Opt In – Opt Out

This morning I received the following SMS text message on my mobile phone:

AT&T Wireless: $25K sweeps, reply YES to enter! NO PURCH REQ. Odds dep on # entries. Ends 9/30. Rules@attwireless.com/usa 2 stop msgs go2 attwireless.com/privacy

Personally, I found the unwanted message highly unprofessional. The message made it very simple to enter the "sweeps" — just reply and say YES. If you would rather not receive further messages, you have to visit attwireless.com/privacy No hot link was provided. Just as well because it would take a long time to download on a mobile phone. Upon visiting the Web page, I found a ten page 5,290 word document. A paragraph on the Web page said, "If you are an AT&T Wireless customer and wish to change your preferences on receiving these types of communications, you can click here and complete a form to tell us your preferences". Want to opt in? No problem. They already did that for you. Want to participate further? No problem. Hit reply and say YES. Want to stop the unsolicited messages? Not so easy. Visit a Web site, look for the relevant information, and if you find it, fill out a form.

What I find amazing about this example of unprofessional and unsolicited spam is not that I received it, but who I received it from. AT&T Wireless is a public company with significant financials and a market capitalization of nearly $40 billion. This is not a fly-by-night operator. Their Web site highlights the philosophy behind their corporate citizenship, and sites many examples of the good things they are doing. It truly is a fine company in most respects.

I wonder if their board of directors and CEO realize that their company is saying “Giving back to the community isn’t an optional program at AT&T Wireless. It is both a responsibility and a privilege.” and also saying "AT&T Wireless: $25K sweeps, reply YES to enter! NO PURCH REQ. Odds dep on # entries. Ends 9/30. Rules@attwireless.com/usa 2 stop msgs go2 attwireless.com/privacy".

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Extreme Blue Grand Finale

Last month I took a ride up to Cambridge, Massachusetts and visited with the Extreme Blue interns — top computer
science and business students from some of the top universities in America. The Extreme Blue program, which began in 1999 at an IBM facility in Cambridge operates at more than ten IBM locations around the world and brings together a couple of hundred incredibly talented young people to work on projects for the summer. The students are split into teams of three or four computer science students and a business school student. Each of the projects has a sponsor from somewhere in IBM and a an IBM mentor who provides advice and support during the project.

The grand finale occurred in Armonk, New York, where IBM has it’s worldwide headquarters. The EB students from around the United States spent a couple of days demonstrating the results of their summer projects to senior IBM software, services, and hardware staff and management and to the top executives of the company.

The projects are very real (see related links for more info about them), they result in significant contributions to the company and also to the development of the students. Extreme Blue interns almost always exceed everyone’s expectations. The thing about students is that they have no & baggage& . They don’t know all the things that may not have worked in the past or all the reasons why something can’t get done in a short period of time. No blinders. Totally uninhibited. They have the summer   all of twelve weeks or so. Whatever it takes, they will get the job done. The date for their grand finale is set at the beginning of the summer — ten minutes on stage in front of an auditorium full of fellow interns as well as the IBM staff and management. Projects can’t slip like they might in the "normal" world. Students are fearless and tireless. They learn a lot about IBM and from their mentors but I think IBM learns even more from the students. How they think and work together. Their attitudes about technology. The trends they see. Their view of the future. It is so uplifting and enriching to talk to the students and learn from them.

I finally tore myself away from the Extreme Blue dinner at 10:30 so I could get home for some sleep before an early train to NYC for a board meeting this morning and then on to San Francisco for WebSec 2004. WebSec is a conference offered by the MIS Training Institute and will be covering
many important topics including Securing Web Transactions,
Identity Theft and Digital Identities,
Securing Internet Information Servers,
Developing a Superior Web Security Architecture, and
Penetration Testing for Financial Organizations. I will be kicking things off in the morning with my view of The Future of the Internet.

Extreme Blue posting from July 2004
Extreme Blue posting from April 2004

Customer Service

Each and every one of us could write stories about less than perfect Customer Service. Recently, I wrote about a venture to find a GSM Provider that I could use with the Sony Ericsson P900. AT&T Wireless turned out to be the best in terms of coverage and, in spite of their ratings, their customer service has been pretty good. Cingular is a different story. I can accept that every provider is not going to have great coverage where I live, but good customer service is something that every provider should have.

The sales person was very nice. She captured all my information – name and address, ssn, driver’s license number, date of birth, etc. — using an online application. I was impressed (except for them insisting on so much personal information). I thought we were ready to insert the chip card , but then out came the paperwork. I had to fill out an application form with all the same information that they had already captured in their system! Go figure. Unfortunately, as I previously reported, I got home and found there was no signal. I immediately called the store and they said they could open accounts but they can’t close them. I would have to call 1-866-CINGULAR. (read more)