Changing Faces of Advertising

My husband has a Sunday morning ritual, usually completed before I am even out of bed. He puts his slippers on and goes outside to gather the two newspapers we have subscriptions for: The Flint Journal and the Detroit Free press. He brings them inside, puts them on the kitchen counter, pours a cup of coffee and spends a few minutes pulling the advertising flyers out of both papers. The flyers are taken out to the garage and put into the recycling bin. What is left of the newspapers is put on the kitchen table for later reading. We don’t want to have to wade through advertising while we are enjoying our paper over breakfast.


Remember when you had your first email account? It was enjoyable to open your email and find a message from a friend or family member with whom you had shared your email address. The longer you had email, the more friends and family you shared with. Until that one day. That very first day you received an email message from someone you did not know. From someone who SPAMMED you. Advertising you didn’t need, want or ever care to see come across your table. Junk.


I have actually enjoyed email at my place of work. We have great email servers with high level firewalls that prevent most spam. Lately though, more spam has been getting through. People are becoming more diligent and successful at cutting through the blockade and throwing advertising in my face. It’s not appreciated!

I have enjoyed Facebook for the opportunity it provides me to communicate in yet another way with friends, new and old. I have renewed friendships with high school classmates from the 1970’s (yes, I am dating myself). I have made new friendships with people all around the world. It is a great way to stay in contact with my boys and their families, a younger techno-savvy generation. I have loved the fact that those sharing my love for quilting are able to connect from the far reaches of the world for one massive quilting bee!

But alas, Facebook is becoming another market for advertisers who sign on, seemingly as your FRIEND, then spam the dickens out of you with their advertising. They are Realtors, quilt shop owners, business representatives hawking their wares (like thread), and quilters promoting their latest book. Though it gives me a sense of angst, I have started to blocks “friendships” that are nothing more than business advertising pushed in my face. If you want to advertise on Facebook, please follow their guidelines.

Twitter is going the same route. Yesterday I was spammed by a Tweeter who is an advertising specialist. He wanted to “follow me” and yet, proceeded to send me spammed tweets.

With newspapers quickly becoming obsolete, my husband will soon be rid of his Sunday morning ritual. I am blocking more and more “friends” and Tweeters who claim to be my buddy.

You too?

What will be next?