BUSINESS THREADS

Your attitude might change after reading this. Don’t get me wrong… I hate receiving spam just as much as the next guy, but is it really that bad? Let’s put this in perspective.BUSINESS THREADS

Your attitude might change after reading this. Don’t get me wrong… I hate receiving spam just as much as the next guy, but is it really that bad? Let’s put this in perspective. At 8:00 this morning I received a phone call from a major long distance company telling me “this is a courtesy call” and trying to get me to switch to their long distance company. I am sorry, but waking me up at 8:00 am, especially when I am usually up working until four or five in the morning, is not a courtesy call, even if you are calling to notify me that I won a lot of money.

We are exposed to several forms of unsolicited advertising on a daily basis, but I do not understand why most people haven chosen email spam as the one they want to grind their axe on. I haven’t come across a website yet dedicated to banning brochures and fliers from being sent to your home through the U.S. mail. My personal favorite is the mail your receive from credit card companies where they make it look like you have a real card inside the envelope or the mail that car dealerships send out that say “Urgent!” and it looks like a check from Western Union. After being tricked into opening the mail, you have to discard the contents into your trash or recycling, both of which require time, money and resources.

At my office it is even worse. How do these people get my fax number? I ran out of ink one day from receiving numerous advertisements through my fax machine. It forced me to have to unplug it when it was not being used. The absolute worst is when they accidentally put your phone number on their fax list. I received several calls for weeks during the same time of the day. Every time I picked up the phone I heard that familiar bone chilling screeching noise on the other end and there was no way to stop it. The caller ID was displaying the caller as “Private” and there was nothing I could do but yell and scream back at that damn fax machine on the other end.

This brings me to my personal evil: telemarketers. There is nothing worse then waking up in the morning to a phone call from someone trying to sell you something, or jumping out of the shower thinking that it is your special someone calling you. Instead it is another “courtesy call.” I can’t image how upset people with young children or families must get when the phone rings and wakes up their children or disturbs their meals. Nevertheless, the majority of the anti-spammers protest email spam, even to the extreme of creating “hit list” type websites listing names and addresses of bulk email spammers.

Everyone really needs to look at the big picture. Is email spam really that bad? It doesn’t wake you up in the morning, you don’t have to hear its voice as it tries to sell you something, you don’t have to pay for its disposal and it doesn’t use up all of your ink or tie up your lines. It is quiet, only appears when you are in front of the computer and is easy to dispose of – one click and it is gone. I just don’t understand why spam email is on the top of most anti-spammers lists. Why wouldn’t someone start with the most intrusive forms of unsolicited advertising first and then work their way down? What do you think? I know next time I receive a phone call from a telemarketer I am going to tell them, “don’t call me back… if you must bother me, please send me an email next time.”

Will Sifert is the owner of www.realitywebcams.com and can be reached at webmaster@realitywebcams.com.