Comments on: A Rose by Any Other Name: Bluespamming Cast as Bluecasting

By: Benjamin K

Benjamin K — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 01:42:36 +0000

I think each situation warrants consideration - for me it’s best and worst of both worlds. If I’m in a cinema, sure i want the spam for discounts at the food store for ice creams, coke, etc. but when I was in Shanghai i was being spammed so hard i couldn’t get into my preferences to even turn off my bluetooth, i had to physically shut the phone off. I can tell you now i was swearing my head off then.

in general, the user has control on whether they want to receive or not, and every marketing company is different - some are ethical and responsible in the way they do business, others are just dodgy and slimey, like the ones i encountered in shanghai.

By: Craig Hughes

Craig Hughes — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 06:39:24 +0000

Alasdair — sorry, forgot that I had previously posted here as “Anonymous” and didn’t check the name/email boxes before posting. I am me.

By: Die Spammer Die!

Die Spammer Die! — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:25:26 +0000

That “in the phonebook defense worked SO well for telmarketers in the USA that we now have state and federal DO NOT CALL lists. All you are is high tech telemarketing to and using the time honored British tactic of “impressing”, in this case a free person’s cellphone to do it and make money off of them w/o their permission. Further, I’m willing to bet YOUR cellphone are NOT set to discover so you will not be annoyed by your own cell phone spamming

By: alasdair scott

alasdair scott — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 07:43:40 +0000

… and on the discoverable front, we ONLY attempt to talk to phones which are discoverable.

By: alasdair scott

alasdair scott — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 07:41:59 +0000

Hi Coward, you’re missing the point. By making your handset discoverable you are permissioning ANYONE to send you something. It’s like putting your number in the phone book. The point I was making is that if by accident we attempt to send stuff to you that you do not want then there is a further “escape route” built in to the system. Fact is that BlueCasting is supported by traditional-media such as field marketing, posters, screens and floor-media letting you know there is a BlueCast zone. So if you don’t want it, don’t [a] turn bluetooth on [b] make handset discoverable and [c] walk into the zone and [d] accept the content. Easy.

By: Anonymous Coward

Anonymous Coward — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 22:27:00 +0000

Alasdair: phones needn’t be discoverable: http://www.theinternetpatrol.com/bluetooth-spam-assault-moviegoers-say-hello-to-bluetooth-promotional-kiosks/#comment-2219

Also, spamming me to ask if I want to opt out is still spamming me. And just out of curiosity, how would a customer complain? Do you spam them with contact info for who to complain to after they opt out?

By: alasdair scott

alasdair scott — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 22:03:47 +0000

Thanks for the kind words! You will not that you need to turn Bluetooth on AND make your phone discoverable in order to get a BlueCast - and even then, if you say “no” we opt you out. Also, we’ve not had any complaints from consumers who’ve received free Coldplay content rather than paying networks £3.00 or so. Glad you like our copywriting so much.

By: Timmer

Timmer — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 07:28:44 +0000

From The Rules of Spam:

Rule #1 Spammers lie

- Lexical Contradiction: Spammers will redefine any term in order to disguise their abuse of Internet resources.

* Sharp’s Corollary: Spammers attempt to re-define “spamming” as that which they do not do.

Complete “Rules of Spam”: http://bruce.pennypacker.org/spamrules.html