Good Spam or Bad Spam - What's the Difference?

"Are you good spam or bad spam?" This is the question I find echoing in my head sometimes when I am going through my email, as if it is part of some electronic Wizard of Oz. Have you ever given any thought to the fact that there really is a difference in spam? Not that I am defending anyone, but let me make my point and then you can decide for yourself.

Spam is such a hot issue and no one knows the "right" view of spam that fits everyone. You either: - will take all measures to prevent people from sending it to you - don't mind it at all and happily delete, delete, delete every day - OR hate it sometimes and ignore it other times.

I think I fall in the last category, which is what started me thinking about good and bad spam. My point of view has now developed into this:

BAD Spam-
-It is bad spam when you reply to it to be removed and it is returned to you because the address is made up. -It is bad spam when the removal link does not open a real url. -It is bad spam when you paste the message source into Spam Cop and the info you get back before clicking the "Send spam report" shows tons of dead ends and made up domains, etc.

This means that this "Cowardly Lion" harvested your address, and went to great lengths to cover their tracks in order not to get caught sending spam.

GOOD Spam-
-It is good spam when there is an actual person on the other end, apologizing for inconveniencing you.

What made it good spam? Because here is spam that you most likely will not get again, because it is more legit then the bad spam. These people are not out to break any rules, upset anyone, or ruin your day. 9 times out of 10 they really don't know any better and will learn, very quickly I might add.

Also, keep in mind that the Scarecrow in us does not ALWAYS remember every email we sign up for. It is possible to have signed up for something and a week later be flipping out because you are getting email from some unknown. If we only had a brain sometimes (Speaking for myself, of course).

It is also highly possible that someone is having fun subscribing you to things. Never count that one out, it happens all of the time.

GOOD vs BAD
Personally, I would much rather get NO spam, however if I had to choose, I would have to go with good spam. Bad spam demonstrates that the sender KNOWS what is NOT acceptable and went to all of this trouble and expense to hide behind this long trail of fake addresses. These are malicious acts, and down right dirty. Do they really think that what they are trying to sell in this manner is actually worth it? These are the people we should be upset with. These are the people that we need to be telling, "I'll get you my pretty, and your little server too!"

So, whether you agree or disagree, just try to keep in mind that -1. The whole world is not out to get you. -2. Not every piece of spam is sent with the same intent. And... -3. As the world around us continues to change, we will be seeing more and more companies resorting to sending their junk mail through email rather then the post office. (I think this is becoming a more desirable thing to us all, as it would be much safer, take less effort to get rid of, & is better for the environment.)

Now is the time to try to adjust our view and approach the issue with a level head. If we don't we will drive ourselves mad, and for what purpose? The changes in our world cause the internet to change. Soon you probably will find yourself saying, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore".

Sara Hardy
Publisher of The OnLine Exchange Ezine. We have been in circulation for over 3 years, with over 28,000 faithful subscribers. Go here to subscribe: http://marketingtrendz.com and start your FREE Membership to our Profit Zone, giving you unlimited access to FREE marketing tools, ebooks, resources and more!

"Where is My Spam"Wonder Wyant

Boy, I must be really new to the Internet! Everyone keeps talking about all the canned meat they're getting and I'm hardly getting fed over here.

I do get some, but I'm sure not getting fat on it. I receive a couple of hundred or so emails a day so I'm not surprised that I get a few offers for credit cards I don't need and junk I'm not going to buy.

Although I probably average only a dozen or so letters a day in the big metal box at the end of the drive,some days more that half of that mail is junkmail.

While I find basically none of this junkmail useful to me, the electronic spam is much easier to deal with. I'm brand new to email and I still know at least three ways to hit delete! And, if need be, I can let my ISP gobble it up.

Since I live in the country and I no longer have to pay the garbage man to haul away the paper junkmail, I don't even resent that as I once did. In fact, I hear that I have a neighbor who actually solicits the stuff as he heats his house with it. An idea, I suppose?

I can almost hear you saying "Wait a minute! You said you get hundreds of emails a day." Yes, indeed I do. I would say that 96% of them are from ezines that I've subcribed to, offers I asked for more information about or email courses I wanted.

In my 3 months on the Internet, I've subscribed to over 400 ezines. Am I nuts, as an ezine editor friend of mine implied? No, I'm out here to get information. The only way to do that is to go to where the source is. Many ezines are wonderful sources of a wide variety of information.

Unfortunately, I've found that not all ezines are entertaining or informative. Do I read them all? Yes, I do, to a point. I use an automatic 'shelving' system in Outlook Express for my ezines.

I have a folder named 'Ezines' and inside that I have many subfolders.

When I read my first issue of an ezine, if I am instantly totally impressed, I set up a subfolder for that ezine and a message rule that puts every issue in that folder. I generally eagerly read them as soon as I see I have unopened mail in that folder. If I find later that I am not enjoying that ezine as much, I move the whole folder to another catagory or I unsubscribe and delete the folder.

I also have a subfolder called 'Checking Out'. If I am not totally enamored with the ezine, it goes into a subfolder in that file. I have these labeled: 'Daily's", 'Weekly's' and 'Monthly's. I add the from address to the appropriate message rule and those ezines go to their folders.

I read the 'Checking Out' ezines as time allows. Very often, by the second or third issue, the ezine has graduated it its own folder. I sort by name and read the 'Daily's' more often that the others but I do at least scan them all.

If I have received 5 or 6 issues of an ezine and it still remains in my just looking folder, I am not very interested in that ezine. I unsubscribe. Ezine editors might want to note that, when they send me 4 or more 'solos' in a day, I am probably only seeing one real issue of their ezine when I'm trying to decide if I want to remain subscribed.

I have to admit that I've recently added a new subfolder called 'Free Ad Subs'. Yep, you guessed it, stuff I don't read unless have extra time or I need an ad code. I will stay subscribed though until I figure out a better way to market.

I don't know, maybe I'm just too new out here to know what canned meat is.

If you'd like some helpful hints on how to manage 400+ ezines in your mailbox, send for my free helpful article "Manage Your E-mail" mailto:wonderclass1@GetResponse.com.

Wonder Wyant is a retired carny and the editor of "Geeks, Freaks and Bamboozles" a new ezine about both the carnival she retired from and the one she retired to. To get in prelaunch, mailto:wonderwyant@hotmail.com. You can check out her newest 'teddybear' at http://100PercentProfit.cjb.net.