The Art Of Deception
The primary phone in the home is VOIP through the local WISP. Unlike the land line several years ago, robocalls are now an exception rather than the norm. For the few robocalls that punch through, the VOIP system includes caller ID, for which the land line company charged extra. I am pleased with the VOIP system.
I use a simple flip phone when outside the home. The cell phone is mostly for emergencies and a backup should the VOIP fail.
I do not use text messages. For some months I have been receiving two spam text messages on the cell phone. Only during Monday through Friday.
I refuse to read the text messages because that counts against the minutes I buy. Each day then I repeat the exact same finger exercise to delete the messages.
Occasionally I receive promotional text messages from the phone vendor. There is no charge for these promotional text messages. These messages are unique in that my daily finger exercise fails. That is, the deletion sequence with these unique messages is modified. In a nutshell, the marketing people modify the user interface for these promotional messages.
Much the same way the Microsoft folks modified the “X” close button interface on Windows 10 nag dialogs.
The deception is to trick users into buying or accepting something.
When people stoop to deception they are informing potential customers that they have nothing of value to offer. Modifying user interfaces for the sole purpose of deceiving people is an act of desperation. Desperation in this context is dishonesty.
All human relationships are based on trust. Stooping to this level destroys the potential for trust.
While deception has a long history in human relations, seems these days the problem has grown geometrically with the Internet. Nowadays deception seems to be a common marketing strategy. Throw in click-bait as part of the deception strategy. The result is skepticism and cynicism.
Almost all marketers these days believe that I am a product. Treating me with respect no longer is a consideration.
They will never have my trust.
Posted: Category: Commentary, Usability Tagged: General
Next: Installing a New Router
Previous: Running a 32-Bit Distro Without PAE