If you haven’t heard by now the Facebook page for “the Crock Pot Girls” has grown enormously over the last couple weeks. I mean CRAZY growth, unheard of growth…. spammy growth. I first heard of the site when I noticed several of my friends had “liked” the page in my Facebook stream. One of my friends that I noticed liked it I happened to be chatting with on Skype at the very moment. When I clicked over to the page and saw how many fans they had (at the time it was probably around 700,000) I was curious… so I asked my friends that my Facebook stream had TOLD me liked the page, what they liked so much about it. I got a resounding crickets chirping and a big fat “What? Who??” They had no idea what I was even talking about and had never even visited the site. Then I click over to the Facebook page again, and even though my stream had said several of my friends had liked the page, only 1 of my friends was actually listed as liking it. Things that made me go hmmm. Now every time I look at the posts over on the Crock Pot Girls Facebook page I have to put some protective eyewear on, for fear that my eyes will roll right out of my head. Let me list the many many issues I have with the site.
1. The black hat bot tactics to gain likes. In the “early” days of the page, as in a few days ago, whenever you would click on someone’s profile that had posted something on the wall of the page there would be nothing there. No other posts besides the post on the CPG wall. So I’m supposed to believe they up and joined Facebook just to be part of this “amazing” page?? The other part of the black hat technique is the one I can’t quite figure out how they pulled off, and that is the one that listed several of my friends liking the site on my own stream that didn’t really like the site. Someone on their wall posted a comment asking how people heard of the site. Almost every answer was “I saw that several of my friends had liked them so I checked it out”. If they hadn’t figured out a way to display that my friends had liked them when my friends had actually never heard of them, that needs to be brought to the attention of Facebook.
2. There is NO Content! The CPG themselves have put up ONE very poorly made video. Their website BARELY works, and there’s almost nothing there. So what is there to like? There are people that do super high quality informative videos like Project22Six and Digitwirl that have BARELY any likes at all (comparatively speaking). This is high quality content to actually like. What does this site have to offer that you can’t get in a better form or in better quality elsewhere?
3. If you really like Crock-Pots go to the REAL Crock-Pot site! People are justifying that they like the site because there are so many new recipes for them to try. The recipes on that page do not have ratings or pictures, or even categories. If you are looking for Crock-Pot recipes (which don’t even get me started that what the girl’s site should really be called is Slow Cooker Girls since Crock-Pot is a registered trademark name, and there will be a cease and desist letter heading down to those girls lickety split I guarantee it) the real Crock-Pot Facebook page has easy to navigate recipes and ratings all within the Facebook page itself! Why would you need this frantic site with recipes that really may or may not work that are impossible to find… again I ask… WHAT IS THERE TO LIKE THERE? If you are really obsessed with your Crock-Pot, wouldn’t it just make more sense to LIKE the real Crock-Pot page?
4. People are lazy – So every time I check out what people are posting on the CPG page, so I can try and figure out what there is to like about it. I see CRAZY comments like, “you guys should do an iphone app”. If you took about 2 seconds to look you’d see about 50 iphone apps dedicated to Crock-Pot recipes, INCLUDING an official app from Rival (the makers of Crock-Pot) themselves! So what do you need an app from this page for? Not to mention, THERE IS NO CONTENT to make an app of! Except the somewhat tried recipes of the “people” who post on the CPG page. Then there’s the “you should have a food network show!” FOR WHAT?? A horrible looking website? A poorly created video? THAT deserves a show?
So people ask me or others that are upset with the site…. why do you care? It’s not harming you. No, not directly, but it’s just like currency, when the value of the dollar is diminished, costs increase for everything. If the value of a true fan on Facebook can also be diminished it doesn’t give the people who legitimately grow their social media presence much of a fighting chance. Do yourself a favor and check out people who are doing it legitimately, and working hard to find you recipes you can actually use, instead of following the crowd and liking something with nothing to offer, and no real work put into it. Great links…
**UPDATE** 11/7/2011 – First, the “girls” have made the decision to change their name from the Crock Pot Girls to the Crockin’ Girls. This has made their RABID fans declare war on Rival, the makers of Crock-Pot. Even though girls have never stated that Rival is the one that requested them to change their name. Rival themselves even had to put out a message on Facebook stating that they did NOT ask the girls to change their name, due to the fans attacking them on their Facebook page.
I requested several times on the Girls’ Facebook page that they please clarify to their fans that Rival was NOT the people who told them to change their name, but my requests have gone ignored, and their fans continue to attack and bash Rival and the Crock-Pot registered trademark.
