Idio Magazine: A Social Spamming Experiment
A new website called Idio Magazine opened this week. It keeps track of the music you enjoy and offers you similar articles, videos, songs, photos, and blog posts.
The site is setup to look and feel like a real magazine. When you mouse to the page corners, they curl up. Clicking on them flips to the next page. It’s intriguing how the virtual feel of a real life magazine can draw you in.
Idiomag integrates with Last.fm, iLike, MOG, Mystrands, and Facebook. But here lies the problem: Idiomag integrates too well with these social websites.
Being a fan of Last.fm and regular contributor, I decided to test out Idiomag’s integration with Last.fm. Idiomag’s website said that allowing them to have access to your listening history would enable them to more accurately feed you music you enjoy. I decided to experiment with this in case I would decide to write about Idiomag later.
While I was filling in my username information, I checked a tick box. Unfortunately, I didn’t fully read what I was agreeing to, and assumed it was an “update me by email” option. What it really said was:
“Tell a select few of your friends about idiomag, based on their musical taste”.
After giving Idiomag access to my Last.fm account, I began receiving automated emails from Last.fm, informing me that people were posting in my Last.fm shoutbox. I clicked my way to Last.fm and saw that a friend had written two posts in my shoutbox:
“Since Stars are one you of your favourite artists, you should definitely read http://www.idiomag.com/peek/3922″
“You like Stars? You should check out http://www.idiomag.com/peek/3922″
At first I thought it was a personal message, but why would he have given me the same link twice with different text? Something didn’t quite look right.
Visiting my friend’s Last.fm pages, I discovered that I had been sending messages such as,“I (heart) www.idiomag.com”
Comments in my Last.fm shoutbox began to flood in. Friends were thanking me for sending me a link to Idiomag and how much they loved the website. Most of my friends shared they were signing up for an account with Idiomag because they enjoyed the website so much. All this gratitude for messages I didn’t actually send.
Here we have a beautiful looking website that seeds through your contacts to spam them. I hate spam. Especially when it is sent in my name.
As a blogger, my online reputation matters. A website bent on spamming your contacts damages the relationships you work hard to establish.
I’m not able to quote the reactions from fellow music bloggers, due to graphic language. We feel betrayed and used.
Idiomag responded to the music blogger community, saying:
Wow we’ve really screwed up here. Sorry.
Ok so here is what happened (just to be clear):
On sign-up, for those users who sign up with last.fm usernames, there is a tick-box which asks you if you will allow us to “tell a select few of your friends about idiomag, based on their musical taste”.
It’s now removed. Gone. And we would still be interested in hearing your suggestions and thoughts on the actual magazine – although we are aware they will be understandably rage-tinted. And feel free to also drop expletive-ridden cursings to feedback@idiomag.com
Puddlegum contacted Idiomag and asked them about this “feature”, and they replied:
Sorry about the shoutbox mistake. And it certainly was a mistake.
It was only meant to go to a couple of friends – after a clear opt-in.The “feature” has now been removed.
Sorry if we have spoilt it before it has even begun.
We all make mistakes. Without this “feature”, Idiomag seems like a great website to dive into. It doesn’t need spam to bring traffic, because the design will draw traffic as friends tell friends.
It was a great reminder to always make sure you look at what you’re agreeing to. I’ll never assume that I’m agreeing to an email update again.