seanbonner: Yahoo! Spams Metbloggers

August 03, 2004

Yahoo! Spams Metbloggers

Last night anyone with an easily accessible e-mail address or who is on the reply end of a contact form got spammed by Yahoo! Here's the one people in LA got:

Hey, sorry to bother, but I noticed you're an active metro blogger for L.A, so I thought you might be interested to hear that we (Yahoo!) just launched today a new search site that helps people find stuff in their local area. It's called Yahoo! Local, here's the link: http://xxxxxx. You can use it to find stuff like local restaurants, bars, movies, etc. Anyway, it's still a beta product, but give it a spin when you get a sec and let me know if you have any ideas on how to make it better. Thanks, Yahoo_Jen

Yahoo_Jen actually nailed me 4 times via just about every e-mail address and contact form she (he?) could find. Here's the one people in SF got:

Hey Nicole, sorry to bother, but I noticed you're listed as an active metro blogger for S.F (via Bode Media), so I thought you might be interested to hear that we (Yahoo) are launching tomorrow a new search site that helps people find stuff in their local area. It's called Yahoo Local, here's the link: http://xxxxxxx. You can use it to find stuff like local restaurants, bars, movies, etc. Anyway, it's still a beta product, but I thought you might find it useful. Give it a spin when you get a sec and let me know if you have any questions or ideas on how to make it better. Thanks, Nicole. -- Mike

Other cities got other versions. I think it's pretty funny/pathetic that Yahoo! is fishing in a pond of bloggers who are already doing something cool on a local level to try and get free advice for their own product by sending out canned e-mails like this. Especially since this is a product to help people "find stuff like local restaurants, bars, movies, etc" and they are sending it to people who are writing blogs in their cities that include info about how to "find stuff like local restaurants, bars, movies, etc." They also used the word "metro blogger" which is damn amusing.

Hey Yahoo!, if you want us to consult on your product, please send over a check. If you want publicity, please buy an ad. Otherwise, please stop spamming us, we hate spam. And spammers. That means you right about now.

Posted by sean on August 3, 2004 08:16 AM | View blog reactions
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Comments

I never even got this e-mail last night.

Which means it must've automatically went into my spam e-mail filter. ^_^

Posted by: Koganuts on August 3, 2004 08:19 AM

> They also used the word "metro blogger" which is damn amusing.

I smell a lawsuit ... or did you file a copyright?

Posted by: mack on August 3, 2004 08:23 AM

Mack: If they use that on their site or in ads we'll be all over them, I don't think we can do anything about an e-mail to specific people...

Posted by: Sean Bonner on August 3, 2004 08:55 AM

I had 3 of them from Boston Blog ... Will reply with this URL :)

Posted by: smeg on August 3, 2004 09:00 AM

It's kinda fucked up, isn't it? The minute I got it, I was super-suspicious about it and even wondered if it was really Yahoo! that sent it. They must be really stingy with their ad dollars if it's the case. Anyway, I was so put off by the utter link-sluttiness of it, I decided there and then to NOT post about it regardless. Glad you agree :)

On a side note.. this does mean that the metroblogs are getting more popular..

Posted by: Nicole Lee on August 3, 2004 09:17 AM

Hey Sean, I apologize for this. In retrospect, we should have just sent a note to you – and let you alone determine if it was something relevant, err, important for your community. Our intent is not so much to get “free advice” from anyone – our intent was to let you know about a new service and get from you any insights you and others wanted to share – good, bad and neutral. For anyone that we inconvenienced with these emails, you have my sincerest apology.

Posted by: Mike on August 3, 2004 09:39 AM

Wow - if Yahoo's "Mike" sent you an apology already, somebody in their legal must have crapped his pants bigtime. You know me - Sue, Sue, Sue - I'd see if you can't get a little Shut Up cash out of Yahoo for violating Spam laws, or at very least their own publicized policies with regard to Spam....

Posted by: Ruth on August 3, 2004 09:44 AM

I got the same email, slightly modded to reference LA Blogs. I'm sure they are happy to have the attention, either way. Weak:

Hey Jonah, sorry to bother, but I noticed you're an active metro blogger for L.A. (via LA Blogs), so I thought you might be interested to hear that we (Yahoo!) just launched today a new search site that helps people find stuff in their local area. It's called Yahoo! Local, here's the link: http://XXXXXXX. You can use it to find stuff like local restaurants, bars, movies, etc. Anyway, it's still a beta product, but give it a spin when you get a sec and let me know if you have any ideas on how to make it better. Thanks, Yahoo_Jen

Posted by: jonah on August 3, 2004 09:56 AM

I never got this email and now I feel really left out. I guess I'm just not as popular as the rest of you. Yahoo always did like you best! I think I'm going to go sit in the corner now and have a good cry.

Posted by: Susan G on August 3, 2004 10:07 AM

Oh Susan, don't be so sad. Don't you remeber that time Yahoo! bought you that new dress? Or the time Yahoo! took you to the beach? I didn't get any new dresses. Just because Yahoo! is paying attention to us today dosen't mean Yahoo! has forgotten about you, maybe Yahoo! will spam you next week?

Posted by: Sean Bonner on August 3, 2004 10:42 AM

Mike - Oh, so you didn't want "free advice" you wanted "any insights you and others wanted to share" - my mistake. Lucikly most of us have "junk" and "delete" buttons easily reachable on our e-mail apps so the inconvenience was minor, the damage is that we all know now that Yahoo! engages in slimey spam-tackular practices like this. If you wanted anything other than a negative reaction, you are correct that you should have just e-mailed me, or Jason, or anything rather than sending most of us the same e-mail, sometimes several times. I got the same e-mail about making my penis bigger and hot co-eds who are hot for me less times today than I got that Yahoo! note.

Posted by: Sean Bonner on August 3, 2004 10:56 AM

Insights I'd like to share with Mike:

- I like movies, Mike. Would it be possible to make the site tell me what movies are playing in my area when I enter my zip code? I know that's probably totally future kind of stuff, but that would be amazing! Also, if I could buy my tickets right there, that would be amazing!
- The site would be better if you get $300 every time you use it.

Those two are it pretty much.

Posted by: Morgen on August 3, 2004 04:18 PM

This doesn't really strike me as spam. It looks mostly manual and on target. Do you simply consider all unexpected email from a commercial entity spam?

Posted by: pb on August 8, 2004 11:17 PM

Spam = unsolicited commercial email

That is the accepted definition, not just my opinion.

Posted by: Sean Bonner on August 9, 2004 08:09 AM