Second, I don’t believe in deleting comments, even comments that are extremely rude to myself and my readers. If you feel the need to post your opinions, you are free to do so, just as I’m free to post my opinions on my own blog, but let me clarify some things…
No, I am not jealous. I am not a “foodie”, I can barely cook. If I had “come up with this idea” (which is definitely NOT a new idea as there is a Facebook page that has been around for a year prior to the Crockin’ Girls starting their page called Crock Pot Recipe Exchange which was started with the exact same purpose), I would not have started it even if I knew I could get a “million likes”. It’s not something I’m interested in talking about and therefore would not have done so. If they had an AMAZING website, and fantastic photos and content like some of the other food blogs out there, then yes I may be a little jealous because someone else is working hard and doing a fantastic job out of it. THIS? Nothing to be jealous of. I am proud of the growth and community I have built on my own. The right way.
No, my life is not consumed by this. I do have a life and I don’t spend my entire day thinking about/writing about this. I wrote ONE post about this social media anomaly. It’s hardly something I would say takes my entire time and therefore I have “nothing better to do” than to criticize a site I feel uses less than organic methods to gain their followers. If you spent a second to check around my site, you would see that I use my time to try and educate women on technology that could help make their day and life easier. Poke around and you may just learn a thing or two that will help you in your life.
Lastly, when I was researching this back when it all started, I did find further evidence of the black hat techniques that I discussed earlier, but I’m done trying to educate people that refuse to listen. If you want to find out the truth, you can always ask.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using the links.
I was wondering what all the hype was about too. So many likes in less than 10 days? It’s not natural. And I can’t really feel good about supporting a page that resorts to less than fair tactics to gain followers.
As always, well written and nice investigating!
what you SHOULD be writing about is if there is any threat to your friends who HAVE liked the site.
After reading your post, I too realized I liked them just because of “other friends”, but now I have “unliked” them because I want a true “slow cooker/crock pot site” Thanks for letting us know!!
Yes Therese, retribution will be swift and harsh!! 🙂
I liked them because friends did, but then I went to the page and there was nothing on the page about crock pots so I unliked them right away. I was hoping for a recipe sharing page and got nothing at all.
Great post, Lisa! Thanks for doing the analysis for me. I wondered why my friends “liked” this page but did not find content when I clicked through and I REALLY cannot cook so am glad for the other resources you shared in the post.
Keep up the good work!
Amy (Allen) Collins
I admit… I reposted their page on my site, then I went to check out the site and discovered that it has no value. Lesson learned. I was very curious about the growth of this site too. Quality is not quantity! I love my small group of follwers, we have great interaction and provide wach other with great tips! Thanks for opening my eyes!
Good observations. It’s definitely an interesting phenomenon. I blogged about this as well. My take is more that crock pot meals aren’t really that great, so what is all the buzz about? Here’s the link if you want to read it: http://thelaughingmom.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/crock-pot-luck/
All good points! Funny how everyone “liked” them so quickly. What I noticed after I liked their page was that the recipes fans were posting were not that good. I tried one just this week and while it was edible, no one in my family would ever want to eat it again! Ha. I thought I would find recipes posted by these 3 women. Instead they are just using recipes posted from fans to gain hits to their site.
I love the crock pot and think it’s great for working moms, and stay at homers too, but this site seems a little bizarre. And you’re right, their actual website, be it receiving too many hits or not, has not been working properly (ever).
Great points that I totally agree with! Especially like your closing paragraph about why people should care.
I wrote a blog about this same thing last night after I started seeing that something really odd was going on with them. Once I started digging, I got pretty fired up! I think the next few days are going to be very interesting to see what happens with their page and the people behind the scenes.
http://hellotarte.com/blog/2011/09/01/crock-pot-girls-a-crock/
Well said, thanks for linking to my site. Which is actually legit and fairly helpful!
I personally live in the same town as the moms that created this page and site and it is not a scam. It never was intended to reach the volume that it did, it was simply a way for the moms from their Mothers Day Out program to share recipes and it took off from there. Don’t call it a scam when it’s not, because they were just thinking they would get a few ‘likes’ from friends and were then thrown into the fame of it all.
Thanks Kate for sharing your comment! I was getting really angry about this post!!! Why do we always think we have to have all the bells and whistles? I love the Crock Pot Girls, because they are real moms just wanting to feed their families home cooked meals that don’t take up a lot of time and are budget friendly! I think this post was overly critical, really.
