Legit question: is [1] an instance of this kind of scheme? The guy came out of nowhere boasting how he left his $500K job at amazon and whatnot (first red flag for me) and I've seen his content popup pretty often.
1. The book you linked is just technical content. It teaches you how to use AWS, not how to sell books about using AWS.
2. Unlike the tongue-in-cheek examples of the original post based on minimal success, this book is written based on years of professional experience as a developer building AWS.
3. His content pops up pretty often because people like it.
Of course, if the book was part of a ponzi scheme, then part of that scheme would be having people like me defend it on HN :)
If you check the testimonials of those who have achieved success, it’s exactly as the article describes. Someone going from 100 to 150 followers going “OMG ITS WORKING!”
[0]: https://mobile.twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1263160316277350...
I’ll address one thing - the Twitter audience course. There is no secret/hidden Twitter audience strategy. Post good stuff, engage with others with insights that provide value, don’t post BS. That’s it. That’s the strategy. Anything beyond that is made up stuff. People on Twitter follow those that provide meaningful content that is useful. Short of that, any other automation schemes, follow/unfollow tactics, are just for inflating low quality numbers.
IMO he’s legit, not a scheme
I'm pretty sure Daniel has good intentions, though he has most definitely benefitted from this type of 'scheme' given that a lot of his brand revolves around the lifestyle he has managed to create for himself due to the success of his info products.