Mar 19 2007

Elite Retreat SanFrancisco Underway & Azoogle Check

By Jeremy Schoemaker 63 comments

I am on the road this week at the Elite Retreat San Francisco!

Some attendee and leader post so far:

http://pepperjamblog.com/2007/03/19/elite-retreat-day-1-morningshoemoney/

Attendees posts:

http://www.emomsathome.com/blog/2007/03/19/blogging-elite-retreat-shoemoney/

Monday questions: Slow week for questions… thats cool thought cause I am busy. Webmaster radio is shutdown this week so there will be no shoemoney show until next tuesday.

I have a totally unrelated question about the $500,000 Azoogle check. It says that it was photographed but it doesnt look like it — in the car reflection you can not see the check, only the blue shirt with the empty hands. Some Photoshop work?

Yup totally Photoshoped. As noted above the picture “This is not a real check it was for a Magazine Ad”.

Stuart Hannig said on March 19th, 2007 at 5:54 pm

Best of luck at the retreat. I’d love to go to California to meet you there, but I’ve got to stay back.

[Reply]
Rekzai said on March 19th, 2007 at 6:03 pm

Is it just me or is there no title for this post

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Nicole Hooters Girl said on March 19th, 2007 at 6:23 pm

Shoe, why didn’t you invite me? I could have passed out Shoemoney swag…

[Reply]
CPA Affiliates said on March 19th, 2007 at 6:43 pm

Have Fun in Cali man!

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sockmoney said on March 19th, 2007 at 7:04 pm

Cool thanks for sharing the blog links. Looking forward to someday making it out for one of these sessions.

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Bulbboy said on March 19th, 2007 at 7:38 pm

Amazing that anyone has to even ask if the cheque was a bit of photoshoppery.
As if you would try and sneak that big floating cheque by us!

[Reply]
Tyler Banfield said on March 19th, 2007 at 7:54 pm

I’ve really enjoyed the blog covered of Elite Retreat so far…it looks like you gave out a lot of great info

[Reply]
Richie Rich said on March 19th, 2007 at 7:57 pm

Thanks for the references. The PJ post is very detailed and at last puts the ‘meat in the pie’.

I wrote about it over here:
http://www.ppcreference.com/9/pepperjam-blogs-elite-retreat/

PS: I’m kinda surprised that such a dodgy job was done photoshopping that whoppin check. I mean, his shadow could have been touched up a little..

[Reply]
Ryan said on March 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm

It’s just you.

[Reply]
Ryan said on March 19th, 2007 at 8:04 pm

Kinda impressed you bothered responding to that question… it’s pretty obvious that it’s not fake (thanks largely in part to the text up top that says it’s not real).

I guess you have to when people are, for whatever reason (jealousy?), calling you out as a fake.

[Reply]
ToddW said on March 19th, 2007 at 8:04 pm

Enjoy San Fran, you must missed our very warm days for this time of year… then again it’s got to be warmer than where you live

[Reply]
ToddW said on March 19th, 2007 at 8:04 pm

I see a title here and in my feed.

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KidBlogger said on March 19th, 2007 at 8:36 pm

goodluck in the retreat! have fun!:)

yey! I’m a new reader here!:D

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ToddW said on March 20th, 2007 at 12:25 am

What other events are you interested in attending…. heh

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ToddW said on March 20th, 2007 at 12:26 am

It’s real? No it’s fake no it’s real oh man I’m confused

[Reply]
Vincent said on March 20th, 2007 at 2:12 am

Was it really necessary for ToddW to leave FOUR comments on this one post? Is that how he gets to be on your top list of commenters? Shoe, do you really think that you’ve got more quality comments as a result??

I smell bullshit..

[Reply]
Juuso - Game Producer said on March 20th, 2007 at 2:31 am

It’s a vampire check. Just look at the shadow on ground…

[Reply]
Madman said on March 20th, 2007 at 3:46 am

500,000$ would be nice money

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Kn10 said on March 20th, 2007 at 5:55 am

The check/cheque looked too… white to appear real. Perhaps if you added some shading to it and used some 1337 photoshop skillz to get a reflection in your Hummer.