Thank you Kate and Jennifer for sharing. Who cares if a million people “like” Crock Pot Girls! I think the writer is jealous. I have found this fb page very helpful!
I personally like their fb page a lot and have found different recipes for everyday meals that I have not seen before. I don’t know which site you saw, but I see the pics of the dish and the recipe. All new posts take you to a youtube video. I think its just a couple Moms out there trying to help others with the age old question of what to make for dinner and I think your opinion is quite harsh. You know what they say about opinions….and I don’t agree with yours! IF you don’t like the site, then don’t “like” it. And if you “like” a site just because your “friends” do, then who’s fault is that? That’s pretty stupid! I don’t like anything until I look at it!
I was talking about the author of the article not you Kate! Sorry, posted in the wrong spot!
Very interesting! I also “liked” them because my friends did! I wondered how their page got so many likes so quickly. I am not a food blogger, but I’m a recipe addict, and I definitely love slow cooking! But it’s true – not all recipes are good – so it’s nice to have some that are tested and approved. My current favorite slow cooker site is Crock Pot Recipe Exchange – I’ve definitely gotten some great recipes from that blog!
Great post, Sarah, you certainly break it down now. As my former library director said, I’ve been a librarian long enough to know people don’t read and comprehend, it’s a sad world.
Ok, I just had to come back and share this! After reading this article, I wanted to “unlike” their page. So I typed “crock Pot Girls” into the search box on my Facebook page, but their page didn’t come up. Instead, an outside link to a very positive “news” story popped up! So very strange! In order to get to their page to “unlike” it, I had to go to my profile to find the actual link. Try it and see if it doesn’t do the same to you! If that’s not a set up, I don’t know what is!
I liked it because I can always use another resource for recipes, and I like the idea that these are submitted by regular home cooks, not chefs working in test kitchens. It won’t be the first or only place I go to look, but I like knowing it is there.
Nicole, do you also teach your children to cheat? Because if they are using bots to increase their likes, that is cheating, and you would be rewarding people who cheat to get ahead.
Really??? I am personal friends with one of the Crock Pot Girls. It was not their intention to have so many “likes.” However, they created a site that was very appealing to a lot of busy moms. You are right in regards to there being some problems with the page. But all of these ladies have lives……you know, kids, jobs, etc., and the success of the site took off at a pace that they had a hard time keeping up with. They were simply trying to make a useful page for their friends and family. Cheating? Even if they are who cares? It’s a freakin Facebook page.
Well said Lanna! Jealous people will always find reasons to gripe!
This post is great! I was just trying to explain to my sister about the bot thing. This explains it perfectly! Well done!
I couldn’t agree with this more.
My only question is when the hell is the site going to be pulled?!
I have new evidence!! The one crock pot girl who dropped out recently “liked” on her personal facebook page a NEW crock pot site that has … count them… FOUR posts!! It has almost 50,000 fans and climbing FAST…
http://www.skinnycrockpot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SkinnyCrockPot?sk=wall
And Scary Mommy… AMEN! I can’t wait for it to get taken down, so I can get my life back! I’m too obsessed with trying to figure it all out.
I am, too. For people like us, who take social media seriously and work our asses off, it’s infuriating. A fantastic site that goes viral may make me jealous, but not angry. This? Pisses me off like CRAZY.
I am the “third” that dropped out of CPG. I dropped out b/c I wanted to get back to my simple life with my family and friends. I am almost clueless when it comes to technology, no clue you can even buy likes…. and on the budget in my house (I’m a stay at home mom) how would I afford and even go about doing that. I like cooking with my crock pot…. its that simple. I liked Skinny Crock Pot, because I’m on weight watchers to lose that last bit of my baby weight and wanted recipes I can cook and stick to my diet. If I had any clue when I created the page on the 19th that it would lead to all that it has, I would probably have made it a private page so that I wouldn’t be attacked in all the ways that I have. I think you guys are giving us WAY too much “credit”! I wanted to exchange recipes… not create my own! It turned into something huge, that I personally didn’t want to be a part of. I feel awful for the 2 girls left who are being bashed such rude people!
Thank you very much for your response Allyson, I just sent you an email requesting a chat with you. I hope that you will respond. I have never tried to be rude to the girls themselves. I am just stating my observations. I also appreciate that your response actually has some thought put into it, instead of just saying that you don’t like me.
Sarah, I kick myself for even letting this bother me. I wish I could completely remove myself from it all, for awhile at least. I may feel up to a convo, just not quite yet. Thanks ahead of time for understanding!
