SPAM via PM?

The spammer has been banned.

It would appear that the makers of this "bee" stuff are on a guerilla marketing push as evidenced by these spams and some "has anyone heard of this product?" posts from people with no posting history.

Ok, I just got back from my lunch time run (it's hot today!) and got to thinking about this a bit.

These situations bother me, mostly because I think they represent lost opportunities for everyone involved.

• Some of the people who received these messages responded positively. That means some other people lost an opportunity to maybe get a free sample of the product.
• The marketer has certainly lost opportunities to reach some other people via BT and they've created a bad impression with a group of people.
• BT itself has lost an opportunity to create a relationship with the marketer of the product (and to get a cut, which we deserve for acting as an agent and providing the infrastructure).

I'm not a fan of this kind of "guerilla marketing". They probably don't intend it to be, but it's stealing. Too often it relies on using resources without authorization that should otherwise be paid for. We can't allow it on here for a few reasons:

• a lot of people find it really annoying and intrusive (I'm one of them)
• it could easily run rampant, turning the site into a wasteland of spam eg Usenet
• BT is expensive to run. We just plain can't afford to let people use it as a free advertising medium. The bills gotta get paid.
  

One thing that's surprised me about triathlon, particularly since I've become somewhat involved in the business side of it, is that I've really liked every single person in the tri business I've met. It's a community generally made up of nice people. No one gets into the tri business with the idea of getting crazy rich. It's just not that big a sport. If you can make a living, you're one of the lucky ones. People get into it because they love the sport and like the idea of help others in their athletic pursuits.

All of the people I've met have been enthusiastic, bright, committed, decent people taking a huge risk and trying to do well by offering products or services that they believe in to triathletes. I have enormous respect for them and want them to do well. All of them.

If I were to meet the person who sent these messages at a race expo, I have no doubt that I'd enjoy meeting them and would probably have some sort of a "how can we work together" conversation.

Ron's been working on a "goody bag" for Performance Members. Something like you'd get at a race, with product samples, discount coupons etc. I know he's got some cool contributors lined up, but the details aren't firm yet so I won't divulge any. I'd like to invite the person who sent these PM's, and anyone else with a product or service they think our members would be interested in to contact him.

Wether or not we can work something out for the benefit of everyone involved, we wish you much success and look forward to meeting you at a race some day.