I wrote some time ago that Text 100, the PR company which has moved into SL, had better get to know the community they have joined if they want to make a success of their business here. Boy are they off to a bad start with me.
They sent me a spam email to my private email address yesterday. Now, obviously, on your behalf I receive a lot of email. I am sent notification when someone makes a comment on a post, I receive tips from SL residents about stories I might like to cover. Those things are labelled with SL insider and I can recognise them instantly. What I don't expect to get is company promotional emails or SL Insider tips sent as spam to my own email.
It's always been my experience that SL people have their radar set high for spam ... they don't like it in world, and they don't like it outside the world. Whether it's mentors spamming the mentor channel with moans about griefers, or people in world throwing unwanted notecards at you, people hate to be spammed. I hate spam too -- if I sign up to a notification, all well and good, but if I don't know you ... well I don't have to explain, you understand.
Which is rather more than Text 100 do. The gentleman didn't apologise, just told me that the organisers of their event had passed my email to them as someone who would be interested. How dare they! How did they get it? Those organisers deny this, incidentally, so I don't know how it got to Text 100.
The event looks as though it could be interesting -- an educationalist is coming into SL to give a lecture -- but I noticed that they are charging, and in my reply to ask where they had got my email address, I asked why. Apparently it's to keep the "rif-raf " (sic) out. Hmmm. I work as a mentor from time to time and I meet a lot of great people who are on basic accounts and don't have the money to go to the Gnubie store and pick up some 1L hair. Actually it is becoming quite expensive to be mentoring nowadays, because I do usually give the new people I help some money to at least be able to make a couple of uploads and buy some clothes. I don't judge them because they have no money in world.
People are reluctant to use their credit cards to buy Lindens initially. They don't know if they are going to like it in-world, and they may be concerned about security -- and who can blame them after the recent debacle? The fact that they don't have 10 Lindens to attend an educational event shouldn't debar them. I deplore the use of entrance charges for educational events, particularly if sponsored by and promotional material for, a commercial company.
I think knowing how to be of the SL world and not just in it is an art which takes time and effort. I am not impressed with Text 100's expertise thus far. Their sim is well built by professional SL builders, but sterile and self-interested. It seems to be a 3D version of their website, really. They haven't learned that to be a success in SL you must offer the residents a win-win. Not just a we-win. And you never, never, never spam them.
1. Caliandris Pendragon for the people!
Posted at 11:41AM on Sep 30th 2006 by Akela Talamasca