One more thing, after I’ve read some of the other things… I know you and most of the other readers probably don’t believe anything I have to say, but it would be sad if it turned out that the only reason we got “likes” was because of a glitch
Even you have to admit that it”s strange Facebook was telling me my friends had liked the page, when they had never even heard of it. Whether or not that was on purpose is what is being called into question here.
What about anyone else down there? Do you think one of them would be willing to chat with me to answer the allegations once and for all?
Why do you care so much Sarah Kimmel? Jealous??? Get a life!!! Let the Crock Pot-ers do whatever they want! Anyone can make a FB page about anything! Get over it!
Wow. That’s really pathetic 🙁
I think you are absolutely obsessed with this when you don’t have a clue what you are talking about. How rediculous…and if you are obsessed over a facebook page then I’m so sorry to say but you really need to get a life. Who has the time and energy to come up with the so-called facts that you’ve stated?? I like the Crock Pot Girls just because it gives me ideas of what to cook for supper. Pages such as theirs are intended for others to get/give helpful tips and enjoyment and it’s debbie downers like you that have to try to ruin it. If only I had the time that you are wasting on pointless research, I would be able to accomplish so much more and maybe I wouldn’t have a use for the crockpot recipes that the Crockpot Girls and their fans provide me with 🙂
Oh, what an excellent post! I really appreciate your thoughtful analysis of why the content/interest aspect is completely illogical!
And oh my goodness — now, I’m watching the Skinny Crock Pot page, too.
You’re right; trying to figure it all out has become an obsession for me, too. 😉
Your article’s theme seems to be “no content” on the Crock Pot Girls’ FB site, and yet you never mentioned the Discussions page, which is where most of the recipes are listed (page after page after page). Some are also featured under “Photos” page. I’m shocked that I’m even interested in their site at all because I don’t enjoy cooking. However, suddenly, after joining their site, I can’t wait to try out new recipes I’m finding there. In other words, their site has inspired me to cook. The human connection is what I like about the site. I enjoy getting recipes from real people as opposed to getting them from a cookbook or CD or website featuring only recipes. Perhaps you’re not understanding this essential element that is drawing many of us to their site.
As far as the cheating that you not only accuse them of but also convict them of, until I see proof, real proof, then I always give other human beings the benefit of doubt. In fact, you may do well to remember that in the US our very court system is based on this theory. Many bloggers are joining the bandwagon of attacking this site and these women, and all seem to argue the same point about cheating, and yet none have offered any proof of “bots” being used. (suggested reading: “Scarlet Letter”)
As far as the “black hats” issue, in my experience on the site, every single time I’ve clicked on a member’s name when I wanted to contact them to ask a question about a post, I have indeed found a typical FB member’s page. However, every single time I have clicked on a member who is attacking the site, I see what appears to be a brand new FB member page with no content.
Since honesty and integrity often go hand in hand, I’m surprised that someone who seems to value honesty so much would post an “attacking” message on a site with no real evidence. Perhaps the Crock Pot Girls site has grown exponentially faster than other cooking sites, and yet compared to other ‘viral’ entities, it is similar — something that catches the eye (or heart) of the general public. Instead of looking outward at your target of scorn, maybe take a glimpse inward, to find out why someone else’s success (as well as those who support them) bother you so much?
Very well said! Seems like just a little jealousy going on here!
Open Letter to the Girls….
My name is Gregg. My wife told me about the Crock Pot Girls when they had 200k or something fans. My instant reaction, in jest mind you, “What about one for the guys??” Being a web designer and programmer, I found that the domain was available and Just placed this all up online. It just so happens that we ARE a crock pot family with 3 small ones at home. And I DO have buddies that share recipes with each other.
We thought we needed representation and created Crock Pot Guys. Sharing ideas from a guy’s point of view. We welcome your recipes and ideas for cooking as well.
We are NOT affiliated with the Crock Pot Girls. In fact, they banned us from their fan page. I posted 3 links to our page. TRHEE, with the quote “Hey, Guys Cook Too!” We’re just having some fun! They had 500,000 fans at that time and we had 100. LOL We were banned. I thought this was social media? Didn’t Mark Zuckerberg create Facebook to connect and share? It wasn’t like we were stealing fans. People can like more than one thing. It isn’t and wasn’t a contest.
You know there is a McDonalds, Burger King, Etc….. There is even a http://www.crock-pot.com/ with recipes. I think, based on their actions, They have an agenda. I am offering my services to the girls for free. All they have to do is ask. I have to be honest though. Garnering 60-80 thousand fans in the overnight hours, every night. Does seem fishy. I’m NOT accusing anyone however All of a sudden America is going bat-crap for Crock pots? Buy Stock in Rival!!
