The Spam Lobby Starts Their PR Campaign

from the why-do-you-love-spam dept

Wow. That's the only initial comment I can come up with after reading the somewhat disturbing column Why I Love Spam running at News.com. I would say that this is simply a PR effort on the part of the direct marketing association who is scared to death of the idea that people should opt-in to hear what they have to say. The guy makes all the wrongheaded argurments and then proceeds to miss the point completely. He says that spam is simply reaching out to new customers, trying to provide them with information they might find useful. He also says that it's free speech, and that if you don't like it, just hit delete and shut up. He also implies that most people don't mind spam and it's simply a group of "well meaning but uninformed politicians and advocacy groups" that are fighting spam. I'm not even sure where to begin ripping apart his arguments, and I'm sure everyone can pick their own favorite point. However, inundating people with useless, annoying, unwanted information IS NOT MARKETING. It's pissing people off, plain and simple. It's not doing anyone any good. I find it most amusing that this guy's email address is not displayed with his article. If he really wants spam so badly, you would think he would gladly make it available.