“Please confirm your interest.” “Let’s stay in touch.” “Opt-in to continue receiving valuable content.” “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE LET US STOP SPAMMING YOU.”
After more than a week of near desperate attempts to avoid the worst impacts of the Canadian anti spam legislation (CASL), it was probably natural that Canadian technology experts were spending less time talking about hard-core enterprise IT issues than they were about e-mail. Of course, CASL will have implications on the way data is collected, stored and managed across networks and databases, but for the most part the discussions have been more emotional.
Of course, Industry Canada was among the first to use its account to position the new law as something that would provide more public benefit than business headaches.
https://twitter.com/industrycanada/status/483669307013222400
As more than one IT professional has pointed out, however, the trans-border nature of the technology industry means we won’t necessarily see a huge decrease in spam anytime soon. In fact, the CRTC has reportedly already been flooded with more than 1,000 complaints under CASL since July 1.
Most SPAM I receive comes from outside of Canada, where #CASL has no reach, no teeth. Ineffective legislation.
— Mind over Matter (@tryoung) July 4, 2014
Not everyone was complaining, however. In fact, some CIOs might be hearing positive feedback from their counterparts in finance and other line of business areas.
Since #CASL went into effect on Tue my home and work spam has dropped considerably.
— Doug Hamlyn (@DougHamlyn) July 4, 2014
For others, CASL represents a potential new business opportunity, particularly for those involved in user experience design and related fields.
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation is Out: What’s Next? http://t.co/XZJwskVfRO #CASL #marketing #XD #StickGXD pic.twitter.com/IIjdILKq57
— Philip Yan (@_PhilipYan) July 4, 2014
And then there are the Canadian vendors who hope to see a resurgence in a more analogue approach to communication.
is your #CASL plan not working out to well? Losing contacts? You can always send them a postcard! You don't need consent for direct mail!
— Tstone Mailing (@tstonemail) July 4, 2014
For more great CASL commentary, see the FollowFriday feature on our sister site, ITBusiness.ca.