Be ashamed Scott Kelby! – Korwel Photography

I had a nice picture lined up for a blog today. But it upset me so much, it gets a priority!

A couple of months passed since my attendance in second Worldwide Photo Walk. I didn’t win the photo contest, but had a lot of fun meeting other photographers in the area. Until recently, I thought about this as of a great experience. But things that happened recently made me reconsider my future participation.

What happened? Scott Kelby joined spammers ranks and started branding junk emails offering different photography products. When I need something, I look it up in Google, compare prices at leading internet retailers, check reviews on blogs or boards. But I never get influenced by emails sent to my Inbox. Mostly because they end up in trash as fast as they get there (if my Spam won’t do it for me).

The question is though – are you really that greedy Mr. Kelby? Isn’t the money you already got from sponsors and the promotion you did for them during the walk enough? Do you really have to spam people to make ends meet? I went through what is available on the Photo Walk website and couldn’t find any, even in the finest print, information that Scott Kelby reserves a right to spam my Inbox indefinitely with mails trying to sell me something. My email address is as private as my SSN number and if I wished to give it to Lensbaby, Nikon, Adobe or whomever else I’d rather do it myself carefully deciding who is worth my trust. Apparently first point in the F.A.Q. stating that ‘Photo Walk (is a) social photography event where photographers get together’ should have added ‘and leaves their emails to Scott Kelby so he can sell them’.

I’m simply disgusted.

Larry says:

September 25, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Izabela-

As someone who participated in that same Photo Walk (headed up a local Photo Walk in my town) and who happens to be on the very same email list as you, I know where you’re coming from. However, because I also happen to work in the very same building as Scott Kelby, I have a little behind-the-scenes information which might help you see why my reaction is different from yours. — Don’t get me wrong, I’m frustrated enough that I might use your term “simply disgusted” but for a different reason.

The truth is, there’s no way that the sponsorships could cover all the expenses involved with putting on this “free” 32,000 person event, BUT NO ONE sold our list to spammers, it’s just that one bad apple abused the email structure. Participants are rightfully upset at the unreasonable amount of email, and legitimate sponsors are upset because their messages are getting watered down. Even though we were caught off guard this year, we’ve put measures in place to see that this doesn’t happen again next time.

Izabela, I understand your frustration and I even share it.