Today when I started up my instant messaging services (I use Trillian to access Yahoo, AIM, MSN, GoogleTalk, and ICQ) a message screen popped up.
AOL had added two Bots to my buddy-list, MovieFone and ShoppingBuddy. So I could IM them for great holiday flicks and gift ideas.
AOL, I use IM to connect to people I know, it is a personal medium. I am not at all interested in asking robots for shopping ideas through IM. Worse, you provide this ‘service’ by adding stuff to my contact list without asking me and tell me to right click and delete if I don’t want it there. Opt-out is not the route to go AOL. You violated my personal sphere and so have diminished my trust in you as a company. It also seems like I’m not the only one having issues with this behaviour by AOL.