Competition Fights Back

Written by Chad Bean on February 2, 2008 – 12:09 am -

I have some bad news regarding HostGator. In our quest to “eat up the competition”, one web host has been busy trying to “bag all the competition”.

I stumbled across a new web host that I can already tell is going to be very serious competition for us. It seems as though we have overlooked a worthy contender — HostGaroo.com (no link for you guys, sorry!)

It’s only a matter of time before their sheer creativity and inspiration overtake us and the ‘Gator is bagged like the rest of them. There’s just one thing that doesn’t seem right here. I know I’ve seen Host Garoo’s design from somewhere before…

Current Host Garoo front page:
hostgaroo

One year old Host Gator front page:
hostgator

Testament to Google’s ingenious:
google results of hostgaroo

So what do you think, all things equal, the ‘Garoo or the ‘Gator?

UPDATE
Please do not goto the site which was mentioned within this post. Since the post, the site has shut down and is now delivering viruses if you goto it.
Thank you for understanding.


Tags: , , ,
Posted in Comedy | 60 Comments »


60 Responses to “Competition Fights Back”

  1. By Seth on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    What makes it even better is that they are hosted by Host Gator.

  2. By Jordan on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    Hehe,
    That is just classic,
    Its a shame they are in the UK since they have Kangaroos as there logo.

  3. By Daniel on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    The outstanding difference is that Gator’s support is shown as “online” whilst Garoo’s support seems to have been bagged as well.

  4. By Hammad on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    lol… there packages are not even close to HG.

    I dont think it worth even a blog here

  5. By Charlie on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    looks like 2 entirely different sites to me *cough, hack cough*** bout time you had some competition…

    If they really host with HG that is seriously funny. Does that mean you can do free account transfers to them? ;)

  6. By Jason on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    They aren’t very creative either .. their plans have the same names as ours. Smaller packages .. but same look and feel … Hummmmmmmm

  7. By narayan on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    hehehe

    link is same for whm and cpanel..

    WHM (reseller control panel to create cPanels) Login info: demo / demo
    cPanel (your customer’s control panel) Login info: demo / demo

  8. By Josh Loe on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    “We Bag All The Competition”

    r00fl3z

    no /jobs.shtml :(

  9. By MikeC on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    What’s the saying, ‘There’s no greater flattery than imitation.’

  10. By Pete on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    Wow, I wonder when the lawsuits are coming ^_^?

  11. By sumit on Feb 4, 2008 | Reply

    I couldn’t stop laughing at them. I mean $3 for 25 MB. thats just funny because HG offers x500 times for more money.

  12. By Gman on Feb 4, 2008 | Reply

    Be inspired by another compnays business model is one thing. Outright copying is unoriginal and basically pledgerism.

    What is Plagiarism

    Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work, or borrowing someone else’s original ideas. But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
    According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to “plagiarize” means

    1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
    2. to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
    3. to commit literary theft
    4. to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

    In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.
    But can words and ideas really be stolen?

    According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).
    All of the following are considered plagiarism:

    * turning in someone else’s work as your own
    * copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
    * failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
    * giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
    * changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit.

    Of course hostgator is selling the ability to resell hosting. that is Ok

    But outright copying the hostgator website.

    that is Plagiarism. They should be verbally reprimanded by their peers and then slapped with a wet noodle.

  13. By Gerald Weber on Feb 5, 2008 | Reply

    ROFL these guys can’t be serious.

  14. By John Doe on Feb 6, 2008 | Reply

    I also like how their live support icon always says offline! lmao. that is just too funny!

  15. By David T on Feb 8, 2008 | Reply

    These guys need their bottoms smacked!

  16. By David Shaver on Feb 8, 2008 | Reply

    The ultimate reward for a person or group like that is to be a person or group like that.

  17. By Neard on Feb 9, 2008 | Reply

    Wow. That’s just ridiculous. Heck, it’s downright stupid.

    I mean, for one thing it doesn’t make sense. They steal your plan names, but what does a swamp have to do with kangaroos? The plans aren’t nearly as good; the spaces aren’t bad, but bandwidth is horrible.

    It’s just funny, really. Their updates page…one update is on January 1, 2006. The other is on January 4, 2007. A year between updates. And not even one this year! Even without the obvious plagiarism, I wouldn’t dare trust my hosting to them.

    But I think my favorite part is the “comment” on the front page (I’m guessing “Bernie” is “Skippy’s” real name…) that says their “honesty is much needed in the hosting industry”…Riiiiight.

  18. By Shadab on Feb 9, 2008 | Reply

    What a joke !

    20$ per month for a 500 MB dedicated server!
    Where do they get such small servers from ?

  19. By Gustavo Denecken H. on Feb 9, 2008 | Reply

    Hello friends,

    I’m from Chile, so sorry for my english…

    I think that this guys are so stupid… How they pretend to sell hosting usign a HG based website… HG is one of the most know webhosting provider in the world… jajajaja

    Greetings!

