald's Deaf\hard Of Hearing Technology Blog
http://prosumertech.blogspot.com/Liz's Deaf Blog
http://l1zblog.wordpress.com/My Opinion Here
http://geminisigner.blogspot.com/Fookem And Bug
http://fookembug.wordpress.com/Campaining For Deaf Children
http://iannoon.wordpress.com/J. Parrish Lewis
http://jparrishlewis.com/Through a Deaf Lens
http://www.thedeaflens.com/Jared Evans Global Microbrand
http://www.jaredlog.com/The Deaf Edge
http://deafpundit.wordpress.com/Deaf Politics Blog
http://blog.deafpolitics.org/An American Mom In Tuscany
http://rallycapsdotnet.blogspot.com/Crazy Deaf Joe Blog
http://www.crazydeafjoe.net/Curse Of Silence
http://ilsordo.blogspot.com/ABC
http://johnlestina.blogspot.com/index.htmlDeaf Women In Film
http://dwif.blogspot.com/Love Daddy
http://www.lovedaddy.org/A Deaf Mom
http://deafmomworld.com/
The Dream You Are living Is Your Creation
http://jimikiwi.blogspot.com/Dorkette:Exposed
http://gnarlydorkette.blogspot.com/
Besides Fookem & Bug that got punk'd there are a few others that also displayed the badge award on their website such as an ASL website called Show of Hands where you can see the award badge seen at the bottom of their webpage, and Deaf Women in Film has that badge award, too. Out of a list of 40 blog "winners" three blogsites actually displayed this bogus award badge that links to a spam/bogus website.
I might understand how others may have put that blog award badge on their blog/website but Fookem & Bug? I'd at least expect these Deaf guys to question such an award badge, especially when it when it comes to controversial words that may offend the sensibilities of some Deaf people like "hearing impaired." And that it came from a website designed to point people as "one-stop" shop on getting your online degree in medical assistance. If you didn't know it you can tell it's a spam website if you spotted the statement on their award page where it says:
These blogs will cover topics ranging from prevention tips to treatment.
That was a red flag right there. Now, tell me. What are the odds that these blogsites will cover medical topics on hearing loss on prevention tips and medical treatments?
Right. It's a spam website.
Also, notice the link address that lists the "Top 40 Hearing Impaired Blogs" and look at the bolded part I outlined:
http://www.medicalassistantschools.org/top_hearing_impaired
From that URL layout and recognizing it as a spam website I did a quick Google search and sure enough there are several other disabilities sites that the Medical Assistant Schools website list as part of their fake "Top Blog Award" campaign effort.
Here's the screen capture of my Google search result.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Fookem & Bug, and others, you've been PUNK'D!
And who would've thought this could ever happen?
