Do we have a right not to be sold to?

13 replies
I might find myself being a bit unpopular with this, but oh well. (I was in marching band in high school, so I guess it's nothing new - and I loved it by the way.)

Do we have a right not to be sold to? There seems to be a prevalent attitude here and elsewhere that says, "don't annoy me, don't offend me, and quit doing a bunch of the things you're doing."

It's obvious were awash in advertising more than ever. Yet,...so? Don't most of us sell something? If not physical products or services, we're always selling oursleves right? Our ideas? Even going so far as to make posts that advance some kind of thinking that we hold to be true? Of course.

Sure people post (I guess) for post count's sake, sig file exposure's sake, and so on...but, I can (usually) see through it and it barely registers on my mind. It's never bothered me. I can see it for what it is most of the time.

And I'm old enough to know when someone has my true interest at heart versus their interest first.

I know you want to make a buck. I don't care. In fact, I think that's great! Me too. But that's after the fact. I can't make money long-term if I'm not adding value.

The reason I say that is because when someone can show you what they can do for you, why shouldn't they be rewarded for it too? When did the word "profit" become wrong?

A couple of years ago I heard a woman on the radio call in all upset about an opinion someone expressed that was frankly not worth bothering over. Without going into details, it had to do with protesters peacefully protesting outside a facility. She was unhinged and really fired up.

Why? It was about a comment. Not the thing itself.

I feel too many people think they have a right (sometimes even that even they're entitled) not too be offended. I just don't get it. Of course, for those shrewd folks out there I may be guilty of the very thing I'm railing against - decrying something that seems to bother me here on a public forum.

I've been guilting of becoming agitated, sure, from posts and motives I deem to be less than pure. But as far as that goes, how can you really know another's heart for sure? I could totally be wrong, (or worse, projecting) about that person's motive for a comment post they made here. (I used to be a very judgemental person. It's taken the Lord's work to change my heart slowly but surely, but I'm still guilty of it far too much.)

I guess it just bothers me somewhat when people assume motives on the parts of others and are quick to condemn based on what they think is "sig file exposure", or, "post count posting" and others.

It's funny because these things even have "names" and there are other "no-no's" you could violate by doing any number of any things I still learn about every week.

Now....having said all that, sure, obvious misuse and flagrant in-your-face improper posting are worth noting and/or reprimanding. But maybe I just draw the line a little farther than most because most things I "don't like" I just ignore.

Yes, I get emails that pitch more than add value. But I ignore them. I don't fret, complain or worry what the world is coming to. Some marketers really get folks upset with their emails.

Ignore them. Don't waste thoughts on them. I used to waste thoughts on people that have "wronged" me and it only made me bitter and resentful.

Sure, someone may post to expose their sig link. Ignore them. Don't buy, don't click, whatever. Why do I feel like it's a major spoiler when people do it? Why is it so bad? It can "clutter" up some threads. But other than that? If it's obvious to most of us, let them continue to fool no one but make a fool of themselves.

I don't have to read every post. I don't have to keep the radio on the station currently playing the commercials, and I don't have to answer the telephone if I don't want to.

Are some telemarketers annyoing? Sure. Do I want to move legislation to ban those calls? No, but some do. I don't care about the do-not-call list. (Do they even do that anymore?)

Since when do we have a right not to be annoyed? Unless it's too crazy, why waste your time upset? And yes, I see the irony, maybe even hypocrisy of my post, complaining about complaining, but there it is all the same.

Am I alone here? Is anyone else here frustrated by people who are always frustrated? My intent with this post is to work up the courage and just say "so what?" I don't care for posts that try to take advantage by timing with a WSO either, I really don't. Mostly because it's obvious and I don't care.

Emails can be deleted too. And that can be the end of it.

Please exempt my own post complaining from the criticism I'm dealing out about complaining

Thoughts?
#sold
  • Profile picture of the author rafib
    I don't really have an opinion on your post. But I'm posting to get more "sig exposure". :p
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    • Profile picture of the author Dev Maritz
      Originally Posted by rafib View Post

      I don't really have an opinion on your post. But I'm posting to get more "sig exposure". :p

      Very funny...

      I agree with you that the world has changed in terms of selling. Yes we do sell ourselves all the time; however, I don't think it is just on here. We sell ourselves to friends and families. We are constantly looking for a way to make people proud. We are constantly searching for approval.

      How many times have you had a general conversation about what someone does for a living?

      In my case, all the time.

      Everyone wants to show that they are good at what they do and wants the recognition for it. It is in our nature.

      The other thing is that people have to become more aggressive with their selling because of all the competition out there. Everyone is sort of fighting for a place to survive.

      Your quote:

      "And I'm old enough to know when someone has my true interest at heart versus their interest first."

      I think you are right on the money there. Fortunately, most of us can see through a self-centered person that only contributes for his/her own needs. It is your choice then to click away, or to buy.

      And yes, I have a sig file here because I truly believe that there is value to it. I am here to help others and to be helped by others.

      Well done anyway for speaking your mind. It was fun to read it.

      Regards,

      Dev
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  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    Originally Posted by Nathan Alexander View Post


    Thoughts?
    I think you should take your own advice...
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    Bare Murkage.........

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  • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
    Fair enough Jay. (And good answer.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Mac the Knife
    People bitch and complain because they are self-important, bottom line. Hitting delete and throwing away junk mail is the cost of doing business...for me AND for the businesses who send spam and junk mail.

    Mac the Knife
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  • Profile picture of the author agc
    It was a bit painful to mine your point out of that long rambling message, so let me summarize what I think I'm responding to:

    selliing is normal, dont be offended, just ignore it.

