How wrong is the DMA? How right is Verizon (huh!)
So, it appears that on Friday, about 735,000 people signed up in just 17 hours for the do not call list (www.donotcall.gov). That’s about 12 per second.
When 12 people a second, or almost one in 150 households sign up for a service in the very first day, the message is pretty loud and clear. While the head of the Direct Marketing Association may not LIKE this outcome, the fact remains that it’s very pronounced. Instead of fighting it every step of the way, instead of insisting that they have the right to steal attention from people who don’t want it taken away, the DMA would be better off figuring out how to get permission, don’t you think?
Compare this to the newly revitalized (and consumer aware) Verizon, which just announced it will no longer fight to prevent you (and me) from keeping our cell phone numbers when we switch services. While this will no doubt lead to less amazing deals for signing up with a cell phone service, it’s so clearly beneficial to users that it was going to happen one way or the other. Better to give up, I say, then to fight a battle against your customers.
On that topic, I just can’t tell you how stupid the RIAA looks in all their writings about why they are now planning on suing 12 year olds and their parents. Do they think a reign of terror will restore their industry? I especially like the logic that explains that music sales AREN’T down because music over the last few years is pretty lousy–“hey”, they say, “it’s good enough for you to steal, isn’t it????”
hmmm. I won’t bore you with a rehash of my previous posts on this, but you can look them up in the archives if you want. Bottom line: the right thing is to rejigger the business, not to change the reality.