[Magilla Marketing] Technology investor Esther Dyson is reportedly furious with the folks over at DearAOL.com for selectively quoting an op-ed she wrote in the March 17 New York Times supporting AOL’s deal with Goodmail Systems.
Led by liberal activist group MoveOn.org, the DearAOL.com coalition is trying to stop AOL from implementing Goodmail’s system under which commercial e-mailers can pay to have their e-mail practices certified as non-spam, and their e-mail guaranteed to be delivered with links and graphics intact.
DearAOL.com contends the system will create a two-tiered Internet under which those who pay will get their e-mail delivered while those who don’t will be left out in the cold.
Dyson wrote in the Times that: “Goodmail, in my eyes, does not raise moral issues. It simply wants to make the Internet a better place—and yes, make a little money along the way.”
DearAOL.com posted a letter Monday saying Dyson’s op-ed “debunks AOL’s PR scheme, … which centers on convincing the public that their e-mail tax is ‘voluntary’ and ‘nothing will change’ for everyday e-mailers.”
ZD Net’s Dan Farber posted what he claimed was a response to DearAOL.com from Dyson saying in part, “now I’m mad. The DearAOL.com. coalition is twisting my words. … The distinctions may be subtle, but there’s a world of difference between ‘consumers pay for e-mail’ and ‘sender pays, and recipient decides how much to charge.’”
Adam Green of MoveOn.org claims that all DearAOL.com did was remove some points from Dyson’s op-ed “that were completely extraneous to the debate.
“The bottom line is this: Esther Dyson is a supporter of AOL’s e-mail tax and is a supporter specifically because she believes in a world where many senders have to pay for the e-mail they send. That is a huge barrier to entry for the little guy who wants to turn a small idea into a big idea,” said Green.
In a follow-up e-mail, Green wrote: “I would also add this. AOL has an obligation to its customers and the public to say whether they agree with Esther Dyson's rationale for supporting for their email tax—that it is a first step toward an ideal world [where] “sending most e-mail will cost money.”
The original exchange can be viewed here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=2737
