Since 2017, I've been on a mission to stop the deluge of paper mail that ends up in my trash. It's been a slow, manual process, but I've succeeded! I created Mel to help others rid themselves of physical junk mail. Simply text a photo of junk mail and Mel contacts the sender to have you removed from their list – no registration or app required. |
I'm based in Europe and nobody uses SMS or iMessage here, so genuine question.
I'm honestly surprised that's not the case everywhere. Do you distinguish SMS and MMS in casual conversation?
This isn’t one size fits all but would start by going to the photo itself and then generate a text
A great post-mortem on Remedy here: https://www.fastcompany.com/40483774/remedy-wanted-to-cut-pe...
I also like the idea of the research assistant. It is a mess trying to figure out how to reduce waste that accumulates without my real consent, from mail, food packaging, single use packaging/plastic tossed into orders despite me saying I don’t want it, hard to recycle e-waste, confusing/changing recycling rules for plastic and even glass some places. However, I also think that this can only be meaningfully improved with policy, not an opt-in, private service. Better than nothing, of course.
Aside from that, I actually have to thank you, because I stopped using it, forgot the name of the company, and forgot what was charging me $4 every month under the label “JET*.”
There are stickers your can use on your mailbox that theoretically protect your from spam but it works maybe in 10% of the cases.
Out of curiosity, I reached a few times to the "senders" telling them that they put spam in my mailbox despite the sticker. All of them were completely taken aback and had no idea about how to react.
I mentioned privacy and whatnot and they all promised to get back to me, never got back and probably cross fingers to have the case closed :)
When we change our address we would link the postal code to the new directory. By having this the companies would not know where we live and we would have a place to select the mail we want.
> Just link your name, home address, and phone number for this random company
Yeah, no thanks.
Edited to clarify for those who may be unfamiliar with the concept of PII.
If this organization registers as a nonprofit, that's one thing. Outside of that, I wouldn't trust such services any further than I could throw a pitch deck claiming to make the world a better place, with your PII.
[0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email...
The art on the homepage and its Stripe checkout pages give me the heebie-jeebies for some reason.
That reason has two names: Dribbble and Behance. That's where all this 'AI' website art and assets come from.
I did have a user sign up from Canada, but it's so much simpler there that it probably doesn't make sense for Canadians to pay for Mel:
1. Fill out the CMA Do Not Mail form: https://cmadnm.cawebhosting.ca/submit.asp
2. Put a note on your mailbox that you don't want to receive Canada Post Neighbourhood Mail.I am surprised again and again how different the US and Europa are in this respect, and even more about how little people are aware of that. Nobody uses iMessage outside of the US, and the UI of Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram are arguably much better.
There is no pitch deck for Mel as I don't intend to raise VC funding – precisely because I don't want to be pressured into doing something that goes against my values like selling user data.
As I said, nobody in central Europe uses that afaik.
I accept that there's a certain percent of folks who will not trust me with their address, so I'm not trying to change anyone's mind or pressure anyone into signing up if that's the case.
Back when I worked at SaveUp, and we gave real cash prizes to people every day, we always had people claiming we were a scam. We even posted videos to YouTube of our selection and giveaway process, and posted new testimonials to our site every single day, but certain folks simply couldn't be convinced.
People have soured on tech companies ostensibly doing something for the public good; it never works out as it should, because behind companies are investors, and at some point, they'll want returns.
The classic example is unroll.me -- auto-unsubscribe with no strings attached*! Asterisk: many strings attached.
There's just no guarantee that introducing a middleman won't bite me in the ass later.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email...