I'd like to try a global experiment, do you think it would work?

[area51drone]

I've been toying with the idea of sending out mass spam, to embarrass corporations into changing the way they do business.   

For example, today I got an email from Microsoft regarding their decision to finally allow xbox users to use netflix without paying for an xbox live gold subscription - something they should have done years and years ago.    I wonder if there had been a mass email blast to millions of people that looked like it officially came from Microsoft, saying "you don't need a gold subscription to use netflix anymore",  if it would go viral and news companies would pick it up.  You could do a social media campaign as well, contacting as many people as possible with twitter and facebook.   That might have forced an embarrassing Microsoft response saying "Yes, you have to pay for gold to use netflix."   Maybe they would have changed it sooner.   

Can you think of any companies you think have terrible business practices that might be affected by some kind of email like this?    Do you think it's even plausible it would work?

[Kelt]

Probably not, for a number of reasons.

Your average schmoe seems to have an attention span slightly less than that of a mildly retarded goldfish.  Something shiny will distract them and they'll lose focus/interest.

People are generally apathetic, and in the case of fanboys you have a demographic who willfully defend a device's shortcomings.  Apple fanboys are probably the worst, XBone a close second.

Corporations only change policy in the face of tangible losses. And even then if they can get away with nothing but a cosmetic change then that's what they'll do. Like declining sales of diet soda, given the seriously debatable effects of Aspartame on the human body.  Rather than remove Aspartame Coke simply runs an advert saying, "What?  You wanna be fat? Drink our diet shit, fatty." rather than actually address the concern. Oh, and rebrand Aspartame, because that'll fool people into thinking they're not ingesting Aspartame.  Instead, we'll call it MondoDelisciosoâ,,¢.

Microsoft did change their used game policy, but only after it appeared there would be a genuine and considerable impact on unit sales.  At this point anyone who was planning to buy an XBone has an XBone, so the potential for lost revenue is largely gone.  Trying to embarrass Microsoft is going to do a whole lot of nothing once they have your money.

XBoners should probably have considered Microsoft's overt 'Fuck The Users' policy before deciding on a console.



Oh, you wanted names of companies with terrible business practices.

Show me a list of companies and I'll show you a list of companies with terrible business practices.

Union Carbide springs to mind immediately though.  Most people will remember them from their popular 'Slaughter of the Indians' spectacular in the 80s, where they killed more people in Bhopal than 'terrorists' managed in the whole September 11 shenanigans. Not to mention another 40,000 people maimed, poisoned, blinded, or otherwise fucked up for the rest of their massively shortened lives 

That's what they're remembered for, but of course that wasn't the only atrocity perpetrated by Union Carbide. That's just their best known mass killing spree.

They DID get fined though... which is cool. Something like 500 million, which is less than half of what Samsung had to pay Apple for allegedly stealing Apple's innovative and entirely original 'rounded edges' idea... because until Apple did it no-one had ever, ever thought about rounding off square edges.

Yeah, I'm going to go with Union Carbide.

[Jackstar]

I was just going to go with a quick "No.", but I thought that would have been rude.

But, no.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

I've been toying with the idea of sending out mass spam, to embarrass corporations into changing the way they do business.   

For example, today I got an email from Microsoft regarding their decision to finally allow xbox users to use netflix without paying for an xbox live gold subscription - something they should have done years and years ago.    I wonder if there had been a mass email blast to millions of people that looked like it officially came from Microsoft, saying "you don't need a gold subscription to use netflix anymore",  if it would go viral and news companies would pick it up.  You could do a social media campaign as well, contacting as many people as possible with twitter and facebook.   That might have forced an embarrassing Microsoft response saying "Yes, you have to pay for gold to use netflix."   Maybe they would have changed it sooner.   

Can you think of any companies you think have terrible business practices that might be affected by some kind of email like this?    Do you think it's even plausible it would work?

What price range are you looking to spend to accomplish this?

[WOTR]

They DID get fined though... which is cool. Something like 500 million, which is less than half of what Samsung had to pay Apple for allegedly stealing Apple's innovative and entirely original 'rounded edges' idea... because until Apple did it no-one had ever, ever thought about rounding off square edges.

Yeah, I'm going to go with Union Carbide.

Thanks for the comparison and putting the "hefty" fine in perspective.  it reminds me of the things more important than human life in this world... Things such as rounded edges.

Evil corporations... I know there are a number of corporations that some would consider evil... but I like them all.  In particular, I like Talisman energy because it is a "kind, compassionate" Canadian company (aren't all Canadians compassionate and caring?)  Naturally the claims of supporting rape, murder and genocide pale in comparison to the fact that they sponsor programs such as meals on wheels in Houston.  What are a few hundred (thousand?) lives in the Sudan if they support delivering hot meals to shut-ins?

It is sad that I could not recall the names of some of Canada's most prestigious mining companies... A short google search reminded me that Pacific Rim stands accused of organizing death squads in El Salvador to kill people opposed to them (damn second class citizens deserved it for opposing a company who only wanted to bring economic development to the region.)  There are a schwack of other mining companies based here that are equally as wonderful.

No sir, I would not want to speak out against or condemn these companies or try to shame them into something that would not be profitable.  They bring jobs, and, more importantly, tax revenue to my corner of the world thus providing me with necessities like overpaid senators and bureaucrats (oh, and public art.)

[jazmunda]

Not sure how global you're gonna get with me, pud, bob and a couple of Chinese and Russian web bots.