Yes, Ethan Vanderbuilt is good at a lot of things:
-he is a master of web design and the inside-out's of SEO (i.e. how to get himself on the front page of Google).
-he knows the strategies of niche-marketing, and how to identify a profitable niche.
-he knows there are people looking for scams everywhere, even where they may not exist.
-he understands the basic human need to have their opinions and positions validated.
-he knows how to use social media to build an audience for himself.
-he knows how to use the internet to make himself seem larger than life.
-he knows how to say one thing while inferring another, knowing that people see what they want to see.
-he knows how to build a rapport with his readers by riding that line between benevolent, trustworty advocate and authority figure.
-he knows how to gain people's trust by spoon-feeding them ONLY the "information" he knows they're looking for.
-he knows how to make use of the Hegalian Dialectic (create or exaggerate the problem, then ride in with the solution).
-he understands that sometimes people are so desparate to validate their beliefs, they'll overlook any underlying motives of those who provide them with validation and follow anyone who tells them what they want to hear.
-he has studied the psychology of MLM, and uses that same psychology to attract people to his sites and establish himself as their "authority".
-he knows how to use the disclaimer "in my opinion" to avoid getting sued, while at the same time presenting his opinion as fact.
-he knows he must appeal to his readers with emotion in order to establish an atmosphere of trust in which they will accept his cherry-picked half-truths as absolute fact (hence the warm, fuzzy sweaters).
-he understands that negative sells (if it bleeds, it leads).
Ethan is also bad at a lot of things. Let's explore a few:
-he's a narcissist with a big ego, and can't stand being questioned or held up to scrutiny.
-he cherry-picks data to support his arguments while ignoring any data that may counter his argument.
-he's incapable of arguing contrary facts and "banishes" anyone who may attempt to present such facts in his forums.
-he's sloppy....he leaves the tracks of his ulterior motives out there for everyone to see, assuming that we're all too stupid to connect the dots (this could be either sloppiness or pure arrogance).
-he has a passive-aggressive streak and disguises his anger (very poorly) by "laughing" at his critics.
-he becomes very defensive when his own actions or motives are brought into question.
-he becomes evasive when asked a direct question, not acknowledging the question, claiming "executive privilege" or trying to divert attention from the question by steering the conversation in another direction.
-he believes himself to be in a position of authority without credible merit, going as far as to crown himself "the internet's most trusted scam buster".
-he gives credence to anyone who serves his purpose, without regard to any one person's level of credibility, background or character (in other words, he doesn't always do his homework about some of the people he praises when they agree with him).
-he makes himself transparent by not being transparent, so much so that anyone who really factors in all the pieces can see exactly what he's up to.
-he greatly underestimates his own importance, believing that he and he alone can make or break the success of any one individual or company....he proudly proclaims on his website that "one voice can change the world" (and by ONE voice, he means HIS voice).
-he lacks the ability for true dialogue and constructive debate....it's either his way or the highway.
-he suffers from the same ailment as so many of his most ardent fans....the contant need for validation (and it shows).
In short, Ethan puts on a good show, but under the scrutiny of further examination, there's a lot of flash and not a whole lot of substance. Still, he has his minions. Go figure.
