Totally off topic, but….
So today I posted a couple of jobs over at FM, and I used LinkedIn’s job listing service. I plan to use others, including some of the job boards at FM sites like GigaOm, TechCrunch, and the like, but I was on LinkedIn for other reasons and decided to get it done there first.
One of the features I like best about LinkedIn’s job postings is the ability to send an email to your entire network about the job. Now, this can get a bit perilous – not everyone likes to get unsolicited emails. But on balance most folks seem OK with it, and I don’t mind getting them, so I sent all my colleagues the job announcement. Now, I am not in the business of actively building out a LinkedIn network, but over the years more than 400 folks have asked me to join their network, and I generally do.
Long story short, I sent out about 400 emails in one fell swoop, and a funny thing happened. About 20 mails bounced back with SpamArrest requests that I go to a URL and verify I was a human being. I don’t mind doing this usually, but 20 in a row was a pain. Because I wanted to get word out about the job, however, I did it.
Then I sat back and pondered. 20 emails, all from one single provider. It seems SpamArrest has truly cornered the market. That’s 5% of my network using SpamArrest. I have never given a single thought to using such a service, but after this experience, I’m thinking again. My battellemedia.com address is overrun with spam. I’m pretty good at deleting it, but still….
So, do you all use these services? You like them?