And speaking of Rival (perfect name for this isn’t it?)… I’m sure their attorneys will be cracking the whip. It is a trademark for a slow cooker. I’ve done my diligence to respect their trademark and it may not be enough. It’s theirs.
Have fun with the recipes and meeting new friends! Life’s too short.
Throw the food in the pot and move along! 😉
– Gregg
http://CrockPotGuys.com
http://CrockPotGuys.com/submit-your-recipe/
PS. last I checked, CrackpotGuys.com was still available for purchase.
Maybe I should’ve gone with that one?
For the record… http://studiovip.com
Thank you very much for your insight Gregg. I completely agree. Some of my closest friends are actually my “competition”. Namely Leticia (www.techsavvymama.com), Kris (www.littletechgirl.com), Jessica (www.thattechchick.com), Stephanie (www.bizziemommy.com), Grace (http://formerlygracie.com/), Michele (http://scrapsofmygeeklife.com/) and Beth (http://www.coolmomtech.com). Technically they are my competition, but you know what we do? We support each other, we are friends with each other, and we help one another succeed. We don’t try to “squash” our competition by banning them from our website and pages.
I have been writing a blog and doing social media for several years. I know how the general population works. I even know what makes things go viral as I’ve done a lot of research on it. I’m also not saying they don’t have some legitimate fans. But you don’t get to over 1 million fans in the matter of a couple weeks without some help.
Luckily lemmings have a short attention span… Rebecca Black who?
This blog is ridiculous! If it really wasn’t a marketing scam, don’t you think they would have a phenomenal Web site planned, up and running for their million hits that they “illegally” got? And they would have nicely organized categories, etc. People are always ready to hate when something good happens to other people:(
Well said, Janie.
Amen Jaime! Couldn’t have said it better myself! Bitter and jealous is all I read in this post! Now I think I’ll go put something in my crock pot for supper 🙂
Thank you for sharing Jaime! People are SUPER jealous!
Subjective much?
I offered honest (non-attacking) answers as to why I like Crock Pot Girls’ site and why I disagree with you. Your response is to (uncourageously via someone else’s post) toss an ad hominem at those who disagree with you. And you wonder why your facebook site has such low numbers, despite your stated expertise. Indeed, I disagree again and do not believe you “know” how “the general population” works (#1 evidence is your label for “humanity”). How about asking yourself “how humanity thinks” or “how humanity feels.” That would be a start for potential growth, which perhaps could lead to a better understanding of others and of life itself. I wish you well on your journey and hope you will take the first step.
Caroline, if you believe the crock pot girls are legit, how did they hack into my profile and TELL my friends that I LIKE their page, when I never even heard of them or visited them before. Do you really want scammers to start telling your friends you found the best price for viagra, or that you love a fake crock pot site?
I’ve never wondered why my facebook site has low numbers. I’m proud of my growth. I have worked hard for each and every fan, and try to continue to offer them quality tech information. Where did you ever hear me complain about low numbers on my own site?
Sorry you feel that I was responding to you in the other comment. I can assure you it was just a thought I had as I was typing up the response. It’s not like the comment was hiding, so how is that doing something “uncourageously”, which I’m sorry to inform you isn’t even a word?
The “theme” of my post was not about content. It was about laying out information for people. I know for a fact that my facebook page said that my friend liked their page. When I asked her directly as soon as I saw that, she had never heard of them. This is the hard data that I have, that can be proven.
As for my expertise, ask ANYONE that has a large following either on Facebook, or Twitter, if they think this type of growth was obtained legitimately and I think I know what answer they will give you.
Sarah, how would you feel if I started a Blog and salmmed your name without ANY evidence? I’m with Caroline. This is the reason you don’t have the growth.
It’s an interesting debate alright, and I do hope some answers come out of this regarding the Crock Pot Girls. That said, I can put to rest now any suspicions of “cheating” on the part of the fast rising Skinny Crock Pot phenomenon. How? My sister is one of the co-founders. Read on.
It’s tempting to go ahead and buy the “bot virus” suggestion regarding the Crock Pot Girls without waiting for proof, but I’m resisting doing that because I have seen that Skinny Crock Pot’s FB page is growing with rare speed, and I know beyond a doubt they come by it honestly. Chalk this one up to good old fashioned ingenuity and hard work. Now granted, they were perhaps partly inspired by witnessing the rapid growth of the Crock Pot Girls’ page, but who can fault them for that? In my estimation, that’s just striking while the iron is hot..a smart business move. They saw an opportunity, and they took it. And yes, they’re hugely growing numbers have been probably been fed somewhat by the large numbers searching for Crock Pot Girls and finding Skinny Crock Pot, but so what! Good for them, right?!
