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Is Amber a Proper Use of the Medium?

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Just a Hook
10/8/2002 12:04:40 PM
Posted By: Kim B. Wei

It isn't difficult for me to imagine AOL forcing its users to receive Amber Alert announcements and, once having established that precedent, force them to receive other messages which are commercial in content. As the mother of two boys, I sympathize with parents whose children are missing. Going into the future, I am sure that all media, and perhaps most especially the internet, which allows for instant publication of news, can be important resources to assist with finding missing children.

This can be most skillfully accomplished if the integrity of the media remain intact. On the internet, users have the right to decide which email they agree to receive. It is one of the reasons that my email is more valuable to me than my post box. I know what to expect when I sit down to review my email and in company with millions of fellows world-wide, I enjoy having that control.


useless use of the medium
10/3/2002 3:20:54 PM
Posted By: karen mulhern

i can't see how an online alert would assist finding a child, unless said kid is being hidden in your office--highly unlikely

Skeptical
10/3/2002 1:47:36 PM
Posted By: David Hinkle

When I read this effort by AOL, the first thing I thought of was that this was no more than a marketing ploy. It's hard to argue against anyone supporting an Amber Alert program and I suppose that if an aol tip leads to one child saved, it is worth it. But there also seems to be a cynical aspect to it that I just can't shake.

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