Why laundering dirty money is a lot like running a popular website

Not bookofjoe but rather the big boys among us.

You know the ones: look at Technorati's Top 100 if you're still clueless.

Here's the money–laundering equivalent:

1) See something interesting online and post it on your website.

2) Provide a link to the place you found it.

Everything done correctly, right?

Yes — but.

But what about the place you found it: quite often that website will link to yet another site that originally posted it — but that link has somehow been lost in the internet black hole after the story was "laundered" and placed on the popular site without the original source.

Sometimes you have to spend a little time and effort working your way back to find the original post.

I always do that if it is humanly possible.

That's why I employ my crack research team: to make as certain as I can that credit is always, always, always given not only to every intermediary but especially to the original posting site.

Because that's the only currency I have.

And while I can't do anything about what others do I must admit I still wince just a teeny, tiny bit — so fleeting and nearly imperceptible that you'd miss it unless you were watching very closely — every couple weeks or so when I see one of my posts buried under layers of intermediate links before emerging as if newly born on the websites of the high–flyers.

Maybe I should start accepting advertising like they do: might make me seem more legit and all.

Ya think?

Nah.

We're good.