In their defense however, unlike some – may I say it? – copycat pages, Skinny Crock Pot was birthed by two ladies with established track records in fitness and healthy eating. They had the clever wherewithal to offer a great alternative to the CPG movement, a healthy alternative, and I think that’s just a combination being smart and paying attention.
Is it possible that the CPG page cheated their way to the top? I guess, but the verdict is still very much out I’d say. Who knows what touches these things off? The author of this blog suggested that it makes no sense that a new page could develop this mad following so quickly when there were already quality crock pot entities out there more deserving of such a following, she seemed to be saying. Why would they follow these ladies when they could just follow “the real” crock pot site, she asked? Personally – no disrespect intended – I’m not seeing a valid argument there. In business, isn’t it sometimes just a matter of putting a fresh face on an old idea that can make all the difference? I think it’s just as likely, although I can’t speak for them, that the Crock Pot Girls were simply in the right place at the right time and discovered a mania bubbling beneath the surface, bringing out the legions of voices of a cooking subculture that is apparently bigger than anyone knew.
As for Gale and Tiffany over at Skinny Crock Pot, you can take them off your watch list, and I challenge anyone to find even a small speck of dirt on either of these two. They don’t even know what the heck a bot virus is, let alone how to use one, lol. They’re just two incredible ladies feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment by their new found and growing success, staying up all hours building an impromptu website to try and keep up with all this. If any of you have visited, have you noticed they sweetly respond to just about every post? Forgive me if that’s a tad corny, but I’m just suggesting you can see the signs of sincerity all over them.
Let me assure you, folks, Skinny Crock Pot is the real deal, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they might just make it. Nice guys don’t always finish last, and this is going to be a proper feel good story all the way. You can feel ok about being happy for Skinny Crock Pot…this is the kind of story nice people dream of…and deserve.
Thanks for reading!
Thank you very much Eric for your well crafted response and data. I REALLY do appreciate it. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of what is going on, and really appreciate someone from the inside letting me know. I will take them off my watch list for now, and chalk their crazy growth up to the other site, for now.
On the hand of the Crock Pot Girls though, I don’t believe for a second it was gathered legitimately. I have several upon several reports of people seeing that their friends had liked them in their stream, when they had in fact never even heard of them. If it all comes out that it was a glitch on Facebook’s end, I’ll eat my words and congratulate them for being the very beneficial recipients of a glitch within the system.
Yep, and thanks for taking those comments well. I do have some of my own suspicions regarding CPG, but these things are rarely proven. I saw someone mention today that FB – in small print – reserves the right to archive fan pages, presumably if they get too big, but I kind of doubt it…I mean, isn’t it still true there’s no such thing as bad publicity? Seems to me the CPG madness could only help FB, unless they are indeed proven a scam. Until then, I would imagine it will just continue to feed the blogosphere for a few weeks, a distant 3rd to JFK and 9/11.
Take Care, Sarah!
Oh, I do love me some good 9/11 conspiracies. 😉
I’m not completely unreasonable, and VERY rarely get caught up in “mommy blogger drama” But I explained the reason it bothers me in the last paragraph.
It’s also fueling the fire that they keep deleting any sort of negative posts or even other people that are legitimately networking on their site, not just saying “look at this site that I have” they are getting involved and commenting and not just promoting themselves and they get deleted. It just seems so underhanded.
I don’t delete negative posts. I like to hear from all angles, and appreciate others views.
So are you saying that they should really be called the “Crock Bot Girls”?
I would like to click “like” on this comment. 😉
Sarah, you two cents “aint” worth much. These girls are legit and you are just jealous.
Thank you for your insightful comments.
Hi Sarah,
The guy that made this is a search marketing guy. He built it originally to sell crock pots. Thats what I am hearing from the net. The rumor is he used a bot to create the likes which I would say is true because he is gaining likes every second, not even top chefs, martha stewart or celebrities can get them that quick. It is not a scam in the sense of the word but to pose and three stay at home loving housewives from Texas with kids is not cool because of course moms and women are going to join because of that. I own http://www.foodal.com and have been slowly frowing my community and if I wanted to use black hat SEO and unethical strategies I could grow it pretty easily. So in that sense it isn’t cool that he is doing this, but try telling that to the fans that like it and you will get cast off the page. I will follow this blog you make some good points.