    Ok, if that's the point, then I have to say that I agree when it comes to any "free" media that I consume. And I have to disagree when it comes to any product I pay for.

    IE, the free internet. The reason it's so hyper monetized is because people insist on it being free.

    When I get annoyed is when a provider charges me for something, and then they tack on more advertising and selling to milk me even more. For example: Cable TV. they charge me to watch their stuff (for example A&E which is not available free) and the they fill it up with ads.

    Then there is spam. Yes I get ads in the snail mail. but you know what? Every single one of those cost the sender a non trivial amount to send to me. While I could say they were stealing my time, it only took me 1 minute a day to scan and drop them in the trash. That 1 minute stays fairly constant because the cost to the advertisers keeps them in check.

    But on one vBulletin forum (that I ended up shutting down), I got 5,000 spams a day. 5,000! The time to sift through and delete them would have exceeded the hours I have in a day! They were stealing 100% of my time. Since then I think captcha and akismet have helped a lot... but that fact only changes the theft to an attempted theft.

    The real challenge is to find the balance between excessive advertising and acceptable advertising.

    I think the next 10 years will see "the internet" struggling to find a way to figure out whats an ad and whats information, and charge the advertisers. Maybe there will emerge a model that works. Maybe there won't.
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    • Profile picture of the author Elmer Hurlstone
      We have the right not to buy.

      Selling has been going on since Eve convinced Adam "apples" were a good thing.

      Our personal perspectives often color our views. We ascribe motives to others based on our perception. Not that we're necessarily wrong every time we do so.

      I sell, you sell, we all sell...

      It's what makes the world go round.


      Elmer
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      • Profile picture of the author jennypitts
        Originally Posted by Macurdy View Post

        People bitch and complain because they are self-important, bottom line. Hitting delete and throwing away junk mail is the cost of doing business...for me AND for the businesses who send spam and junk mail.

        Mac the Knife
        I agree!!! The same concept applies to snail mail marketing. I think not matter what aspect of life or business you look at, there will always be someone complaining. We certainly can't please everyone.

        And as far as I can Nathan is concerned, I was rather confused with your post. I mean not only was it long, but I really could not understand if you are complaining because people complain or if you are complaining just to complain?:confused: Geez, I think I just confused myself further.

        Originally Posted by Elmer Hurlstone View Post

        We have the right not to buy.

        Selling has been going on since Eve convinced Adam "apples" were a good thing.

        Our personal perspectives often color our views. We ascribe motives to others based on our perception. Not that we're necessarily wrong every time we do so.

        I sell, you sell, we all sell...

        It's what makes the world go round.


        Elmer
        I agree Elmer!!! Selling is an integral part of life. Most of the time we do it inadvertently but we do it nonetheless. :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author nick1123
    I do believe that some people have a warped view of what rights really are. If you don't like something each or on the radio then turn it off. If you don't like all the advertising on television then turn it off. Nearly all of the advertising that we view is done by choice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
    I am not always succint.

    I was complaining, in a round-about way that people worry too much about sig exposure forum posts, the nerve of marketing emails and lots of other things you see people complain about from time to time.

    I'm guilty of complaining too with this very opening post. But I sometimes get tired of being polite.

    I think it might only bother me, so I should stop worrying about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      Things like you mention in emails are easy to fix - unsubscribe.

      However, ignoring things like signature boosting and other annoying forum trends is not the way to handle it. In this case, ignoring does NOT make them stop. Instead they will go even further until the board is overrun with stupidity and spam.

      Tina
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by TMG Enterprises View Post

        Things like you mention in emails are easy to fix - unsubscribe.

        However, ignoring things like signature boosting and other annoying forum trends is not the way to handle it. In this case, ignoring does NOT make them stop. Instead they will go even further until the board is overrun with stupidity and spam.

        Tina
        Tina makes a good point.

        And there is a difference between dispassionately taking some form of action to stop or slow down the things that make a resource like this less valuable, such as reporting posts or giving infractions, and getting all wound up and impotently demanding the world work the way you want it to work.

        Investing a lot of energy getting angry about something you can do nothing about hands a lot of your personal power to someone or something that may not even know they have it.

        You get an email you don't like. You delete it. If it bothers you enough, you unsubscribe or filter future emails from that source. Done...

        You get an email you don't like. Your blood pressure rises and veins stand out in your neck. You blast the practice on your personal blog and every forum you belong to. Here, because you can't name names, you generalize and rant about the world at large or every person who has ever used the tactic that so offends you. Then you sit and refresh the board to see who agrees with you and to argue with anyone who doesn't. You've spent valuable time on something the person who offended you has long moved on from and probably doesn't even know what mayhem clicking the send button caused in your life.

        Who has the real power?
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        • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          Tina makes a good point.

          And there is a difference between dispassionately taking some form of action to stop or slow down the things that make a resource like this less valuable, such as reporting posts or giving infractions, and getting all wound up and impotently demanding the world work the way you want it to work.

          Investing a lot of energy getting angry about something you can do nothing about hands a lot of your personal power to someone or something that may not even know they have it.

          You get an email you don't like. You delete it. If it bothers you enough, you unsubscribe or filter future emails from that source. Done...

          You get an email you don't like. Your blood pressure rises and veins stand out in your neck. You blast the practice on your personal blog and every forum you belong to. Here, because you can't name names, you generalize and rant about the world at large or every person who has ever used the tactic that so offends you. Then you sit and refresh the board to see who agrees with you and to argue with anyone who doesn't. You've spent valuable time on something the person who offended you has long moved on from and probably doesn't even know what mayhem clicking the send button caused in your life.

          Who has the real power?
          Now why in the heck can't I say it like that...thanks.
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