I first launched Wyszdom without a “blogroll,” which is a list of links to other blogs that the author reads. I like to recommend reading to my visitors, but I’m not sure of the best way to filter my list. I’m subscribed to 69 feeds in Google Reader, so simply publishing a list of all of my subscriptions would be impractical. Only about 30 of these feeds are actual blogs, and I’d guess 20 of them would be blogs that you’re not already aware of. So do I just list this subset of 20, which is mostly my friends’ blogs? Would you, my reader, be interested in that?
Of course if I do decide to go that route, where do I draw the line? Only my best friends, or anyone who can call me an acquaintance? What if I disagree with what they write? Am I endorsing them? I’m not really sure what to do.
For now, I think I’ll stay without a blogroll, and just mention any of my subscriptions as I have things to say about them. Especially if Mike says something exceptionally stupid.
I just cancelled my newspaper subscription. I’m sure you have two questions:
1. Wysz reads the newspaper?
2. What does this have to do with that controversial headline?
The headline is arguably an example of a sometimes effective, but still undesirable form of marketing, which I call idiot marketing. Idiot marketing is marketing any strategy involving simple tricks covered in Psychology 101 that are designed to get distracted, fatigued, or stupid people to do something. You can find plenty of examples of this on late-night “but wait, there’s more!” infomercials.
I don’t like to buy something when I feel like it’s being marketed towards idiots. because then I’d feel like an idiot.
Examples:
- Sending me a check that when cashed, enrolls me in a service I don’t want or need.
- Sending me a fake credit card, or otherwise marking an envelope as “urgent,” “open immediately,” or “postmaster: please deliver by…”
Charities unfortunately often use idiot marketing as well. This is really a shame, because for people who consider themselves to be non-idiots, it can actually have the opposite effect. Here’s how they use idiot marketing:
- Trying to make me feel guilty. I once got a “personal” (photocopied signature!) letter from a genuine Important Person with language making it sound like he was personally upset that I hadn’t yet made a second donation to his charity. And then there’s the guy who sits at the entrance of my local grocery store with the accusatory “Don’t you care about our veterans?” sign.
- Bringing me into a commitment or relationship I don’t want. Can’t I just give them the money, and then maybe they ask for another donation in a year? Don’t make me a “member” or “partner” in your organization unless I opt into that.
- Coming to my door. There, they are just going to use traveling salesperson techniques and make me feel like a jerk if I refuse or ask for a URL. The worst is sending a kid to my door, claiming that if I sign up for a newspaper subscription, he will get money for college. and there’s “no obligation” and “the check won’t even be cashed” and “you don’t even have to cancel; it is cancelled automatically.” Because that simply isn’t true. My check was cashed, and I had to call to get the money back, after speaking to a supervisor. And don’t tell me I’m a jerk for ordering a newspaper with no intent of keeping it. The way they sell it, they expect and even encourage people to do this. The only people who get newspapers are those too lazy to cancel, and old people who don’t like computers. Idiot marketing gets poor results. And if they want to help those kids go to college, there are plenty of other options.
So what do I want charities to do? Just give me the URL, let me donate, and then leave me alone.
They don’t have to make everyone participate this way, but I, like many people, prefer to donate online. So don’t make me donate, sign up, or otherwise commit on the street. That way, I can easily confirm the legitimacy of the organization (not that I don’t trust people…), and I don’t have to deal with a paper receipt. I’m also willing to donate more money, and have my employer match it, if I can easily do this online. And, if I want to become more involved and not just do a drive-by donation, I can find more information right there, without being forced into it.
Possibly worth another blog entry: I don’t like tips.
Recently, I was getting ready to do laundry, and after removing one of my pillowcases, I noticed washing instructions on one of my pillows. I didn’t know you could wash pillows. Then I started to panic. I’ve had these pillows for over a year and never washed them. If you are supposed to wash something, going a year without doing it is pretty gross. Does everyone else in the world wash their pillows? What if I’m some kind of sicko and the only person in the world who doesn’t wash his pillows? I decided I needed to wash my pillows and my shame immediately, and threw them in the washer. After the wash cycle, the damp pillows went into the dryer. And after the dryer was finished, they still felt… not dry. So I ran the dryer again. And again. And they still didn’t feel right. They didn’t quite smell right, either. I asked around at work. Nobody washes pillows.
So I bought new ones. The memory foam kind that I’m confident no one expects me to wash. They arrived today, and they will never be cleaner.
Recently, I realized that nobody would consider this publication a “real” blog without pictures of cats.
I’ve been using iChat for video since the public beta came out while I was in school. It’s a great way to keep in touch with my family, and it has even virtually brought my sister from a flat in London to our Thanksgiving dinner table in Pennsylvania. Another great part about the technology is that I can communicate with those who usually wouldn’t hear from me on the phone: our cats. They look right at the screen when I talk to them from California. I haven’t recorded this on video yet (that’s a cool new feature of Leopard), but I have taken some stills of our video conversations:
