Information systems and telemarketing have been implement ed for as many as sixty-five years. Thus, while telemarketing is not new, sophisticated telemarketing is. There has been a literal explosion of interest in telemarketing spurred by the nationwide television campaigns waged by various telephone companies. As Goodman (1984) puts it, "we are all 'reinventing' the telephone and its uses in the day-to-day affairs of the office and community" (Goodman, 1984, pp. 4, ix). Voice mail, answer ing machines, and automated calling devices are just some of the technolo gies which have expanded the industry. This business serves many functions. It is a perfect medium for fund rais ing, generating and retrieving information, enter tainment, and of course, sales.
Everyone is accus tomed to callers selling newspaper and magazine subscriptions or to inform us of different features to add to our telephone service. Some common examples of fund raising are campaigns to raise money to halt destruction of the rainforest, or promo tions to stop animal experimentation. Many companies are using voice mail to advertise or disseminate information. In addition, there are 900 numbers which are used for information, entertainment, and sales.
There are positives and negatives to telemarketing. From the point of view of many would-be consumers, it is often seen as an intrusion in their lives or businesses. For others it is a convenient way to make a purchase or contribution to something important they might not otherwise have had time for, or to gather information.
Mention was made above of advances in technology. The telephone has come a long way since its inception. At the present time, everything is being used from a simple dial phone in a start-up, one person operation from a kitchen table, for example, to computer generated calls, and 800 and 900 informat
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