Automated Addressbook Spam
from the make-it-stop,-please dept
David Coursey is explaining why he's been spamming people in his addressbook as he tests out a variety of contact management solutions that spam everyone to make sure they update their info. He trashes Plaxo, and gives plenty of reasons to stay away from them - pointing out that they still haven't announced their business model, and he's not at all comfortable giving all his info to a company that hasn't indicated how they plan to make money. My problem with Plaxo is that there's no way out. I don't ever want to receive another Plaxo spam. I've received way too many - and almost all (no joke) are from people I don't know. Maybe I met them at a conference somewhere or I emailed with them once. I don't know. All I know is that these people are not people I know - and there's a good reason for that - and the last thing I want is to be receiving spam messages from them telling them they want my latest contact info. I understand the thought process in using this type of tool, but it's a short-sighted thought process. If someone wants to stay in touch with me, let them stay in touch with me - not some Outlook plugin they installed.
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plaxo and my email filter
As soon as I heard about Plaxo and did some initial digging, I suspected this company was up to something and warned my users (hundreds internationally) not to install it or we would stop supporting their email client. This was enuf to scare most of them away from this and all other programs that alter Outlook, or otherwise try to use our email clients to further their spooky, so-super-secret-we-aint-telling-you-till-you're-hooked business models.
Drug dealers and outfits like Plaxo work on the same principal. The first taste is free! (Same principal Peapod tried on me and that didn't work out so well for them either.)
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Re: plaxo and my email filter
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No Subject Given
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Re: No Subject Given
It's another gadget like the fax machine - we don't *need* one, and certainly today we can get by without one, but for a small window in society, it was an absolute essential.
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Bring back planetall.com
Of course, they say that if I become a Plaxo member, I won't receive any more emails. Shades of Tony Soprano!
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Plaxo
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Re: Plaxo
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Update! - David Coursey - Plaxo member
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1644423,00.asp
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