***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org *****
Jon,
I see your point of view. I blocked all Plaxo messages at my server
because there were so many messages. After hearing a talk by someone
from Plaxo, who claimed they had stopped spamming people, I unblocked
them, but was inundated with messages. On closer examination I found
there was a way to turn them off. But, there is nothing Plaxo provides
that was worth that trouble. The difference to me is that I have many
hundreds (more than 1000?) email contacts, few of whom I would dream of
bothering with emails requesting they spend their valuable time going to
a website and declaring their undying trust and love for me. My
Facebook contacts are people who have invited me, specifically asked me
to invite them, or people I know are into such things. I have a number
of contacts who I would be mortified if some software started sending
them requests to declare their trust for me. Some people are busy. I
know I am and when I get random requests from Plaxo and elsewhere, I
ignore them. If there are too many, I block the messages at my server.
What benefit do Spock and Plaxo really provide?
-Don
> ***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org *****
>
> On Dec 19, 2007 10:49 AM, Valdis Krebs <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
>> No, my understanding is you have to have signed up on the site to have
>> a trust request sent "on your behalf", but you may not be aware that
>> your actions are resulting in emails being sent to your friends.
>>
>
>
> I'm trying to understand how this is different from any other SNS. Adding
> someone to your "trust network" here is like friending someone at Facebook
> or Myspace or wherever else. All of these sites notify your "friends" as
> you select them. I personally have never joined an SNS that it wasn't in
> response to an invitation generated this way. So I guess I don't see your
> point.
>
>
>
>> They
>> also request you upload your contact lists from various email systems,
>> so this may complicate things on what you know is happening "on your
>> behalf".
>>
>
>
> This has also become standard since the APIs were developed by Google,
> Yahoo, et al. Quechup handled this badly, but I saw nothing unsual or
> inappropriate in the way Spock handled the contact uploads. I don't think
> this is an issue, either.
>
> I'm beginning to think the pile-on is fueled, not by significant issues with
> this particular system, but by general frustration with the increasing
> complexity of the online social environment, and the myriad calls for our
> scarce attention. The real message here is probably that we don't want or
> need "yet another social network" [platform], especially one that requires
> more of our attention than we're willing to give. Hopefully entrepreneurs
> who want to build "the next Facebook" will pay attention (but I doubt it).
>
> ~ Jon
>
>
>
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