for W3c validation

I’m moving out of my current house at the end of the month (I’m planning to be a nomad for the next 6 months), and have changed my address in a couple places already. Well, I went home to my parents house today to help them with some remodeling and there was some snail mail SPAM from Clear offering $25 4g internet waiting for me. It’s no secret movers are a lucrative audience to reach for marketers as the chances are very good they are in the market for new services to go along with their home and will open their checkbook for those services. I know the reasoning behind companies selling that information is that it generates additional revenue and that they don’t think people will be able to figure out who sold their information given the range of companies that have access to your personal information. But consumers are not as stupid as you think. Bank of America and Paypal are the only two places I’ve changed my address information thus far, so one of those two companies sold (or “shared”) my personal information to Clear. But here is some news for Clear (and any other companies buying my personal information from these companies) — my parents already have internet and I’m not moving there; please stop sending me SPAM in the mail.

There’s no question those companies have the legal right to sell my data per their terms of use, but this is not about that. It’s about trust. Even though I’m not entirely sure who sold my information, both companies just lost my trust, and I’m seriously considering abandoning both of them. I get that everyone is struggling and companies need to generate revenue…but selling or “sharing” personal information is NOT the way to do it if you want to maintain your long term brand.

#FAIL on them for selling my personal information.