Jake Ludington has a problem with Punchbowl. I can't say that I blame him. Here's what happend: Robert and I saw their demo at our office and we both liked what we saw. When Chris and Ponzi decided to throw a party for us, we asked that they give their product a try instead of using Evite. They agreed and having used it gave their feedback. Jake was one of the friends they invited to the party and Punchbowl used the email addresses used by Ponzi to send out their monthly newsletter to.

If I was using a site for the first time, not being a geek myself, I may not be aware that I have to tell them NOT to use my contacts. I understand that Punchbowl is a small company and they need to access as many people as they can, but surely sending them unsolicited emails can't be a good idea. I think Punchbowl has a good product and if they listen to feedback, they will be successful, but they need to be careful not to turn away potential users.

Update: Punchbowl is listening! Thanks for listening and the quick turnaround. They have changed their privacy policy and apologized to anyone they have offended. I like a good listener who is willing to amend their actions to please their clients.