Privacy Please

It’s ironic that in a society that is trying to be more green by using less paper, more and more companies want to give you their long, drawn out privacy policy.  Even crazier is that they’ll then waste more paper by giving you a form to sign that says that they gave you their privacy policy!

Caller ID, the National Do Not Call List, and, seemingly no way to stop all the junk from filling up the mailbox, not to mention all the nonsense that comes through email.  We just want it all to stop, seems to be the common refrain.

I, myself, have engaged a few people here and there about their opinion regarding automatically adding someone to your email list (presumably to send out a newsletter).

I can remember working for someone who would always be handing me business cards from people he met on his latest trip.  “Put them on the list,” he would tell me.  Or, similarly, he would attach a Post-It note that would say, “Add to mailing list.”  I never got up the gumption to ask him if he told all these unwitting souls that that’s what would become of their information once he got back to the office.

The debates go round and round because so many people do want to get noticed.  In the entertainment business, the up-and-comers want the decision makers to know all about their next show or their new release or the video they just shot.  And there’s a time and a place for all of that.

But I have now decided where the line is drawn.  Something took place – and it wasn’t the first time – and I decided that this, in my opinion, is officially going too far.

Heed this advice, up-and-comers, because I’ve told you all before that blasting out an invitation for every Facebook event you put up is a way to annoy someone, especially those that aren’t even in the same city where your event is going to be.

I’m referring today to text message blasts.

You’ve seen them usually in the form that has instructions of how to opt out.  It will say something like, “Reply with STOP to quit,” or words to that affect.

However, in my case, someone I had called on a business matter (to hopefully work together) decided to arbitrarily add my cell number to his distribution list for promotional texts.  Not cool.  Worse yet, his text told of an event, a number to call for tickets, and a website address.  In other words, there were no opt out instructions.

In business, cell numbers are many times a privileged entryway.  To abuse them by going to this length is just not acceptable.  If someone gives you their cell number – even if they are fine with texting back and forth – never take the leap of putting them on your distribution list.  There are plenty of other ways for them to find out where and when you’re performing next.