Pimping Prospects for Fun & Profit
I think Jigsaw.com sounds slimey.
Maybe I just don’t “get it” — Does anyone else think it’s slimey?
I enjoy making personal introductions between those I feel may benefit from a networking relationship. I’m the first guy to help put bright people together so they can work on cool projects. That being said, don’t you think Jigsaw.com‘s pratice of paying you to post your Rolodex contacts steps a bit over the line? I mean, you don’t get to choose who you introduce. What if some swampland-selling-psychopath goes after a contact you sold?
Jigsaw isn’t like LinkedIn, where the individual gets to post their OWN information and decide the level of outside contact they desire. This is someone selling your contact info, just like any other spammer or junk mail company.
Hey, if you’re gonna do it — why not go BIG?
The possibilities are endless — here are few ideas for line extensions at Jigsaw.com:
1. Put your ACT archive up on eBay.
2. Create a vending machine that dispenses collected business cards like candy bars.
3. Sell database downloads from your Palm Pilot.
4. Auction the extension number of the guy down the hall from your office.
Not to mention all the possibilities for the social sector:
How about selling the phone number of that cute girl you met at the bar last night? Imagine the money you could make posting ALL your old girlfriends’ phone numbers on eBay!
Jigsaw.com makes me reconsider an idea I had several years ago about protecting your identity, contact information, email address, etc. I think people should be granted trademark protection for their personal data, allowing them to press charges for infringement by any group that uses it without their permission.
If you trademarked your personal data (in theory) you could prosecute junk mailers, telephone solicitors, email spammers, etc. for using that information without your authorization. I have no idea if it would actually WORK or not, but it certainly sounded interesting at the time. Perhaps I should ask I.P attorney Stephen Nipper over at InventBlog.
Of course, there may be some benefit to selling valuable contact information to Jigsaw.com — I hear if you reach a certain number of contact submissions you get your very own Jigsaw.com crushed velvet Pimp-Daddy hat in your choice of scarlet, purple, or leopard skin print.
