ZDNet India : Why my address book is spamming you: "First, every time I get a Plaxo request from someone seeking my information, the message tells me how many Plaxo requests I've received previously; I'm up to 50 Plaxo requests. This means Plaxo is meticulously keeping track of who it's sent mail to. Which makes me feel like Plaxo is stalking me.
Second, how does Plaxo intend to make money? Plaxo is a free service and their Web site says the company, which has raised something north of $10 million in venture capital, plans to sell premium services to business users. Before I give Plaxo my information to store on its computers, I'd like to know what the company's specific plans are to earn a profit, and how my information fits into those plans. So far, there are no answers to those questions on the company's Web site.
Third, Plaxo is founded by a Napster co-founder, Sean Parker. Based on Napster's interesting concept of 'fair use' and property ownership, I will never trust an ex-Napster exec with anything, especially not my personal data. Plus, as far as I'm concerned, any money made from Napster is tainted. Yes, I do think businesses should pay attention to ethics, and there should be penalties for those that don't.
Fourth, Plaxo seems to rely on creating a network of Plaxo users, information about which resides on Plaxo's own computers. This is used to update information automatically in the background on the member's machines. This is an interesting feature, but requires a lot more trust than Plaxo has earned from me.
Finally, Plaxo makes a big deal about telling you how trustworthy they are. This reminds me of a used car dealer where I grew up who called himself 'Honest Joe' or something. I forget what the guy was indicted for. But I digress. "