[Reply]
Daniel said on March 20th, 2007 at 6:32 am

sockmoney.com? LOL…

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soul-healer said on March 20th, 2007 at 6:55 am

i will miss ur Webmaster Radio shows and have some fun at Elite Retreat San Francisco

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Jeremy said on March 20th, 2007 at 7:31 am

I wish I was there.

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jim said on March 20th, 2007 at 7:35 am

You’re going crazy!

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jim said on March 20th, 2007 at 7:36 am

It didn’t sound like the person asking the question was calling him a fake, just asking about the check… either way, the adsense check is good enough to prove Shoe’s in that league.

[Reply]
jim said on March 20th, 2007 at 7:37 am

I would imagine Azoogle handled the photoshopping (or got a shop to do it) and not Shoe himself…

[Reply]
Tyler Ingram said on March 20th, 2007 at 7:37 am

I always liked the photo of you and the cheque. People asked me if that was real and then you just tell them to look a bit hard. Like you mentioned, now shadow and the reflection on the truck. Too bad people tend not to read either

[Reply]
Jack said on March 20th, 2007 at 9:49 am

I can’t believe peoplee are still asking about that check. It seems like that question is asked every week. I guess that’s the power of being popular and attracting new readers all the time.

[Reply]
Brian Mark said on March 20th, 2007 at 9:53 am

I remember laughing at that first in the magazine, then even more when it made your most viewed photo. I think I even mentioned it in a podcast at one point. Still, cool that they used someone from Nebraska to show that us good ol’ boys can make some dough online.

[Reply]
ShoeMoney said on March 20th, 2007 at 10:20 am

ya its funny it became the most viewed photo pretty fast

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Stuart Hannig said on March 20th, 2007 at 4:54 pm

Check me off as one of those fooled too, but then again, I didn’t look real hard.

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Tyler Banfield said on March 20th, 2007 at 5:32 pm

I always get a good chuckle every time I see Sockmoney pop up in someone’s comments or the forums

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Tyler Banfield said on March 20th, 2007 at 5:34 pm

More great coverage of the retreat by PJ. Obviously, you get A LOT more by actually being at the event, but it’s great that PJ and eMom’s are giving us a little taste of all the info the ER team has to offer.

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Kunk Ventures said on March 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm

Still talking about this azoogle check? Probably the most talked about photoshoped picture of an internet entrepreneur ever.

[Reply]
Martin Lindsey said on March 20th, 2007 at 9:36 pm

Two questions. When are you and the other “big timers” coming south to do a meetup type of deal for us southern bloggers? Birmingham, Atlanta and Nashville have nice digs. We welcome you to come and share.

Can’t wait to hear more about Elite Retreat.

Oh yeah. What does URI stand for?

[Reply]
Jimmy Daniels said on March 20th, 2007 at 10:05 pm

That’s funny, I didn’t even notice it, I bet you looked pretty funny without the check there.

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soul-healer said on March 21st, 2007 at 3:02 am

the blog links you given of pepperjam is advertising some moms blog and when i read i didnt find it much interesting … just a question rose being a gal or women is it easy to make connection?

My major sites rank no.1 to No.3 spots on google for competitive keywords i even email you but didnt get any responce.

[Reply]
Lee said on March 21st, 2007 at 5:12 am

Good luck with Elite Retreat.

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Zaib Kaleem said on March 21st, 2007 at 10:54 am

Could be font on check but looks like hundred is spelled hunderd.

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lyndonmaxewell said on March 21st, 2007 at 11:16 am

If only the check was for real.. *smiles. That’s alot one can do with it.

[Reply]
Route said on March 21st, 2007 at 11:40 am

Best of Luck at Elite Retreat and hope you have a great time!

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wildbluff_matt said on March 21st, 2007 at 1:39 pm

Hah, that’s rather clever. Quick, someone register sandalmoney.com!!

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wildbluff_matt said on March 21st, 2007 at 1:44 pm

Yeah, it’s definitely a frequent topic here on the site.