    Gustavo

  20. By Trish on Feb 12, 2008 | Reply

    Since you have trademarked Hostgator, why don’t you add the R symbol to your logo?

  21. By 7031 on Feb 13, 2008 | Reply

    Well, it looks like they have been suspended.

    Good riddance HostGaroo.

    Wait, their site was a joke right? HostGaroo? WTF?

  22. By John on Feb 17, 2008 | Reply

    That is just brilliant. I was really impressed…but then it got better….account suspended, contact billing….simply brilliant guys…..John ps $100,000 AWESOM!!!!!

  23. By Joel on Feb 17, 2008 | Reply

    HOST GATOR FOR THE WIN!

  24. By Eric Anderson on Feb 18, 2008 | Reply

    Hahaha. This is ridiculous. I have to admit, either this is a joke, or a 10 year old learned how to copy and paste into his illegal version of Dreamweaver.

  25. By Steve on Feb 19, 2008 | Reply

    It’d be really funny if they were actually a Hostgator reseller account :-)

  26. By Peilo on Feb 19, 2008 | Reply

    thats the norm for any new reseller to leech a design….DONT MEAN ITS RIGHT

  27. By yourmanstan on Feb 20, 2008 | Reply

    aww you suspended them? just when they were about to dominate the hosting scene…

  28. By Jenn on Feb 20, 2008 | Reply

    WOW – that is ridiculously close to the same design! I’m a web designer and the exacty same thing just happened to me. Another company swiped the exact same website design I had created for a client of mine, including all the original illustrations I’d done for the site, exact same grid, fonts, colors etc – it was amazing. All the did was change the main image on the pge and logo. I was like “how on earth could someone think this is okay?!” But I think this case is even crazier because it’s also the exact same product they’re selling as you! People seriously baffle me sometimes!

  29. By T on Feb 21, 2008 | Reply

    I’m calling fake.

  30. By George on Feb 21, 2008 | Reply

    Did a quick WHOIS and guess who the Admin is? His name is Bernard, Bob. Its seems like Neard’s post above on 2/9 may have been on the money and Bernie B may be Skippy. Or maybe they are father and son?

  31. By Andre on Feb 22, 2008 | Reply

    Well, I spoke to one of your tech support guys tonight about a database of mine that went missing. I might just as well signup and talk to the Kangaroo’s. Same Same but different!

  32. By Sara on Feb 22, 2008 | Reply

    Is this really a web hosting company or just a joke? Whatever it is, you made me laugh.

  33. By Cookman on Feb 24, 2008 | Reply

    LoL. This is Clown Garoo ))

  34. By Dacovale on Feb 25, 2008 | Reply

    Their account is now showing as suspended.. did the blog link use up all their bandwidth, or did you suspend it yourselves?

    Either way, Im finding it hilarious :D

  35. By dheeraj on Mar 2, 2008 | Reply

    What was that .. was it some kind of joke or are u guys serious

  36. By Augy on Mar 6, 2008 | Reply

    So what do you guys plan to do? Any chance of a legal action?

  37. By Ayon Baidya on Mar 6, 2008 | Reply

    I am really surprised that it is hosted on a server of host gator.
    server08.minidedicated.com…Hah Hah…

  38. By DS Rathore on Mar 11, 2008 | Reply

    Its very good experience of host website on Hostgator, its really excellent.

  39. By Dave on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    If you cannot differentiate even a tiny bit from the competition, then you don’t deserve to be in business.

    Get back into the flock you sheep or kangaroo or whatever you are!

  40. By phpenguin on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    look at their plans

    Hatchling
    Baby
    Swamp
    Semi Dedicated

    this sounds rather familiar :)

  41. By Mumsie on Mar 12, 2008 | Reply

    I love the Google response to the search.

    Who the H*** is Host Garoo? Are you sure you didn’t mean Host Gator?

    I thought I would fall off my chair laughing.

  42. By Webhosting Reviews on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

    No need for lawsuit, if they copy it they will fail. Hostgator is unique and they can’t compete even google knows about it ;)

  43. By Farhad on Mar 18, 2008 | Reply

    have a look here too: http://www.payegan.com ;)

  44. By Sir Richard Branson on Mar 18, 2008 | Reply

    Well they’re £9.50 per month dedicated hosting, and you’re $174.95!

    Goddam! I’ve already opened 58 accounts with them!

    Ps. Love that Kangaroo, it’s so goddam cute :)
    Alligators just give me a rash!

  45. By larry on Mar 19, 2008 | Reply

    Is another template some with hostgator

    http://www.axonhq.net/x3/index.html

  46. By Nonu on Mar 20, 2008 | Reply

    LOL..hostgaroo…this is too much really. They didn’t even changed the number of alphabets and its similarity with hostgator. I can’t stop laughing at their testimonials. Its the funniest testimonial I have ever read about a fake site..”"You guys are the best! My site has awesome uptime, and the support has been fantastic.

