Laying waste

Wow, I just spent half an hour of my (unbillable) time collecting and lugging paper down to the recycling containers, and I'm thinking what a colossal waste it all is.

My business is examining systems for efficiency, and this is just plain stupid.

I hate waste. Yes, I have a serious newspaper habit built over the years. And, sure, I'm growing tired of the ink they leave on everything, and of storing them in a closet until they spill out all over. But at least I asked for them.

What bugs me more is the paper advertising that comes in unsolicited, usually in the mail or wrapped in these newspapers. More stuff to put into the garbage stream -- and I appear to be the designated put-er. I don't remember asking for the job.

Worse, in these days of permission-based marketing, this kind of mass untargeted advertising rarely works. The industry standard response rate for it is a pitiful 2%. How much is spent on creating, printing, and delivering something that 98% of receivers don't want and throw away? Then their time and tax dollars have to be spent getting rid of it all. It doesn't make sense.

That's why I'm joining Beth Ringdahl's Red Dot campaign. Beth, a business analyst and customer intelligence specialist combines a similar distaste for waste with an understanding of its impact on a stressed environment.

Her campaign encourages consumers to say no to this ridiculous system, and advises companies on better advertising methods, such as targeting and electronic use. She certainly has my vote.

Unsolicited paper-based advertising is so 20th century. It's inefficient, expensive, and wasteful.

And it's time we trashed it.