Thanks
Scott
That’s why we created Crock Pot Boys. Those lazy, greedy ladies needed some competition: We promise to provide almost zero content all of the time.
Thank you for writing this piece. It makes sense. I liked the CPG site because a friend liked it, but when I asked that friend about it they had no idea what I was talking about- odd!
As I started to read the posts on the site, after cringing from the grammatical and spelling errors, I began to think that the site was actually being maintained by either Campbell’s or the Cardiology Association of America. Those recipes will kill you! Good gravy, literally, that is one hot mess of malnutrition in a gelatinous pot of crap! It ought to be called the crap pot site! No wonder there is an obesity problem in America if these are the recipes being swapped.
Opting to be part of the solution, I began to post nutritious recipes. They all disappeared. I posted in the “Discussion” section, it too disappeared. (This really made me wonder about my suspicion that Campbell’s was really behind the site). So, I fashioned my own Facebook paged- “Healthy Crock Pot Options”. I actually loaded content, photographs, and recipes. It’s been three days and I have 100 likes. Not 1.5 million, 100.
I am a writer, I have published two books and I maintain a blog (www.seasidesteps.com). My blog, that has been active for nearly a year, has about 1500 followers. 1500, not 1.5 million. Something is fishy with CPG and it isn’t in the crock pot.
My two cents- that and a can of Campbell’s cream of goop soup will get you a meal in a crock pot.
Krisi
Thank you Krisi – yes, we have had several reports of what happened to me (with the FB saying my friends liked the site that actually hadn’t). We would like to get to the bottom of why that happened. You are right, though. If the whole world just up and decided to like crock pot cooking, one of the more established sites would have gotten that traffic, not this one. As someone who has been in social media for a while, it just doesn’t make any sense.
Crock Bot Girls…
The Fascinating part is the people who are rabidly defending these “girls” when they don’t even know them…..
If you like the concept, but aren’t impressed with the content…check out The Dinnertime Divas! A group of friends and I meet monthly and make delish freezable meals and blog about it. You can find us at http://www.thedinnertimedivas.blogspot.com or on Facebook @The Dinnertime Divas.
Thanks for this! Please keep us posted! In the meantime I’ve started Crock Pot Mondays as my readers seem to want recipes! http://mummydeals.org/category/crock-pot-mondays/
Bot or not, I’m jealous and think terrible thoughts about them when I see their sassy pictures surrounded by crock pots. so, to channel this negative energy, I created an eCard using our mascot Max (a maxi pad) to make a point.
enjoy.
http://hahasforhoohas.com/and-this-is-why-you-need-to-like-our-facebook-page/
Sarah….I find it very odd you have nothing better to do than rant about a Facebook page you have no facts on. You should really get out and do something positive and worthwhile. Serve food to the homeless , build a house with habitat or a million other things. Can’t imagine living such a selfish existence with so much wasted time on something that you have nothing to do with.
Nice sleuthing. We’d also learned the facts behind CPGs unbelievable traffic numbers, luckily before we reached out to them to consider a share agreement on our site. Too bad; they may have had a decent product, but their name is now tarnished.
I think you have too much time on your hands to be so worried about the crock pot girls. Sounds to me you’re a lil jealous…Either way you need to find something better to do with your time. I’m sure there’s some animal shelters or something working for a positive cause that could use your help. I mean really, get over it.
Oh PLEEEEEASE. It is just plain petty and not worth the 2 cents.
Omg Sarah, what kind of life do you have that you’ve taken the time to go to all this trouble….here’s my two cents..
First of all, did you ever stop to think about privacy settings on ppl’s FB accounts don’t allow for nonfriends to see any of their content….I have mine set up that way…
Second, have you taken the time to look around and read the CPG site, if you go to their wall, you will see a tab that says Crockpot Girls, and Crockpot + Everyone…
Third, if you have taken the time to look around, you would also find comments stating they (CPG) were trying to make their site accessable for all the unexpected traffic….and comments that state that the CPG website was also under construction…
Fourth, all of the 5000+ (at last count) recipes were on the discussions page, but since FB has now removed discussions, it is now under forums…
I personally have contributed dozens of recipes, probably hundreds of comments on this site….and I have made a lot of the recipes that have been published…
I personally don’t know any of these women, but I will say that I love the site, and I’m sure they didn’t think it would take off like this, because there are thousands of cl sites on the web…I personally have 56 of my friends that have ACTUALLY liked the FB site, and we are constantly comparing what we have tried and liked…
So there that’s my two cents…
I too liked them because friend did. I eventually unfriended because 1) CPG comments seemed to turn unpleasant. From the CPG and people bickering on their walls. It just got uncomfortable 2) the recipe seem unhealthy and full of processed food.
