I recently received an email from someone that I was trying to set up a meeting with asking me to "network" with him on TimeBridge. I didn't quite understand why he wanted me to do this as our work calendars are already shared. But I was happy to accommodate him.
As part of the installation process, I was asked if I wanted to share my calendar with my "contact list". I said "sure". I figured this would allow people who joined the service to see my calendar, if they were also in my address book. Instead, TimeBridge sent out an email to EVERY PERSON I HAD EVER EMAILED from my work address as well as every person in my Address Book. The email said that I was inviting them to "network" with me on TimeBridge.
I am SO ANGRY right now. Not only did I not want to SPAM all my friends, but I didn't intend to use this service very much so I really didn't want them all to join. On top of that, since it grabbed a list of everyone I've ever emailed, it was sending out emails to various company contact lists full of people I had never met and most certainly didn't want to be bothering.
I've spent the morning emailing people who are emailing me wanting to know why I'm inviting them to join TimeBridge when I don't even know them. Have I mentioned that I'm very angry right now?
What makes me angrier is that the CEO of TimeBridge defends their practices claiming they aren't doing anything that anyone else is doing. BULLSHIT. I have joined other "networking" systems before and never have I had something like this happen to me. The other services make it extremely clear what they are or are not sending out in your name.
I've already told Mr. Nelken what I think of his practices. Now I'm telling the world: if you get an invite to TimeBridge, DO NOT CLICK ON IT. Do not use this product. Do not let it SPAM your colleague and friends too.
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As mentioned in my previous note, we are sorry you were confused about the sharing functionality. Your anger over this is evident, and that's obviously not a good thing for TimeBridge or myself. We've tried to make it as clear a process as possible and want to emphasize there is a dialog that pops up during this process that states explicitly that emails are going to be sent out if you agree to share your calendar with your network. We're continuing to evaluate our various registration and sharing processes in order to make TimeBridge the best it can be and appreciate your feedback and candor. For your readers, here's a bit more on how our signup and sharing process works: http://www.timebridge.com/share.php
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