Adam just recently found out that even he doesn’t have my real e-mail address. It’s a secret I covet like the holy grail.
The main reason I hide my address is because once you give people one of your ‘fake’ e-mail addresses — all they do is e-mail you stuff. It starts out small — but then before you know it you’re getting non-profit solicitations and baby pictures.
Websites are no better. Occasionally, I sign up for websites because I enjoy using one feature or another. But website operators just don’t know when to quit. Lately, they’ve all seemed to ramp up to one to three e-mails a day chocked with purportedly useful information. I’ve had to unsubscribe from a couple of otherwise okay sites that I might visit once or twice a week because it was taking me the length of breakfast just to delete all those e-mails.
Someone’s got to tell these folks that marketing can not be a kamikaze effort. Users like me are easily turned off.
The worst are sites where you buy things, and can’t opt out from marketing e-mails when you buy. The worst culprit for this is Potterybarn.com.
Yes, I would like notification of when my item is shipping.
No, I don’t want to know about every candle and plate that goes on sale. And opting out when purchasing is damn near impossible.
Believe me, I’ve tried.
So keeping my e-mail address private has become somewhat sacred. I like having a space I can go on the Internet where I only have to read missives from people I actually know and like — and who aren’t trying to sell me something.
