Sure thing! Here goes nothing.
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You ever just scroll through the internet and get that feeling like, “Wait, am I being played?” Yeah, me too. So get this: Pimax, you know, the PC VR headset folks, kind of landed themselves in hot water trying to make folks say nice things about them online. And not just the usual “Do you like us, yes or no” kinda stuff. Nope, this was the real sneaky, “We’ll pay you, sort of,” kind of deal.
So, this Reddit user – Mavgaming1 (quite a handle, right?) – spills the beans last week about a chat they had on Discord with Pimax. They were all like, “Hey, wanna join our cool kids’ club and talk nice about us on the internet?” You’d post positive stuff, gain points, and voilà, rewards galore! Things like five-buck gift cards or even big discounts on Pimax gadgets. Heck, top dogs might score a $1,000 trip to their Shanghai digs. Fancy, huh?
All you had to do was say something nice on Reddit or wherever, let Pimax pat you on the back, then hit post. Sounded simple, but like… is it cool? Not so much.
Topics to rave about? Stuff like “My First VR Adventure with Pimax” or “Tips for a Smooth Pimax Experience” or whatever else that paints them in a rosy light. Meanwhile, back in sanity land, everyone’s raising eyebrows. This wasn’t just marketing; this was like… astroturfing. Pretend grassroots support, but not really convincing to anyone paying attention.
Pimax back-pedaled faster than a cat on a hot tin roof, saying, “Whoa, not official – just some overenthusiastic employees going rogue!” They weren’t having it, shut everything down real quick, and were like, “We’d never pay for praise in the past; trust us!”
They even reached out to nine people on Discord, three got the full shindig before it all fizzled out. Jaap Grolleman, their communications guru (fancy title, huh?), told Road to VR they didn’t follow protocol, just a hasty few messages on Discord. Oh boy.
Grolleman’s talking about it being a “judgment error” – that’s one way to put it. The scheme hit the brakes before it really took off, but not without potentially poking the legal bear. The Federal Trade Commission (heard of them? They’re kind of a big deal) has rules against this sorta stuff. You can’t just secretly buy nice reviews, it’s like, straight-up shady business, not to mention possibly illegal.
Europe’s got similar rules too. So yeah, Pimax danced a little too close to the fire with this one, trying to rewrite the “how to” book on grassroots.
Anyway, let’s keep tabs on where this mess ends up. Will Pimax learn their lesson? Who knows. As for us, we’ll keep watching this space and shaking our heads, half-amazed, half-amused at the whole ordeal.
Page 2 probably says more, but who’s counting, right?
