We all know how important email is. Building a database of good email addresses of constituents and supporters is a key to fundraising success. It has also allowed organizations as diverse as Dean for America and the Republican National Committee to mobilize members to take action on issues important to them. Because email is cheap, small community organizations of all kind have been able to reach people for little cost. And some have been very effective.
But that could change. You may know that America Online and Yahoo have recently proposed charging emailers a fee-about 1/4 cent per message-to bypass AOL and Yahoo spam filters and guarantee delivery of email through an email certification program that initially, at least, AOL said would replace their current “whitelist,” which trused emailers can use to get their messages through to AOL subscribers.
You need to inform yourself about this issue and take a stand. It seems like a reasonable response to dealing with spam, until you start to add up the numbers and realize that email will no longer be so free or effective. I know that spam is an issue for all of us-I get hundreds of emails a day and when I sit down at my desk in the morning, I watch several hundred spam messages fill my junk mailbox. At the same time, creating a tiered Internetwhere large organizations pay more for guaranteed delivery of their email and the rest of us suffer-is a big step in destroying the essential infrastructure of the network age. Thus far, the barrier to entry of becoming an effective network-age organization has been relatively low, which is why so many small organizations have been able to be effective participants.
A coalition of 50 organizations has formed to oppose the AOL/Yahoo proposed tax. To learn more, read the FAQ here and, if you’re so moved, sign the open letter opposing this action here. I couldn’t find an official AOL press release or statement about their proposed certified email plans, but there’s extensive news coverage online, including this from Clickz.
Michael Stoner Co-Founder and Co-Owner Was I born a skeptic or did I become one as I watched the hypestorm gather during the dotcom years, recede, and congeal once more as we come to terms with our online, social, mobile world? Whatever. I'm not much interested in cutting edge but what actually works for real people in the real world. Does that make me a bad person?