Work At Home Careers

I got a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking this past Christmas and was really excited about that because I’ve heard it can really speed up article writing but I’m starting to wish i had never heard of it.

To tell you the truth, I haven’t even used it yet. I am busy with another major project and haven’t had the time to delve back into article writing yet though it will play a big part in marketing this new project when I’m finished.

Meanwhile, the “Software Manager” program that installs with Dragon Naturally Speaking is supposed to check in and make sure the software stays updated but it seems like they view this as a way to bypass my email inbox and spam me right on my desktop with other software offers.

I logged into the Nuance website and made sure my settings were to only notify me of software updates but just today I received an offer regarding some pdf software they want to sell me.

This is just confusing since it doesn’t say “Hey, this is an advertisement and has absolutely nothing to do with the software you paid for”.

So, I’m thinking that there is an update to my Dragon Naturally Speaking. I clicked the link and wound up at this page (screenshot below)

Ok, the software management software isn’t “managing” my software, it is being used as a marketing tool to make an end run around my mailbox and pop up directly in my office unannounced and without consent.

Let me get this on the record. I have nothing against marketing. I am a marketer myself but imagine if every piece of software you had on your system did this. Think Microsoft, Google (toolbar), adobe (flash/reader), your virus protection software, the software that manages your printer and I could go on and on.

How would you feel if every one of those companies started popping up advertisements right on your desktop under the guise of “software management” for the programs you’ve installed when in fact, these advertisements have nothing to do with their software programs you use?

I logged into my Nuance account just to recheck my notification settings. (screenshot below)

As you can see, I agreed to receive communication aka advertisements via email, I agreed to receive their marketing materials through my regular mail and I even agreed to be contacted by phone. What more could you ask for from your customer?

But, I see nothing about receiving their advertisement directly on my desktop under the disguise of important software updates for Dragon Naturally Speaking.

This is an important lesson to all of us in marketing that while it may make them a few extra sales in the short term, there are many who feel like their personal space has been violated with this extreme and instrusive marketing tactic and I may be unwilling or not trusting their products in the future. I certainly won’t be going out of my way to recommend this product like I do for Typeitin and Roboform.

Now, I am put in a position where I will uninstall/disable their “software manager” and  miss any legitimate software update notifications.

Gail