    I like the Logo – Skippy – very amusing!!”
    and

    “I have seen with a lot of web hosts come and go – where my friends have been rather disappointed; and I honestly can say you are the first that hasn’t fed me one spoon full of lies after another.

    Your honesty is much needed in the hosting industry! Thank you Skippy and team support!”

    And what’s the need to mention “UK-based web hosting company” ?? ROFL..Have you read even when they are from UK “they accept all international payments”..lol..I guess all that “skippy” is seeing is “international payments” and thats why they forgot to “pay” for design and purchasing servers for their companies. This is truly hilarious. I might be posting about it in my blog (on jokes).

  47. By Lighted on Mar 21, 2008 | Reply

    Or maybe Hostgator is doing some self publicity…
    Why?
    - The company (hostgaroo) is also hosted on servers at The Planet.
    - Nobody would want to enter a business by emulating the products and looks of one of the best in the business. you dont need to be a management geek to figure out it will bring disrepute.
    - Anybody with basic webdesigning skill will be able to come up with a different site using the same content in 3 days.

    There is more here than meets the eye!!!!!

  48. By Timothy Dick on Mar 25, 2008 | Reply

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

  49. By John on Apr 11, 2008 | Reply

    2nd post here…..

    I just cant beleive this….are so people really so dumb?

    Its brilliant Mr Hostgator, and some people still have not worked it out…

    Now shall I give the game away?

    John

    Self publicity rules….. :-)

  50. By FindingHost on Apr 13, 2008 | Reply

    I think this is a fake from you guys. How can you call this competition since this Host Garoo doesn’t even exist anymore. So is this your competition? You should eliminate this from the blog, doesn´t give a good impression from you. Or was it a joke? From someone like one is looking for a trusting web hosting this creates a feeling that you want to cheat on me.

    Cheers!

  51. By Kenan on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply

    Man these people copyed your site word for word… it’s like they had a blue print of your pages. i have the same problem with my competitors. each article i write or phrase i bring out, i find almost exact same thing on their sites a few days later… thank god google is a smart and fair engine, that knows who was first… in this case it is a bad copy as well. plus the garoo turns it’s back to the inside of the website, like he doesn’t care … every designer can see, this is the work of amtures…

  52. By Shibu Kumar on May 2, 2008 | Reply

    I think the kangaroos are packed up. Their website shows “Under Construction” and just a logo?

    What happened? Any idea??

    I read above that the Kangaroo was hosted in Hostgator itself. Does Chad Bean have any explanation?

    Regards

    Shibu Kumar S
    Verbanet Technologies LLC

  53. By sameer on May 3, 2008 | Reply

    seriously guys.. this is too much

  54. By Web Hosting Review on May 16, 2008 | Reply

    Hostgator can do nothing if Hostgaroo just copy the marketing concepts of Hostgator, IMO. The website looks very similar except the logo. In terms of web hosting services, I don’t think the garoo can match with Hostgator. Let me register a domain name : Hostgaroo-suck.com ^^

  55. By SOTEC on May 21, 2008 | Reply

    I can find hilarity in this, whether it’s shameless self promotion or not. My fiance and I were rolling! As another poster noted, http://www.axonhq.net/x3/index.html uses the same layout, so is/was it still a joke? I’d bet not. HostGator has a good sense of humor, but I don’t think they’d purposely waste time just for self promotion when all you have to do is register multiple domains and point them to HG’s main site. That’s much easier and smarter, not to mention more effective than creating an entire copy of their site. The idea is to get people’s attention using your name, not someone elses.

    As for dishonesty on HG’s part, assuming that this was all their doing, I deduct no points. This company has been fantastic in all aspects of our business together. Customer service is flawless. The price? There is no competition for price, or space, or bandwidth.

    You guys rock!

    I recommend HG to everyone as a web host. When do I get my commission? *evil grin*

  56. By Derrick Alvarado on May 26, 2008 | Reply

    What would be even funnier would be that hostgaroo.com was hosted by hostgator.com
    >.<

  57. By jeff on May 30, 2008 | Reply

    it was, but not any more, read the first comment, their site is now under construction, who wants to bet a new layout? this was a very funny discovery.

  58. By RobM on Jul 24, 2008 | Reply

    What a bunch of losers. I know what they thought… if you can’t beat ‘em, copy them

  59. By Australian on Aug 25, 2008 | Reply

    Think youtube want to say something with all the clones going around?
    the porn clone of youtube too much for some?
    You know you can make a site that looks exactly like Google, but with a different logo?
    Think that will provoke a lawsuit?

    Does it mater that each site was made using the same design software?
    Should the design software delete and remove any design from their database so no one can every duplicate a look a like.

    I noticed the Kangaroo, and UK link.
    Big deal…

    The queen is suppose to still rule down under, but I guess we are living as though she left already…

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