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Number
10: July 9, 2003
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This week in Katydid:
The
Internet Hangs a 'No Solicitors' Sign
I have not signed up for the National
Do Not Call Registry. I think I must be the last one, because all
the telemarketers are calling me now. I'm on a first-name basis with a
few of them. It won't be long before one of them calls me to sell me a
Do Not Call membership.
I don't use caller ID and when I'm home, I answer my phone before
my answering machine picks up. It's not that I'm lonely or technophobic,
I'm just interested in seeing new ways people try to get my attention. I
also hate to make my friends and family navigate the roadblocks.
It won't be long before some branch of the government creates a black
list for e-mail addresses. That concerns me. The black list is the
digital equivalent of hanging a 'No Solicitors' sign on the Internet. Of
course, all the old door-to-door salesmen will say, the houses with the
signs are the ones that have trouble saying, "No."
I've talked to dozens of people lately that say they've become great
at filtering their e-mail. I don't like filters on my e-mail because I'm
more accurate than any program. I'd also hate to lose business because a
potential client used the wrong keyword. (And noone has been able to
figure out how to filter the new subject lines filled with nonsense
data. Personally, those have made it easier for me to locate spam.)
These spammers don't have good ideas. They make up for lack of
creativity through hard work. They figure out how to exploit the system
to send junk. They know they only have to reach the gullible, and the
morally questionable. They do it because it's still cost-effective.
(Honestly, how long will it take before everyone who needs a Russian
mail-order bride has one?) It seems to me that people are rushing to
close a door that might soon shut on it's own.
Having a little background in science, I can tell you we're creating
a great environment to select for the worst kind of spammers. Every time
we make the environment hostile, we're helping unscrupulous, tenacious
spammers corner increasing shares of the market. The more rules we
enforce on legitimate marketers, the more good ideas we give to
illegitimate spammers. For example, as our friend Trina
pointed out, the national Do Not Call Registry has a loophole
for political or charitable causes, which means soon we will be
invited to donate to Habitat
for Humanity and afterward be reminded that interest rates are at an
all-time low.
Like turning on a light in the kitchen of a New York apartment, a
black list just sends the vermin scurrying back into the floorboards.
After awhile, the only thing left are the brave rats to stare you down.
(Ick!) Poison never works; you have to stop feeding them by cleaning up
your kitchen.
Sure, we could create a white list for people who want to receive
unsolicited e-mail, but I don't think we'll have to add any extra server
capacity to handle the load. They could probably hook it up to an iPAQ
and be fine. You can't really go wrong with permission-based marketing
either, but at some point, you need a way to meet new customers.
So, (and don't stone me for this), keep deleting e-mail, be patient,
and trust market economics. If no one pays attention, then no one pays,
and the spammers will find work better suited to them. Keep making laws
and the spammers will be the first to start exploiting inexpensive
direct mail and digital printing, and the last thing we need is the
government closing the door on unsolicited mail.
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Authority
Makes Great Writing
I cannot always claim to have it, but I know it when I read it.
There's a reason great writers are called authors. The words author
and authority come from the same Latin root, auctor, which
means creator.
Great writing requires authority. You need to know as much as
possible about your subject. Conversely, bad writing lacks authority. It
is weak on detail, often bluffing and exaggerating to try to dazzle the
reader.
This is true in fiction or non-fiction. Authors of fiction know
everything about the characters they write (or at least pay enough
attention to learn as they go). It's obvious that technical writers need
to know as much about their subjects as possible. Why then must
marketers often write about products without any kind of preparation?
We're told to "spice this up," or "give it some
sizzle."
(In fact, my definition of writer's block is trying to write before
one has prepared enough to have authority.)
The preparation that gives marketers the authority to write great
copy comes during their involvement in product development. It comes
through their research with customers. At that point, great technique
serves merely to separate the very good from the remarkable.
Of course, we face challenges every day that we can't prepare for.
Mergers, acquisitions, or company politics will isolate us from the kind
of product knowledge and research we crave. In those cases, it's
important to find the truth you can tell. Become an authority on
the small truths, and your writing will be more persuasive than the
writing of those who tell big lies with a flourish.
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Thanks for Reading
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Kind regards,
Kevin Troy Darling
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