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Creepy mail no one wants

Kathy Werner
Posted 2/3/23

I suppose it was inevitable, but it was still creepy.   Just last week I received two envelopes in the mail. Each had an image of my house on the front.   Each, of course, had my name on …

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Creepy mail no one wants

Posted

I suppose it was inevitable, but it was still creepy.  Just last week I received two envelopes in the mail. Each had an image of my house on the front.  Each, of course, had my name on the front. And each contained a sales pitch for home insurance. For my house, which was pictured on the envelope, courtesy of Google maps.

Ewwww. It felt like someone saying, “We know where you live, Kathy Werner, and we want you to know that we know.”

Although the image was indeed from Google maps (and I well remember the day that the Google truck drove through the neighborhood), and my address is available in the public record, I suppose, it is still very unsettling to have this information being used to target me for something that I didn’t ask for and don’t want.

I realize that all social media exists to make us see ads and spend our money on stuff that some algorithm has decided is what we want. Yes, we are lambs to the marketplace slaughter for sure. But there is something so invasive about seeing a picture of my house on the outside of an envelope that it takes the creepiness to a whole new level.

And to make it all weirder, neither envelope came from a local insurance company. One was from somewhere in Long Island and the other from upstate. Hey, guys, I think your marketing ploy is disturbing, and I will make it a point never to do business with you.

Sometimes you must question both the messenger and the message. A few years ago, I was writing letters to encourage folks to get out and vote. One campaign I was working on was directed toward people who had not voted in the last election (yes, it’s a matter of public record). The person in charge of the campaign wanted us to basically write a shaming letter, telling the person that we knew he or she hadn’t voted and telling them to get out and vote this year.

Well, of course, I rebelled.  Even though I have voted nearly every year since I was 18, (missing only one year when I was sick in bed), I am not about to shame someone who didn’t vote as a tactic to get them to vote in an upcoming election. First, it’s not very nice. I don’t know what kept these people from the polls the previous year.  It could have been a family emergency, an illness, or any number of unfortunate things. I tend to think that folks are doing the best they can and that we each have our own troubles to bear.

Second, I don’t think that humiliating people is particularly effective. If someone starts telling me what they are sure I need to do, I do not cheerfully accept their guidance.  In fact, receiving such condescending advice makes me downright ornery.

So if you want to convince me to do business with you, there are a few guidelines. Don’t send me a picture of my house on the outside of your envelope. That’s super creepy. Additionally, don’t talk down to me and tell me what I need to do. I can figure some of this out myself, thanks very much.

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