On March 20 I did a blog about receiving an offer in the mail for a “$250 Amazon gift card…just call this number! Limited time offer! Hurry!”
Well, I didn’t “Hurry!” but I did call, and as I’d suspected, to get the gift card I had to allow a company I’d never heard of give me a sales pitch for a product I didn’t want.
I passed.
I’m a long-time Amazon customer, and in my blog I suggested that Amazon had sold my information to a marketing company “…and now I’ll get inundated with more offers I don’t want.”
I believe my prediction has come true. And I hate that I was right.
Since I received that mailing in mid-March, there’s been a significant increase in phone calls. I use my voicemail to screen calls, and most of the calls disconnect when they go to voicemail – a sure giveaway for robocalls, i.e., telemarketers.
And I’m getting inundated with emails including:
- Cheap Cruises Up To 80% Off
- The Easy Way To Support Your Prostate Health
- Save Up To 27% On Baby Products
- Can The Flex Belt Make Your Abs Sore Like Crunches After Only One Use?
- Are You Looking To Love Again?
- Burial Insurance Get Peace Of Mind
- This Pill Unlocks The Power Of Your Brain
These offers range from silly to downright bizarre. I suspect the “cheap cruises” that are “80% off” probably go up and down the Detroit River. And no, I’m not remotely concerned about my “prostate health” since I do not and never have had a prostate.
All this speaks to the recent news stories about the tech giants – Amazon, Google, and the one we’re hearing the most about, Facebook. As one writer succinctly put it, each story
“…underlines companies’ rapaciousness and their determination to monetize every scrap of information they can stockpile on anyone.”
That “anyone” is you and me. Let’s remember that these guys are in the business of making money, not providing us with a free service.
And let’s take comfort in Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) making a statement on April 2 about how Facebook and other social media platforms had better “fix” their scandalous behavior or face government intervention.
Especially since we’ve seen how effective “government intervention” has been in Afghanistan, and Iraq, and Syria, and, and, and…
I Hate Houseguests 