My Opinion

Currently Listening: My Playlist entitled Fall 2006
Current Song: The Ocean by Mae

I added two new people to my blocked email list today. Maybe its because I’ve been reading this book on advertising or maybe its just because I’m easily annoyed but those people who spam me should be hurt. It’s one thing on my yahoo account, its another when they get through to my CIY account. I’ve yet to receive an email on “that problem” in my email here but I’m sure it won’t be long. Ironically its not email spam that has me fired up today, its snail mail crap.

There is a company who I guess my predecessor used at one time to order (in my opinion) a cheap item that served a good purpose but also served to let them think we like them. Much like saying something nice to that kid at school suddenly confused them into thinking that you wanted to talk to them all the time. Anyway, the joke around here is that weekly—weekly—they mail me some free piece of crap. Sure, its disguised as a pen or pocket calendar. At one point I had over 35 of them in my desk—I gave them away to kids at spring break. Many of them were left behind on the floor when they left the room. Just yesterday this company mailed me 3 pieces of stuff. On the same day. The real kicker? 2 of them were the exact thing. Same name, same address, same crap on 3 of them. I bet they spend enough money to buy me 10 or 15 pounds of red vines each year on envelopes with little packages of nothing that I will never buy. Occasionally they call and I tell them I don’t want to date anymore, that we’re not even just friends, that I’m going to get a restraining order and yet there they are on my front porch each week.

There’s this other company, they sell videos. They call me each quarter with their new material for youth ministry. I kindly remind them I am not a youth minister in the traditional sense, that I don’t have a youth group and that if I were to show there stuff at my event I’d be breaking the law or something. They apologize and let me know they’ll make a note. Then I hear back from them 3 months later.

I was reading about how people respect advertising that respects them. That the highly annoying guy that asks the girl out every day till she says yes rarely succeeds. And the ones that do are not enough to base a business principle on. So maybe we in the church should stop acting that way too and figure out how to reach people where they are in a way they feel respected and in a format where we’ll actually get more out than Hey, I’m from First Christian……

Just a thought.