On Wed, 2008-06-25 at 11:08 -0400, John Mason Jr wrote: > The key should be that you need to opt in to the "blast" > > John
Since you opened the can of worms :) I do feel this is business related since it goes towards policy, some companies for example will not set up a system to do this because of potential legal issues, moral issues, etc, others who sell minutes may opt to not sell minute to companies that do this type of stuff, and without ever discussing the policy some may not realize that one should be created in the first place. opt-in is a grey line the way some use it. Sure you bought medicine from a company, gave your phone number for them to contact you, you may have thought it was a one time thing but then the parmacy informs you that its about time to refill. While it was said here that is a good use, and I do agree that it is a good use, some will not consider that opting in. Where does the line stop? When is it opting in unknowningly and when is it spam? In addition to a prescription refill reminder could the pharmacy also advertise other specials they may be having (most US pharmacies carry a lot of non medicine stuff just so they can stay in business). You have proven yourself a business customer by buying a prescription there in the first place. Could those affiliates include people who are paying to place their ads in the phone message? The airline example I previously gave would be better than prescriptions where with your itenary you get deals on car rentals and hotels where you are traveling to. Its still relevant, its still helpful to some, and the person did opt into notification of their travel plans by phone. The system could be paid for with those ads potentially lowering the consumer cost, it could also connect you to an operator willing to take your order for these extra services. This could also be a selling point for those looking to get into this industry. The names and numbers wouldnt be sold to someone else, just the ad space on the phone, and it could be done in a way to guarantee that someone listens to it, for example playing a greeting saying why you are calling play a short ad play the content that you wanted to deliver originally In this way they have to listen to the ad to get the info they wanted. Even with a good service it can quickly turn into something more than imagined, and even with the opt-in part you may not fully understand what you are opting into. So I ask where is the line? -- Trixter http://www.0xdecafbad.com Bret McDanel Belfast +44 28 9099 6461 US +1 516 687 5200 http://www.trxtel.com the phone company that pays you! _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- AstriCon 2008 - September 22 - 25 Phoenix, Arizona Register Now: http://www.astricon.net asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
