Technology cuts down on Web registrations - USATODAY.com
So I'm a suit, I guess, and I write form letters. That's what people expect when they write to me and complain that we're doing something different. They might try to find a friendly ear (like one of our radio personalities) to touch first, but plenty of the nasty-grams make it past my desk, so I have to either ignore them or try to compose coherent answers. This one deals with the username/password issue lots of sites are requiring.
Is everybody as jaded as this?
[Dear Radio Personality],
I didn't want to receive a form letter from some [company] suit concerning the registration process required to listen to the online broadcast on [radio station], so I chose you to receive this message. Lucky you! I don't have to register to listen to [station] on my radio in my car or my home, so why do I have to do so [to] listen to it online? The service may still be financially free but it is no longer nuisance free. Don't we have enough nuisances in our daily lives already?
So I write:
Thanks for writing to tell us how you feel. I promise that I'm not wearing a suit and this isn't a form letter, so I hope it's OK that I reply to your note.
As a fellow listener, I understand your perspective about nuisances. Interesting how perspectives change on the other side of the glass.
While you say streaming online is free, somebody's paying for the hardware & software, staffing, creative licensing and bandwidth we all use when we listen online -- which is quite different than on-air listening; the more who listen, the higher the cost. To earn its keep, our streaming operations have to demonstrate to advertisers how many people listen and from where. So the sign-in process essentially helps us pay the costs. The alternative is doing what many other broadcasters are doing, which is charging listeners a subscription fee.
We're fortunate because the vast majority of our loyal listeners are pleased to spend the four extra seconds it takes to sign in and be counted because they like our programming and they value this new
convenience. I hope to count you as one of those listeners!
Thanks again for writing to us.
Now, perhaps something like the following story can help all of us!
Technology cuts down on Web registrations - USATODAY.com
Is everybody as jaded as this?
[Dear Radio Personality],
I didn't want to receive a form letter from some [company] suit concerning the registration process required to listen to the online broadcast on [radio station], so I chose you to receive this message. Lucky you! I don't have to register to listen to [station] on my radio in my car or my home, so why do I have to do so [to] listen to it online? The service may still be financially free but it is no longer nuisance free. Don't we have enough nuisances in our daily lives already?
So I write:
Thanks for writing to tell us how you feel. I promise that I'm not wearing a suit and this isn't a form letter, so I hope it's OK that I reply to your note.
As a fellow listener, I understand your perspective about nuisances. Interesting how perspectives change on the other side of the glass.
While you say streaming online is free, somebody's paying for the hardware & software, staffing, creative licensing and bandwidth we all use when we listen online -- which is quite different than on-air listening; the more who listen, the higher the cost. To earn its keep, our streaming operations have to demonstrate to advertisers how many people listen and from where. So the sign-in process essentially helps us pay the costs. The alternative is doing what many other broadcasters are doing, which is charging listeners a subscription fee.
We're fortunate because the vast majority of our loyal listeners are pleased to spend the four extra seconds it takes to sign in and be counted because they like our programming and they value this new
convenience. I hope to count you as one of those listeners!
Thanks again for writing to us.
Now, perhaps something like the following story can help all of us!
Technology cuts down on Web registrations - USATODAY.com
