Have you thought about unsubscribing from the River Valley Newsletter, Blog or Social Media?

Why This (To Me) Extreme Measure?

My groaning Inbox.

Every morning, and then it seems at intervals throughout  the day another flood of emails arrives. A handful work related, the odd one from friends, a few newsletters that I have signed up for. But as for the rest? And this does not even count the ones filtered off as Junk.

Time to escape the flow of junk. Maybe a quick look at some social media site such as Facebook. Who are all these posts from on Facebook? Again a few from friends, some from pages I have “liked”, but as for the rest?

In the evening, maybe relax with a little TV watching. What? That one hour long program that I’m watching is in fact only 40 minutes, the other 20 minutes being ads.

In all the cases above, much of the content that is entering my life stream I did not ask for.

Content That is Trying To Get Me To Buy “stuff”

Getting me to buy “stuff” that I don’t want or need, and certainly for the planets sake, should not be consumed. “Stuff” that in a very short time will either end up being recycled, or more likely go to landfill.

No One Got My Permission!

I did not give anyone permission to bombard me with these unasked for ads or offers.

I know this is how Google, Facebook, Media companies and others make their money. While they no doubt provide services that we use and often rely on a daily basis, the reality is these organisations are essentially advertising companies. Their advanced algorithms match this advertising content to your viewing history.

As a company, River Valley,  we are also guilty. We use these services to reach out to you, all be it in a moderate way.

Is This Unasked For Content All Bad?

No, the reality is sometimes the material is of a kind I really am interested in and leads me to reading some great article or watching a poignant video. However this does not change the basic premise of “Did I give permission?” (no matter what Facebook’s terms of service say)

When I write the weekly blog for River Valley, (which is normally shared on Facebook and in our monthly newsletter), I often ask myself this question.

The Question Is This

Am I providing content that the potential reader finds of value or interest, or am I writing just another version of advertising that you don’t want or need?

If the former, then I am really quite rapt. If the latter however, then please do hit the unsubscribe button, or “Unlike” us.

Life is simply too short and your precious attention too valuable to have it cluttered up with “stuff” you don’t want, are not interested in, or just feel overwhelmed by.

If you don’t feel like hitting the “unlike” or unsubscribe button and want to stay with us, then we would really appreciate it if you could help both you and us out. Drop us a line or post on Facebook with any questions you may have about what we are doing here at River Valley. These could include questions about river trips, natural horsemanship, conservation, organic food production, holistic grazing and no doubt many more.

We will do our best to answer them and hopefully provide some valuable insights.

Insights that many other readers may also be interested in. Wouldn’t that be great!

Thanks for reading.

Brian Megaw

p.s. here is the link if you wish to unsubscribe to the newsletter.