I’ve received a few dozen requests for contact information via Plaxo now. In theory, this sounds brilliant. Having just lost my cell phone and corrupted my addressbook, i’ve been begging folks to write to me with their phone, address, and birthday (*hint*hint*).
But something is amiss. Out of all of these requests, i’ve only *recognized* the names of 3 people who requested my information (including the one today). I get these blank requests from people asking for my contact information. No explanation. Perhaps we know each other via research or blogs, but there is no note or qualifier. It’s really odd. Besides, many of them are using email addresses that are either dead or from my website (not the ones that i normally use to write to people).
I’ve decided that i’m not going to put my data in Plaxo for anyone, whether i know them or not. I just don’t really feel comfortable with the fact that so many of the people who ask me for Plaxo contact information are completely foreign to me. Am i being weird?
At first glance, I though Plaxo would be a really good idea to provide my friends with contact information about me. And then I had to avoid the horror after installing it. Having an out-of-date Outlook only made things worse. Plaxo was insistant that I send out an email to everyone that I every contacted with a request to join Plaxo. It was much worse than spam, it had a worm-like behaviour. I couldn’t even tell Plaxo to never again send out emails or only send out emails to select people. It tried to break free and proliferate amongst my contact list. Several Ctrl-Alt-Del and uninstalling twice rid the dreaded worm. Hopefully never to return…
That sounds awful! Danah, it does sound as though the address collecting agencies that give info to spammers might be after more contact information than they already have for you…. Pity, because in many ways Plaxo sounds like a cool idea.
Mind you, I think I’m about to cancel the “In Touch” (TM) service on my phone, that attempts to connect any call to any of my phone numbers to a phone I’m actually at, right then. I just don’t want to be constantly in touch. Similarly, I probably don’t really need my contact info to be constantly and continuously updated for everyone…
As usual – good idea, bad execution. Just another example of a sociallly incensitive piece of almost useful software. Of course having something maintain that peski addressbook and doing the updating for you is wonderful. Except it tries to gain that magic “user-saturation” point by using the user which infringes on some basic social principles of privacy and personal space, the social intricacies of contacts, simply misunderstanding what the concept of “a contact” means. sigh… but a good idea… eh?
Irina
I hope no one is responding to Plaxo requests. If you want to verify my god damn contact information, if it’s actually important to you, you can get on the phone and call me or email me or ask me when you see me. Just like there’s no free lunch, there’s NO FREE ROLODEX UPGRADE. Plaxo isn’t even a good idea because it isn’t very well thought-out, let alone their execution.
I work at Plaxo and would like to dispel some confusion. The shocking part of this message is that this person actually downloaded, installed, and used the product, and still have made these ridiculous statements. Please read on…
“At first glance, I though Plaxo would be a really good idea to provide my friends with contact information about me. And then I had to avoid the horror after installing it. Having an out-of-date Outlook only made things worse.”
So far, nothing specific has been said.
“… Plaxo was insistant that I send out an email to everyone that I every contacted with a request to join Plaxo.”
This is patently false. Plaxo does not insist on anything. You are provided with a perfectly clear user interface that enables you to choose people from your address book to send updates to. Furthermore, after you have selected the contacts AND personalized your own message, we are VERY careful to warn you that you are “about to send N messages to the following people: [each one is explicitly listed]”
So, there’s nothing insistent or sneaky about Plaxo. We have tried to be extemely explicit and clear on how to use the product, and we would not be stupid enough to design a product that does the things that you mention.
Possibly you are referring to Plaxo Reminders, a tool to help you continue to maintain your address book on a weekly basis. Like any well-mannered application, there is a option to turn these off forever.
“It was much worse than spam, it had a worm-like behaviour.”
Plaxo is not spam — it is a software tool that people consciously choose to use to send personalized emails to their friends with the purpose of staying in touch.
Furthermore, you actively downloaded and installed the software and you chose to send the emails. If you don’t know the people that you emailed to, then YOU are a spammer, not the software that you using (e.g. Outlook or Plaxo).
Plaxo is not a worm or worm-like. A worm is software that secretly invades other people’s computers and spreads itself automatically. Plaxo requires users to consciously and actively download the software (Verisign cert), register their information, and follow (or not) the very precise user interface that we provide. 100,000’s of people are using it and not having your problems or reactions.
“I couldn’t even tell Plaxo to never again send out emails or only send out emails to select people.”
False. I really have no idea what you are referring to.
Plaxo does not send ANY emails unless you tell it to. If you choose to run the Update Wizard, Plaxo provide you with a very clear interface that lists your contacts and allows you to choose EXACTLY who to send updates to. If you do not wish to send updates, then don’t.
It’s possible that you are confusing Plaxo with other software products that automatically send updates w/o your explicit command. Plaxo does NOT do this.
“It tried to break free and proliferate amongst my contact list.”
This is complete nonsense. There needs to be more accountability on blogs for ridiculous statements such as this. I challenge anyone to prove that there is a thread of truth to these statements that Plaxo is a worm or send emails without your permission or tries to spread to other computers. Hogwash.
“Several Ctrl-Alt-Del and uninstalling twice rid the dreaded worm. Hopefully never to return…”
Um, er, you could have gone to “Add or Remove Programs” and unisntalled it.
Either you are working for a competitor and wish to discredit Plaxo with false allegations, or you just really confused, because none of these statements are true. None.
Plaxo – May not be spam but it does not tell you that you are filling out a form that can send info to the Plaxo Web site until you click UPDATE.
I don’t really care if it is going in to someone else’s private addressbook. If it is being put on some company’s web site it isn’t private, as The Plaxo group has control of the site.
Praying on the ignorance of users who use email for not only contacts but other information may not be considered a worm, BUT this may be something worse, as it asks for not only your business contact info, but your personal contact info as well.
I can’t think of a better way to collect a bunch of free email addresses and personal phone numbers for solicitation than this system set up by PLAXO.
Let the user beware.
My 2 cents worth
“…Furthermore, you actively downloaded and installed the software and you chose to send the emails. If you don’t know the people that you emailed to, then YOU are a spammer, not the software that you using (e.g. Outlook or Plaxo)….” Rikk Carey, Plaxo
LOL! Thank you Rikk! This is EXACTLY what I just told hundreds of friends Plaxo would claim if things got out of hand…That the USER becomes the spammer, while Plaxo holds the strings.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Now tell us how Plaxo plans to make money off all of this, please? Ads inserted into the requests perhaps? Selling of lists and personal info to third-party ‘vendors’, ‘partners’, ‘affiliates’???
The enquiring would love to know what the real aim is. Since THIS writer is now apparently “opted-in” to Plaxo’s database by several friends WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION. But then, Plaxo didn’t do anything wrong or insidious, right?
NOT!