Zango: Unethical Businesses Should Be Shunned

Perhaps I’m a hypocrite: I don’t think anybody should utter the name Zango, but here I am.

Bellevue, Washington-based Zango is an unethical business. The Federal Trade Commission agrees with me: they fined Zango $3 million earlier this year for using “unfair and deceptive methods to [install] adware and obstruct consumers from removing it.”

Why am I bringing up these facts? I think Zango should be shut down. I think potential employees of Zango should avoid employment there just as one would avoid joining Hitler’s war machine. When I saw recently that the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business was hosting a representative from Zango at an on-campus event, I called on attendees to awkwardly stare at the Zango Account Manager (we’ll call him J.S.) and accidentally step on his shoes throughout the night in order to ’stamp out’ irreputable businesses from recruiting on the UW campus.

Then, yesterday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s John Cook wrote about Zango’s recent hiring of a former Microsoft employee and left Zango completely unscathed, calling it a relatively legitimate-sounding “online advertising company”. To be fair, it was just a tidbit about a hire and a promotion, not an in-depth review of the business. A part of me thinks this is admissible, because, as a journalist covering the local technology industry, Mr. Cook is obliged to spread information about industry happenings. To discern whether I should be outraged or content, I went ahead and asked the community. Today, upon checking the link and the subsequent discussion, it seems that others feel the same way. An anonymous, unregistered user wrote:

“The only Zango article I’m ever going to be happy to read will be the one where the Attorney General closes their corrupt a**es down. I’m ashamed that a business like that exists in my town.”

Perhaps it’s a little early to claim a victory for my feelings toward Zango-I count only two responses and it’s been only a day since publication.

Still, do we as a society approve of publicizing illegitimate businesses in the media? It looks like the people have spoken.

Update: Zango’s Director PR gives his opinion, along with an olive branch which I will publish out of respect for full disclosure:

Hello Cameron,

I saw your comment about Zango on the Seattle PI venture blog and wanted to reach out.

While there is no doubt we’ve run into issues in the past — issues we’ve acknowledged and owned up to emphatically time and time again — but today Zango has emerged as the company actually leading the Internet industry when it comes to downloading software over the Web. We do it better than anyone else and with the consumer in mind through plain language notice (not just a EULA or Windows dialogue box), consent, easy uninstallation and respect for privacy.

We are doing all the right things and I’d welcome the opportunity to chat further about our efforts and your misperceptions, which I can understand. In addition to the tremendous work done to date here at Zango, there is still much to do to improve our standing in the Internet and business community.

Below is my email and phone number. I’d welcome the opportunity to connect.

Thanks,

Steve Stratz

To which I responded:

I’m glad to hear your response, Steve.  Nobody deserves to be lambasted publicly without hearing the other side of the story.  Perhaps we’re a similar breed of people, those who appreciate transparency.  I haven’t made up my mind about your firm because, to tell you the truth, I’m not 1000% familiar with every single thing that Zango does.  Anything I say or write about Zango in the future would definitely be accompanied by a rebuttal from you guys-I don’t want to portray anything as one-sided.

CN 

1 Comment to Zango: Unethical Businesses Should Be Shunned

1. 

   [...] hated this firm from day one, and pray for its demise in the coming months. Published under: Business, [...]
Zango Chokes | Cameron Newland’s Official Website on June 17th, 2008

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