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Spam:
Where it Came From, and How to Escape It
Beka Ruse
In 1936, long
before the rise of the personal computer, Hormel Foods created SPAM. In
2002, the company will produce it's six billionth can of the processed
food product. But that mark was passed long ago in the world of Internet
spam.
Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?
Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
The Final Blow
Who
Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
The modern meaning of the word "spam" has nothing to do
with spiced ham. In the early 1990's, a skit by British comedy group Monty
Python led to the word's common usage. "The SPAM Skit" follows a couple
struggling to order dinner from a menu consisting entirely of Hormel's
canned ham.
Repetition is key to
the skit's hilarity. The actors cram the word "SPAM" into the 2.5 minute
skit more than 104 times! This flood prompted Usenet readers to call
unwanted newsgroup postings "spam." The name stuck.
Spammers soon focused
on e-mail, and the terminology moved with them. Today, the word has come
out of technical obscurity. Now, "spam" is the common term for
"Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail", or "UCE."
Why
Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?
Chances are, you've been spammed before. Somehow, your
e-mail address has found it's way into the hands of a spammer, and your
inbox is suffering the consequences. How does this happen? There are
several possibilities.
Backstabbing Businesses -
Businesses often keep lists of their customers' e-mail addresses. This is
a completely legitimate practice and, usually, nothing bad comes of it.
Sometimes though, the temptation to make a quick buck is too great, and
these lists are sold or rented to outside advertisers. The result? A lot
of unsolicited e-mail, and a serious breach of trust.
Random Address Generation -
Computer programs called random address generators simply "guess" e-mail
addresses. Over 100 million hotmail addresses exist - how hard could it be
to guess some of them? Unfortunately for many unsuspecting netizens - not
too hard. Many spammers also guess at "standard" addresses, like "support@yourdomain.com",
"info@yourdomain.com", and "billing@yourdomain.com."
Web Spiders -
Today's most insidious list-gathering tools are web spiders. All of the
major search engines spider the web, saving information about each page.
Spammers use tools that also spider the web, but save any e-mail
address they come across. Your personal web page lists your e-mail
address? Prepare for an onslaught!
Chat Room Harvesting -
ISP's offer vastly popular chat rooms where users are known only by their
screen names. Of course, spammers know that your screen name is the first
part of your e-mail address. Why waste time guessing e-mail addresses when
a few hours of lurking in a chat room can net a list of actively-used
addresses?
The Poor Man's Bad Marketing Idea -
It didn't work for the phone companies, and it won't work for e-mail
marketers. But, some spammers still keep their own
friends-and-family-style e-mail lists. Compiled from the addresses of
other known spammers, and people or businesses that the owner has come
across in the past, these lists are still illegitimate. Why? Only you can
give someone permission to send you e-mail. A friend-of-a-friend's
permission won't cut it.
Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
Already drowning in spam? Try using your e-mail client's
filters - many provide a way to block specific e-mail addresses. Each time
you're spammed, block the sender's address. Spammers skip from address to
address, and you may be on many lists, but this method will at least slow
the flow.
Also, use more than one
e-mail address, and keep one "clean." Many netizens find that this
technique turns the spam flood into a trickle. Use one address for only
spam-safe activities like e-mailing your friends, or signing on with
trustworthy businesses. Never use your clean address on the web! Get a
free address to use on the web and in chat rooms.
If nothing else helps,
consider changing screen names, or opening an entirely new e-mail account.
When you do, you'll start with a clean, spam-free slate. This time,
protect your e-mail address!
Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
Want to surf the web without getting sucked into the
spam-flood? Prevention is your best policy. Don't use an easy-to-guess
e-mail address. Keep your address clean by not using it for spam-centric
activities. Don't post it on any web pages, and don't use it in chat rooms
or newsgroups.
Before giving your
clean e-mail address to a business, check the company out. Are sections of
its user agreement dedicated to anti-spam rules? Does a privacy policy
explain exactly what will be done with your address? The most considerate
companies also post an anti-spam policy written in plain English, so you
can be absolutely sure of what you're getting into.
Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
Many a first-time marketer has inadvertently spammed his
audience. The first several hundred complaints and some nasty phone
messages usually stop him in his tracks. But by then, the spammer may be
faced with cleanup bills from his ISP, and a bad reputation that it's not
easy to overcome.
The best way to avoid
this situation is to have a clear understanding of what spam is: If anyone
who receives your mass e-mails did not specifically ask to hear from you,
then you are spamming them.
Stick with your gut.
Don't buy a million addresses for $10, no matter how much the seller
swears by them! If something sounds fishy, just say no. You'll save
yourself a lot in the end.
The
Final Blow
The online world is turning the tide on spam. In the end,
people will stop sending spam because it stops working. Do your part:
never buy from a spammer. When your business seeks out technology
companies with which to work, only choose those with a staunch anti-spam
stance.
Spam has a long history
in both the food and e-mail sectors. This year, Hormel Foods opened a
real-world museum dedicated to SPAM. While the museum does feature the
Monty Python SPAM Skit, there's no word yet on an unsolicited commercial
e-mail exhibit. But, if all upstanding netizens work together, Hormel's
ham in a can will far outlive the Internet plague that is UCE.
Beka Ruse fights spam as the Business Development Manager at AWeber
Communications. Ad tracking, live stats, and a strict anti-spam policy:
Automated E-Mail Follow Up From AWeber.
www.aweber.com
Watch this Video to Learn how easy it is to get started
with the AWeber email marketing solution.
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