I’ve had numerous conversations with people regarding the inspiration and intention for merciless flirt, and inevitably the subject of monetization comes up. Many seem surprised that I currently don’t have plans to monetize. Not that I’m against it, but my goals, in order of importance, are:

1. Have fun with a moniker that arose via Twitter.
2. Test my hand at branding, marketing, and curating content for a niche interest microsite.

Certainly there is a wealth of opportunities to monetize the site. Flirtation, as a natural means for demonstrating interest and attraction to a particular individual, plays well into everything from date designing* to match making to pleasure products. I may strategically pursue monetization in the near future, but only after I have outlined a path that is consistent with my brand intentions.

So what do I do when an opportunity to monetize falls into my lap? Besides be wary?

Consider this very short email from Dulce Liebe:

To the site administrator:

I’ve just visited http://mercilessflirt.com/

I was wondering if maybe I can pay for a text link ad on that site. Kindly email me back if you’re interested so we could discuss pricing and other details.

Thank you for your time.

My first thought is spam/scam. Funny how often the two seem intrinsically linked. But back on point, what kind of name is Dulce Liebe? Dulce means candy or sweet in Spanish. I have no idea about Liebe. Liebe means love in German (via @timebarrow and @1Tap), creating a bilingual play meaning Sweet Love. Also, there is no reference to a company name. I ran quick Google search for “Dulce Liebe” and came across several blog comments similar in vein to the above email, increasing my wariness.

On the other hand, there is no commenting capability on merciless flirt. I have a mercilessflirt.com email address for contact purposes. Interestingly, the above email did not come to that address, but to the address on file with my domain registrar. I’m a bit of a novice, so I assume finding this address would require a bit of research. But I’m not so much of a novice to not guess that sniffing out the emails of domain owners is something a bot could do.

So is it legit? Or is it spam/scam? I don’t have a lot of information to go on and I don’t have the skills to mine the internetz. I know what my gut tells me. I don’t want to rush to conclusions. And I’m curious… What you think?

* Unsolicited plug for Date Designer. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t resist. I think the concept is cool and Beau Frusetta is Hot Like Fiya.