Seth Godin just posted a brilliant blog post (again) about SPAM, and about abusing a customer’s permission. Backstory: The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) decided Tuesday that they would ROBO call their members. It’s kind of ironic that an organization that relies upon, evangelizes, and literally stands for word-of-mouth advertising would bow to such low standards. It’s directly opposed to their own stated mission of ethical standards.

So how could this happen? A couple of insights:

Technology is making it so cheap to interrupt someone that even the holy can be tempted by the lure of immediate results such that even an organization that should be absolutely opposed to this kind of technology not only embraced it, but were boasting of their efforts on Twitter. That is until the entire marketing community overwhelmed them with a major spanking in public. Now the “convo” that they wanted to keep rolling has taken a life of it’s own and is undoubtedly something WOMMA would do anything to stop. Right now they are reaching for their “disaster recover” binders and Googling “Tylenol.”

This leads to another insight – playing with fire can get you burned. By participating in social media there is an inherent contract that you are no longer in control of your message. It’s a very powerful tool with very sharp edges that cuts both ways. A quick search of @WOMMA on twitter shows an overwhelmingly negative response to their tactics. This should be a warning to anyone that they need to be squeaky clean in this era of instant news cycles where everyone is a publisher. And when Seth Godin takes the time to call you and tell “You’re doing it wrong” you shut the F up and listen.

Another problem is that regulators are asleep at the switch. I don’t expect government to be everywhere in our lives, but this is a prime example of the FCC being woefully out of date with technology. If you don’t need a brain to use ROBO calling, perhaps you should at least have to get a license or answer some questions like “Have you been drinking today?” We made fun of the lack of prosecution of spammers (it’s pathetic) last summer during a stunt that we videotaped.

You might be thinking this point that perhaps it was a highly considered ploy to drive PR – but I guarantee you that is not the case no matter how they will try to spin it. At best they were moronic, at worst they were desperate. You may create some PR for yourselves, but when it diametrically opposes your message – your going to be a punch line on the Tonight Show. Your name recognition will certainly go up – but be careful what you wish for. Ask Steve Bartman if that is a good thing after he ruined the Cubs 2003 world series run. In a mindless grab of selfishness, because it was easy, he derailed his favorite team’s hopes for victory. He and the organization may never be the same, and I’m afraid this may be the case here.

Related posts:

1. Government Turning a Blind Eye to the High Cost of SPAM?