I do wish them success but it’s not for me or my family.
This story is ridicules. I found the crock pot girls on Facebook because I wanted a site where I can through 2 or 3 ingredients together, and have a great tasting dinner. I also wanted to know what other people have thought or changed about their recipes. I wanted the recipes to be easy. I even bought a crockpot because of them.
If you go to crock pot main site and look at the recipes. There are 10 different ingredients. I don’t have time as a mother of 4 kids under 5 to make these types of recipes. THAT is what drew me to their site. I go on there almost every day. I’m addicted.
These to girls are personable, I can relate to them, and they have some great recipes. The crockpot site is like any other site. These girls did it right!
As far as number of likes! Don’t always believe everything you hear from your “friends” Sarah.
Facebook would have immediately notices if it was a bot. And even if it was, do you really think these girls are smart enough to hack into your friends Facebook pages to like their site. REALLY??? Surly you are more intelligent than that.
They also have listed several places on their Face book page that they changed their name due to Trademark issues. You can’t start a business with someone else’s name, and if I was them I would branch out into making a cookbook, selling kitchen utensils etc…. Can’t do that with the Crockpot name.
My advice to you….. Find something better to write about. Maybe your blog will get more attention them too! Just my two cents worth
I’m also wondering- as someone with a Masters in Computer Science and being an IT director, how does someone this non technical and ignorant start a tech momies page and blog??
Are you saying you have a Master’s degree in Computer Science? I would find that VERY hard to believe with all of the spelling errors in both of your posts.
I completely agree and am very intrigued as to why they are missing the majority of their followers on the new “Crockin Girls” page. They still post on the old page to tell people to come to the new page, and it has been at least 2 weeks since they started the transition. I just find it interesting that they won’t address the “Rival” situation and everyone made such a huge deal about them gaining followers so quickly, and the majority of that following are not transitioning to the new page. Could it be because they couldn’t do another bot out of fear that they’d be found out? I am not saying you can’t find some good recipes on there, but I have to say, 90+% of them are posted by other followers–NOT Crockin’ Girls. I never see interaction from them unless they are telling someone not to post their links, posting their monday recipe, or talking to people about moving to the new page and joining their email list.
And the Crockin’ Girls website still sucks. It has been plenty long enough for them to be able to handle all this massive traffic everyone keeps talking about. Just host the blog on WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr and you could have had a great looking landing page in about an hour PLUS the server’s capability to “handle” their amazingness. It is not aesthetically pleasing or organized in a manner fitting for a recipe blog/site.
Everyone asks what the big deal is? Well it is a big deal to those of us who have had to work our butts off to gain even a small loyal Social Media & blog following, and to see someone buy their way to success so quickly, especially when it seems they have no clue what they are doing. It is not an honest business practice.
All of their Crack Pot fans can defend defend defend as much as they like–but they are no phenomenon. They are nothing more than a community effort forum with minimal interaction just to appease the community with a face for the brand. Most of these recipes you love so much were likely not posted by the Crockpot Girls, but by a follower. If you love high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart attacks, then by all means, cook with the recipes you can (with moderate difficulty) find on their site.
Thanks Kelly, I couldn’t agree with you more!
ha. you are weird. hot on the cpg trail. uncovering the scandal. you still have yet to give [a good] explanation of why you care. just don’t like them or visit their website how bout? or don’t be dependent on facebook likes in order to be happy? i’d back up off of them if i were you, because you really sound like a grown-up tattle tale. and no one likes a tattle tale. live and let live.
Thank you so much for this article! I myself was a fan, and a foodie, however as I started sharing recipes from our site on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Girly-Tips-and-Tricks-and-Recipes/133405106756483) i was then banned from posted on the wall completly. we are no longer allowed on the site because of thier jealousy. Ive asked as well as others, several times and get no answer. Ive recieved numerous emails and massages regarding the CPG and thier fraudulent activity in getting fans, and how “thier” recipes are either stolen from others (as they did mine after banning me) and disgusting! They are a joke!! I am glad to see we are not alone is noticing thier fraud and misguidence!
Crockpot girls/ crockin girls are different from Skinny Crock Pot. Just a FYI
Salut !
Merci du passage sur mon blog et de votre message,
votre blog est très bien fait également,
A bientôt !
Julie