Word: maile
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...come to invent the flash mob? I sent an e-mail out to about 60 people that said, "You have been invited to join the Mob Project. It gathers an inexplicable mob of people in New York City for 10 minutes or less." There was a Frequently Asked Questions section that consisted of one question, which was, "Q: Why would I want to join an inexplicable mob?" The answer was, "Tons of people are doing it." It was a wink at conformity and herd mentality. I didn't expect people to adopt the idea in other cities. Literally within weeks...
...message said that "Dinda sent you photos on Tagged." Below that message was a link. Under the link it said, "Click Yes if you want to see Dinda's photos, otherwise click No. But you have to click!" Funny, there were no "Yes" or "No" tabs in the e-mail. Below that message it said, "Please respond or Dinda may think you said no :(" The sad face is a strong guilt trip. (See the five websites to avoid...
...mail came across my screen innocently enough. A former boss, Dinda, whom I hadn't heard from in some time, was sending me pictures through some social-networking outlet called "Tagged." Interesting. Did Dinda and I snap a photo together back in the day? I didn't think so, but I often forget if I've washed my hair two minutes after rinsing the shampoo. How could I be sure she wasn't sending me a poignant shot from four years ago? Plus, who doesn't like looking at their younger, better-looking selves...
...Johann Schleier-Smith, co-founded Tagged in 2004. I called them up, wanting to know why they're using Harvard math degrees to annoy the piss out of people. Tseng, the CEO, was unavailable, but Schleier-Smith, the chief technology officer, agreed to talk, but only over e-mail. "We did not intend to cause people to invite contacts by accident," Schleier-Smith wrote. "The recent backlash hurts, and we want to ensure our continued growth helps people rather than creating problems for them...
...asked, "Are you sure you want to invite all your contacts?" That warning was perfectly understandable to me, and likely to 95% of the people who got tricked. The answer is no. The "fix" is that the new window asks, "Do you really want to send e-mail invites with these photos to all ___ of your contacts," with the blank representing the number of addresses on your list. Sure, it's clearer, but it wasn't the warning that caused confusion. What's irritating is that despite the warning, the message still went out to all those people...