The goal of all spam is to elicit some kind of engagement, often through promoting some product or service; or, in many cases, through direction to a malicious website. In the case of blog posts, the goal is usually to get that initial "foot in the door" that will allow more brazenly invasive junk to be posted further down the road. If the first comment can get approved, mass posting of spam later on (or worse, data harvesting) will potentially follow: get something whitelisted once, slip it past that initial admin moderation, and you can then proceed to flood the zone with endless amounts of garbage. That's always been the strategy, and now AI has been recruited to help lead the charge.
This brought back some serious nostalgia—Direct Hit Records was one of those rare places that felt like it *got* what the local scene was about. It’s wild how central Deep Ellum felt to the whole movement back then, like every weekend had the potential to launch someone new. I’d love to see more about how these spaces shaped the sound of DFW in the ’90s—so many of them are just memories now.
The preceding comment is not from a human reader, but from an AI-powered bot. The idea seems to be to circle around the post's main themes and content just enough to come across as having been submitted by an actual reader. Read the actual post, however, and it's clear that this is just an example of verbosity that actually says nothing of substance. When it comes to this kind of crap, it seems that my post on Direct Hit Records has become an especial favorite:
I really appreciate this dive into the DFW music scene’s past—Direct Hit Records brought so much character to Deep Ellum during its heyday. It’s amazing how many people discovered local gems there before the internet changed how we find new music.
This postBlog Comment Writing Guide really brought back memories of when local record stores like Direct Hit were the heartbeat of the underground music scene in DFW. It’s fascinating how those small, often overlooked spots played such a big role in shaping the identity of Deep Ellum during the ’90s. I’d love to hear more about some of the bands that got their start there or how the store influenced local artists at the time.
It’s wild how many important local music hubs like Direct Hit Records have disappeared. Makes me wonder how future generations will experience local scenes without spaces like these.
Really enjoyed this glimpse into the ’90s DFW music scene—Deep Ellum truly was the heartbeat of underground culture back then. I’d forgotten how important stores like Direct Hit Records were for connecting fans with local talent.
ThisDFW Music Blog Comment brought back so many memories of the mid-90s DFW scene—Direct Hit Records really was a cornerstone for those of us chasing local sounds off the beaten path. It’s wild to think how much Deep Ellum has changed since then, both physically and culturally. I’d love to see more about how spots like this helped shape the identity of bands that broke out nationally.
It’s wild to think how spots like Direct Hit Records captured the energy of Deep Ellum in the mid-90s—when local bands were just starting to break out nationally but still felt so grassroots. Places like that really gave fans a sense of discovery you don’t always get from bigger outlets. Reading this makes me wonder how many hidden gems from that era have slipped through the cracks completely.
All of the foregoing attempt to fool the reader into seeing them as feedback submitted by legitimate visitors. But a careful reading shows that none of the actual content of the blog post is being explicitly referenced. Indeed, some of what's suggested in these alleged recollections is straight up misleading – Direct Hit Records wasn't in Deep Ellum, for example. The verbiage used is just vague enough to suggest that the supposed poster read the article in question, the hope being that the spam comments will slip by an unwary admin and make it onto the targeted blog post. But those of us who came of age long before the influx of all the AI-generated slop that's now flooding the internet usually have a keener ability to identify and recognize this type of deception. All of the examples given above hit the moderation queue and were subsequently flagged by me as spam. But the bots are getting craftier and producing ever more directed, less post-agnostic output. If you're running a blog, be on guard.