Gasp! We’re having trouble breathing and there’s a shooting pain running down our left arm. The Seattle Times recently ran a column headlined: “Think twice before you label it spam” that was actually pro-business.
We’re so used to consumer newspaper and magazine writers assuming all commercial e-mail is spam, that the more we consider Charles Bermant’s article, the more we feel like we’re about to pass out.
The column pointed out that when consumers press the “report spam” button, they’re giving a black mark to the reputation of the company that sent the e-mail. As a result, Bermant wrote, “reporting a ‘legitimate’ marketing message as spam could be considered an irresponsible, inconsiderate act. While it may appear to be an easy timesaver for you, it can provide an equal and opposite reaction of grief and woe for somebody else.”
Getting … Very … Dizzy … Now … Can’t … Believe … What … We’re … Reading.
The piece then quoted Stefan Pollard of Email Labs saying: “If this is a message that you have asked to receive at some point it is your responsibility to click the unsubscribe button. You should only report messages that you did not ask to receive as spam.”
That Light. … It’s So Bright. … Must … Go … To … It.
“According to Pollard, each spam report counts as a black mark against the sender,” the piece continued. “A small business sends to what it perceives as an opt-in list, but if one in 1,000 recipients cry ‘spam’ the business’s provider may refuse to deliver the rest of the messages until the business shows proof that everyone on the list opted in,” wrote Bermant.
“This is possible, but it hurts the people who can afford it least. A legitimate business needs to channel its energy toward delivering product and servicing customers.”
Mommy? Is that you, mommy?
