I've spent the past half hour or so unsubscribing from goodness-knows-why-I-subscribed-in-the-first-place pages online.
As soon as you know where you are going, you Google stuff, and more often than not, hit that SUBSCRIBE button as fast as the judges on The Voice when they hear someone they want on their team.
You want that information and you want it NOW.
You need that information to be delivered seamlessly, on a regular basis into your inbox.
You rely on that information for smooth landing.
It starts with obvious things like rental property listings for your new local area; transport links and more.
It soon morphs into restaurant pages, National Trust (or similar), transport options, theatres, cinemas, newspapers and more. New friends tell you about a fantastic place so you Google it and if they offer a SUBSCRIBE NOW option you take it for fear of missing out on Very Important information.
I was so bored last summer I started looking for online survey companies and subscribed to several companies. I even joined a Mystery Shopper website and received numerous emails on a daily basis and never once took up an offer (didn't fit criteria, or were at an inconvenient location, or a silly time)
Soon, your inbox is receiving more mail from new local businesses than from friends.
In addition to SUBSCRIBING you 'friend' companies on FB. Now you are receiving information AND commentary from existing customers.
Like changing your bank, for some reason UNsubscribing is never easy.
As quickly as you find something NEW to subscribe to, you're removing yourself off what is now considered 'old' and no longer needed.
Every day there seems to be one more subscription to be deleted. I'm having a good giggle at some of the more interesting ones trying to remember what possessed me to subscribe in the first place, while others are there for 'just in case'
Shakespeare's Globe - sure, it would be nice to attend A performance, but did I need to get regular updates?
Official London Theatre - talk about being optimistic about getting up to London monthly for shows.
Dining out in London - weekly news from the London restaurant scene.
National Trust - yep, used that one.
English Heritage - yes, that was useful for getting special events into the diary.
Hampshire Chronicle Newspaper - these guys really need to improve the quality and amount of daily news items being sent out online.
Shutterfly - I did one album online with this company once and still receive their updates.
Ticketek Australia - just incase we buy someone a voucher for a gift.
Southern Railways - they asked for my email when we purchased the family pass, little did I know they'd be sending me so many emails (some have been very welcomed while others complete waste of time)
Ladies Who Lunch - fabulous site! Been very useful, thank you Ladies Who Lunch.
Club Med - wishful thinking!
DUBli.com - I will pay someone good money to show me how to unsubscribe from this once and for all.
InterNations - sadly there wasn't a group near us, but it's nice to know it's there (just in case maybe?)
Oprah.com - Like millions of people all over the world I love Oprah and subscribing seemed liked a good idea at the time, but ppppplllllllleeeeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeeeee how do I remove myself from their mailing list?
Tesco - timely sales and shopping reminders
Sainsbury - same as Tesco.
Don't get me started on Nectar and all the subsiduaries! Very annoying.
BOOTS
Debenhams
There was also Harrods for a while, then I realized I'm seldom in London nor can I afford to shop there, subscribing was of no use really. Marks and Spencers didn't really offer anything special online, so they also didn't last long.
I've already deleted Marwell Park, Marwell Zoo, InTech, Secretescapes and more.
Curiously, my inbox is still overflowing with information I've elected to receive from interesting businesses THERE, which I hope will result in a soft landing.
What do you subscribe to?
How relevant is the information?
Could you happily UNsubscribe?
Which pages do you LOVE?
With friendship
x
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