Classmates.com? More Like NoSecurity.com!
I usually try to write about sites I've used and, true confession, I've never used Classmates.com. Neither has my husband, Geoff. Nor has his friend Michelle. Maybe we should tell Classmates.com that.
For at least two years Geoff and Michelle have been getting weekly emails from Classmates.com addressed to "Gayle" and "Mary." (Both Gayle and Mary had the same respective last names of Geoff and Michelle.) They assumed it was spam. But last week, in a fit of boredom at work Geoff decided to test it. So he went to the site, and sure enough it greeted "Gayle." He said he (or she?) had forgotten his (or her?) password. Classmates sent Gayle/Geoff the password. No security question. He went back to the site, logged in and could see all of Gayle's personal information. Same thing for Mary/Michelle. He forwarded me the link and I could pull it up on my computer-- without even entering her user name and password. The site and profile appeared to all of us to be legit.
This was sent to Geoff's Comcast email account, which he's had for about six years. So there's little chance Gayle had it first or anything like that. So what's the story? As far as I can tell it's one of two things:
- This is an incredibly sophisticated -- even if odd, misguided and
deceptive-- marketing scheme to rope in new users. And one I can't
imagine ever working.
- Classmates.com has horrific underlying technology that can't
remember an accurate email address and has no security at all. Pretty
shocking since 3 million users or so actually pay Classmates.com for
premium messaging services.
And this post on TechCrunch details why their traffic and financials don't look so great either. Perhaps the most damning figure, other than slipping market share, is that only 12 million of their 50 million registered users actually use the site. Oh, and the FTC was investigating them for some sleazy auto-billing tactics. Last December, Classmates.com pulled its IPO, putting it at risk of repaying some $50 million in debt.
From an outsider's point of view this just appears to be a walking-dead company in a market where there are such better alternatives. If you use Classmates.com-- please tell me why you like it. Because allegedly there are 12 million people out there who do. And if Gayle is reading this, Geoff wants to know if you mind if he deletes your account.
