Michael DeGusta "buys jets, rocks Coachella," according to Google ad

Owen Thomas — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Who is Michael DeGusta? According to federal election records, he's unemployed. The Santa Barbara-based entrepreneur previously cofounded Steel Card, a financial-technology startup bought by ChoicePoint in 2006. Terms of that deal weren't disclosed, but we suspect DeGusta made bank. Why? If you Google his name, an ad appears claiming that DeGusta "Buys jets. Rocks Coachella," linking to his Facebook profile. The campaign doesn't appear particularly effective: DeGusta only has 21 friends at present. Anyone know the purpose behind this vanity advertising campaign, save for driving curious bloggers to write about it?

You don't call, you don't write ... unless you're a telemarketer

Tim Faulkner — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:15:43 EDT

Is it any surprise that direct marketers are easily circumventing the Feds' Do Not Call registry, as the Wall Street Journal reports? Lead generators are exploiting a loophole which allows direct calls to individuals on the list if written consent is provided. So marketers have turned to the tried-and-true method of direct mail. "Reply cards," the favored tool, are standard fare. They typically target the elderly, the most susceptible market, with purportedly useful retirement information or the claim of an affiliation with AARP. And it's perfectly legal.

The only recourse is if the marketer is particularly deceptive. One such company, unsurprisingly, is ChoicePoint. Yes, the same company that allowed the data of hundreds of thousands of individuals to leak to other ~~scammers~~ data brokers. ChoicePoint is sending more than a million of these lead cards a year, even after AARP successfully sued a subsidiary for promising a "new" AARP probate study that was fourteen years old and no longer valid.

Gawker: valleywag, choicepoint

Michael DeGusta "buys jets, rocks Coachella," according to Google ad

You don't call, you don't write ... unless you're a telemarketer