For the past week, every third email or so in my InBox has been one of those invites to Quechup, the latest entrant into the black hole of productivity and time otherwise known as “Social Networking”.
In between each such email, I’ve also received notes from folks who just signed up with Quechup and now feel obliged to send a “Sorry about the spam!” message.
Why’s this happening?
Because while signing up with Quechup, you’re apparently asked for your email address and password. Once that’s entered, the software crawls your contact list and sends invites to every address there. And, no, you’re not asked if that’s all right with you. (Nope, I didn’t sign up for them myself: I just Googled the problem.)
Did you read that slowly enough to catch it? You give them your password and they spam your contacts.
It takes a special kind of stupid to voluntarily give out your password to anyone, much less to a site you’ve not yet used.
What the hell were you thinking?
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007, 2:46 pm | 
Idiots Bite, Technology Bites | 
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September 19, 2007 at 4:17 pm
OMG! What idiot would register ANYWHERE giving out the password to their email account! That’s a huge red flag and when you see a red flag you need to click the red X!
September 19, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I have to agree, but in the interest of not making these folks (who are longtime Venomites) feel any more stupid, I decided not to post their names.
But those of you who signed up know who you are.
September 19, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Kate, this is why I love you. Every time I read the tales of woe about someone getting Quechupped, I think the same thing you just said.
Thank you for always saying what we all are thinking (or at least should be).
September 19, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Isn’t it ironic that the trait which makes me the kind of person most folks would prefer not to sit next to while having a cocktail is the very trait that people praise on the blog?
September 19, 2007 at 5:30 pm
You certainly need to be Ass-toot to sign up for something that requires your email password.
September 19, 2007 at 5:34 pm
It’s the Curse of the Venomous. At least you have the internet, so you can get compensation for all those lonely cocktail parties.
September 19, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Uh-oh. Now I’ve got that George Thoroughgood song stuck in my head:
I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I drink alone,
I prefer to be by myself.
September 19, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Too many people sign up for things and simply fill out the form… there is no thought involved. It never occurs to them what might possibly be done with this information.
I hadn’t really heard much about Quechup – I’ve been swamped lately and it’s all I can do to get through my blog stuff when I’m not working. Although I’m guessing so far most of the people I know haven’t signed up cause I’ve not gotten any (now watch the onslaught begin since I’ve said this… heh)
September 20, 2007 at 6:42 am
I was invited and signed up, and I did *not* give them my email password. I think it asks for that if you want it to bring in all your contacts from your email, and then they spam all your friends.
September 20, 2007 at 6:56 am
Can you at least tell us if these “longtime Venomites” have an AOL email address? That would be par for the course (in terms of some cluelessness).
September 20, 2007 at 9:48 am
Having deleted the emails, I can’t remember if they were AOL ones or not.
As for AOL email users, the old stigma’s due to change now that it’s no longer just an overpriced portal to the net that people used to actually think was the whole net.
September 20, 2007 at 8:59 am
I’m not really a longtime Venomite (only found the site a couple of months ago) and I am not one who signed up with this service. But, I do have to defend the AOL address.
Yes, quite a few people wil @aol.com in their e-mail are pretty clueless. But, I have 2 AOL e-mail addresses among my 9 e-mail addresses. One of them is for my AOL phone number, so I don’t ever have to give out my real phone number to businesses. The other I use as my freak filter for spam e-mail.
So, there are some of us who have an AOL address who do have a clue about the way things work. I know that I’m in the minority. But, I just wanted to say that not all AOL e-mailers are evil…
September 20, 2007 at 10:18 am
To Chuck…actually, it’s why I mentioned “…some cluelessness”. I don’t believe it’s all, or even most…just “some”
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September 20, 2007 at 5:53 am