[Reply]
million Dollar Blog said on March 21st, 2007 at 3:11 pm

Must get really annoying to always have to point out to people that the check is a fake eh?

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Kn10 said on March 22nd, 2007 at 12:43 am

Ahh well. It would have been easier if they actually sent him a cheque that size. I wonder if banks would accept it?

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Tyler Banfield said on March 22nd, 2007 at 2:09 am

As far as I know, Shoe’s still doing Net Income

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Daniel said on March 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 am

i say make a poll to decide whether its real or not!

[Reply]
John Loch said on March 22nd, 2007 at 6:04 am

Hmph..

What happened to you guys.. havent seen post nor hair for 48 hrs (here or Pepperjam)!

You back at Hooters again ??!

[Reply]
Lee said on March 22nd, 2007 at 9:29 am

It definately says hunderd.

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Route said on March 22nd, 2007 at 11:49 am

Haha i loved that photoshop trick, didnt know some many fell for it. Saw the reflection ages ago.

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Zaib Kaleem said on March 22nd, 2007 at 8:31 pm

I’ve had to tear up a few checks in my lifetime due to spelling (is it fourty or forty??) for some reason I focused on this….I didn’t even notice shadow on ground or car

[Reply]
jim said on March 23rd, 2007 at 8:17 am

BTW, emomsathome and pepperjam did great liveblogging recaps.

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Secure Hosting said on March 25th, 2007 at 4:08 pm

Aha! I knew the cheque was fake. You can see the lack of shadow and reflection on the ground and on the side of the H2. Was that H2 for promotion as well, or did Azoogle give you that?

[Reply]
Pwiskell said on March 29th, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Thanks for answering my question. Next time you do a promo, I’d love to photoshop it for you for free. Just so that it looks super real and keeps people wondering. =)

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Pwiskell said on March 29th, 2007 at 2:08 pm

Ryan — I wasn’t questioning if the check was fake; I saw Shoe’s comment that it was fake. The question was about if it was photoshoped or if he bothered to hold that piece of paper.

[Reply]
Ashwin said on April 3rd, 2007 at 5:13 am

leave jeremy alone about the check. its constantly being talked about. he’s rich. forget about it now

[Reply]
Ken Savage said on April 6th, 2007 at 8:51 pm

Hey did you hear the guy at the backdoor knocking all day? That was me. Why didn’t you guys let me in? lol

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pepperjamBlog » Blog Archive » Elite Retreat - Day 1 - Afternoon Session #2 with SEO Legend Aaron Wall said on March 19th, 2007 at 6:50 pm

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PPC Reference said on March 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm

Pepperjam blogs Elite Retreat !…

Its about time someone put the meat in the pie, and the Pepperjam blog is doing just that. No longer just names and games, the blog is giving us the lowdown on what is actually transpiring at Elite Retreat, including specific subject matter presented b…
Blogging Elite Retreat :: Aaron Wall - eMoms at Home - Helping Entrepreneurial Moms and Dads Succeed in Blogging and Home Business said on March 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm

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Tomski said on March 20th, 2007 at 3:44 am

Just found this site I’m very impressed with it its got so much great information I will be coming back everyday

Have a good and safe journey! Man I want to go to america one day I’m stuck in sunny Leicester in the UK lol

[Reply]
pepperjamBlog » Blog Archive » Elite Retreat - Day 2 - Morning Session #1 with Blogging Expert Darren Rowse said on March 20th, 2007 at 10:53 am

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pepperjamBlog » Blog Archive » Elite Retreat - Day 2 - Morning Session #2 with Forum / Community Expert Lee Dodd said on March 20th, 2007 at 12:47 pm

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Zaib Kaleem » Blog Archive » How To Tell Shoemoney’s AzoogleAds Check Is Not Real said on March 27th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

[...] earnings. So, when he did a promotional photo for AzoogleAds with a check paying him $500,000 at least one person wasn’t sure if check was real or not even though Shoemoney says above picture “This is not a real check it was for a Magazine [...]