Spam While You Shop

NM Dem’s response to the Economist article is right on. I’ve responded to that, but I wanted to talk more about the topic in Right Blog.

Spam on the cell phone would push advertising too far. I get excited when my cell phone rings because I think it will be a family or friend on the other side, not a piece of advertising. I’m enjoying the fact that telemarketers cannot get to me on my cell phone. I hope that cell phone Spam doesn’t become an issue on a similar scale to email Spam.

The “Pot of Gold” article did bring up an optimistic note that text ads would probably be voluntary and free for the user. That’s a relief, and I hope that’s how the process is rolled out.

Personally, I do not want to be bothered with location-based ads. If I wanted to walk into Store X, I would. I’m usually not lured by sales (knock on wood); however, I know when I’m ready to spend some money.

What about advertising technology that the user initiates? For example, use the same location-based technology to track the “ad request” text message initiated by the user and then return an ad for a nearby store. The merchant will benefit, as will the telecommunications provider and the consumer.

If the text message technology can be used in many different ways, then perhaps the approach to advertising can change as well.