COLUMNIST – DATELINE AMERICA
Jerks and spammers, swines
Wheretobegin?Somuchgood didn’tevenrealiseanycontact togetheronasocialnetworking
stufflatelytocommentupon.
Here,everything
hadbeenmade. sitecalled‘reddit’.Acompany
I’mgoingtothrowitall Theboy’sfatherwentballistic wasidentified(we’llcallit
togetherandhopebytheendit
onthenewsis
(histeamlost,remember).He CompanyA)andallweretoldto
meldsintoareallygoodstew.If
scary.Don’teat
demandedanapologyandmade inundatethemwithnuisance
not,thendon’teatit. whatmanyfeltwasaracist calls,tie-uptheirphonelines
Privacyredux:Asafollow-up that.Don’tgo remark.Mostcondemnedhis withlongrenditionsofrockand
tolastmonth’scolumn,written overreactionandfiguredhewas heavymetalmusic,etc.This
tostimulatedebate,hereare
there.Don’tbuy
wranglingforamonetary overloadedtheirvoicemail
twoexampleswhichwilleither settlement.That’stheAmerican system.
convincetheprivacyadvocates
this.Don’tdo
way,youknow!Theplayer Thecompany’sCEOwasalso
thatevenmoreprivacy
that.Don’tfly.
apologisedthenextday,even identified.Peopledrovebyhis
legislationisneededorwill thoughtherewasnothingto househonkingtheirhorns,etc.
convincethesocialmedia Don’tdrive. apologisefor.Reactionwas Onthesurface,thissounds
aficionadosthatindeedanew almost100percentagainstthe likejustifiableretribution.But
ageisuponussojustgetused
Don’tbreathe.
iratedad,whoactedlikeajerk. whatifthiscompanywasnot
toit.Youdecide. Inonesportsonlinechat responsibleforthecalls,astheir
room,someonepostedthedad’s CEOclaims?And,infact,justas
Dadfromhell emailaddressesand‘suggested’ Iwaspreparingtosendinthis
MuchhasbeenwrittenintheUS everyoneemailtotellhimwhat column,itwasannouncedthata
sportspagesaboutamaniacat theythoughtofhim.I’msurehe ‘ceaseanddesist’orderhad
arecentbasketballgameand gotafew...thousand! beenissuedtotwo
whathisintentionswere.Aftera telemarketingcompanies
rookieplayerfromthevisiting They’rebaaack! engagedinsellingextended
teamsankalast-secondshotat Oh,thosepeskyoutbound warrantiesoverthephone.
thebuzzertowinaplay-off telemarketers.Won’ttheyjust NeitherofthesewasCompanyA.
game,herantomid-courtto goaway?Oneorseveralrogue Extendedautowarranties
celebratewithhis companieshereoffering areagoodideainmany
teammates.Onthe extendedautomobilewarranties instancesandreputable
wayhesidesteppeda haverunafoulofthelaw,theUS companieswhichobeythelaws
refereebutjostlesa Senateandempowered offerthem.Buttheentire
12-yearold boywho consumers.Guesswhichgroup industrysegmentisbeing
hadacourtsideseat exactsthemostretribution? taintedbyseveraldisreputable
butwasstandingon Overabillionrobo-callshave practitioners.Perhapsifthere
thebaseline.The beenplacedbyacompanyor wasanykindofregulationin
boy’scapwasknocked companiesofferingthe placeoriflawenforcementhad
off,nothingmore. warranties.Manyofthesehave movedfasteronthis,the
Theplayer beenplacedtopeopleonDNC grass-rootsvigilantismwouldn’t
listsandeventopeoplewho havebeennecessary.But,the
don’towncars. realityis,theworldhaschanged
Talkabouttargeted andhowpeoplereacttoo.
marketing!Clearlythisisillegal. Emailaddresses,telephone
Myownstate’sAttorney’s numbers,personalinfocanbe
Generalhasbeen‘investigating’ foundanddisseminatedoverthe
thispracticeforayear.Ayear? Internetatlightingspeed.
Stillthecallspersist.AnirateUS Goodthingorbad?Doesn’t
senatorispushingtoenact reallymatter.It’shereandthat’s
legislationandafederal thewayitis.Certainlyinthe
investigation. mostgrievouscases,the
Bigdeal!That’snothingfor personswhodisseminatethe
roguemarketerstofear. informationcanbeprosecuted.
However,irateconsumers Buthowlongwillthattake?And
pesteredbythecallsbanded itisnotsomethingthatcanbe
14 June2009 www.dmi-news.com
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52