You’ve got Mail, more and more and mostly, it’s junk.
You’ve got Mail, more and more and mostly, it’s junk. From the NY Times (registration required). Some interesting quotes:
“If you’re saying `unsolicited’ is the problem, I would ask you to think about my favorite example: Here’s a one-dollar coupon on Tide sent to everyone in America,” said Bob Weintzen, president of the Direct Marketing Association. “I don’t think too many people would be upset about that.”
I would, coupons belong with the Sunday paper, that’s where I look for them, that’s where I expect them to be. Putting them in my email, somewhere I never asked for them, somewhere I don’t want them, is completely aggravating! You’re not doing me any favors by communicating with me in a fashion I never asked for. You want to reach me with a commercial message, than put that message someplace I already expect to see commercial messages. If I don’t respond then, it’s not something I want, and certainly more messages about it are going to guarantee I never do business with you.
Indeed, e-mail spam may finally be living up to its etymology. The term comes from the Monty Python skit about a couple in a restaurant trying to order food while a chorus of Vikings sings “spam spam spam spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam,” drowning out all other conversation.
This would be horrible, email has been the one, true killer app of the internet. It’s the thing everyone wants, in order to stay in touch with people, meet new people, exchange ideas, etc. Are we going to let the spammers drive us out of it?
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