Spam- An Emotional Issue

Spam -an Emotional Issue

Spam- more than just an annoyance. Why does Spam inspire so much passionate hate?

Spam is an emotional subject, just ask any computer user. In a sense, Spam is nothing more than unsolicited
direct marketing in an email version, or electronic junk mail. People dont get as fired up about junk from the
postman, so why all the emotion about Spam? To understand why this is, you need to look at peoples
relationships with their computers.

Email is a push medium, like television advertising; networks push ads to you, just as you are sending, or
pushing an email communication to a recipient . The television viewer has the remote control in hand to bypass
commercials and just surf away. Similarly, it is the email recipient who is in the drivers seat , hand on the mouse
or delete button. Whether Spam is read or not, it still considered a major annoyance for many emailers.

While both Television and email are push mediums, the difference is in the expectation. TV viewers expect advertising;
in my lifetime, its always been a part of the medium. Some creative ads even have some entertainment value. Viewers
have accustomed themselves to using commercial breaks to check on other shows or to get a snack.

With spam, the real emotional trigger is the proprietary way that people feel about their computers. They feel that their
computers are their own private domain, and that they control what they see and hear. The resistance to spam, is mostly
an emotional one; a wish to hold onto this private domain. Or at least the illusion of it. Television has had years to indoctrinate
viewers into the format that networks use. I grew up with the idea that tv has commercials- it always has.

My inbox didnt always have SPAM, and it is not a welcome intruder.

Two years ago, while researching new interactive advertising technologies for an article for SAM magazine , I came across
a company called Amicada. Their concept was to show commercials to computer users, while online and off, for which the
viewer would be rewarded. It was completely opt in, requiring a download of their software. It then initiated ongoing pop-ups
for these commercials on your computer; you could choose to delay viewing an ad, but it was guaranteed to remind you
again later.

I didnt buy the concept; personally brisled at the idea of having more pop-ups while I was online, and any pop ups while offline.
For me the rewards could not be high enough to want to participate; I assumed that the majority of people would feel the way I did.

Perhaps the internet surfing public cast their same vote. Despite significant support and backing by Unilever and some VC funding,
Amicada has joined the DotBomb graveyard. To read the SAM article: http://www.janetabachnick.com/mouse.html

The other emotional trigger of spam is the content of the emails. Items hawked are typically for enlargement of private body parts,
multi level marketing under the guise of business opportunties, viagara, and plain old pornography. It is like a snake oil salesman
having orbed into our living room uninvited, and we arent happy about the intrusion.

As spammers try to be seen and get read, over the volumes other emails flooding our inboxes, they are resorting to new, cheap
tricks, casting additional aspersions on the practice. Subject lines, like here is your statement or here is the info you requested
have gotten us to fall for it, opening an email expecting it to be something in fact we had requested, only to leave us feeling taken,
our time wasted. I havent even mentioned the time and cost factors that Spam takes up.

Now that you understand the emotional issues that people feel with regard to Spam, you can see why any email perceived as spam
reflects negatively on the sender. The message, spam me, and well never do business, ever in this lifetime. You can be perceived
as being a spammer, even if people opted in to get your message, because people forget what they sign up for online. All the more
reason you want to make sure that you are not an inadvertent spammer.

To your effective emailing ~ Jane

Stay tuned for the release of my book Are You Sending The Right Message-
Effective Email Communication for Executives and Entrepreneurs."

Reprint Permission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears:
"Reprinted with permission from Jane Tabachnick eMarketing (Copyright, 2003, Jane Tabachnick)
If you would like more great articles like this, subscribe to our complimentary newsletter, the eMarketing Edge a
http://www.janetabachnick.com/ezine.html"

Using the power of NON-spam email

If you own a local retail store or local service business where customers come into your office or shop, you're going to love this report. I'm going to show you how to maximize your current customer base and improve sales by using NON-spam email.

Your business doesn't need a website to do what I'm going to show you here. This method is so simple, but overlooked by most local business owners, that when I explain this simple system to you, you'll be kicking yourself that you didn't think of it sooner. Best of all, you can start using this system TODAY.

If you're running a local business of any kind:

* cleaners
* pet supply shop
* hair salon
* grocery store
* lawn service
* window washer
* ice cream shop
* dentist
* personal trainer, etc...

...you should be using email RIGHT NOW to increase your profits.

Let's say you own a local hair salon, for example. Obviously no one is going to go on the Internet looking for a hair stylist. People will not type the words "hair salons" in a search engine to find a local hair salon. So what you should do is maximize the income potential of every local customer that does frequent your establishment.

Here's what you do: When a customer is paying for their service and they come to your register, make sure you collect their contact information. You want to get their first name, last name and email address logged into your database. I'm sure next to your cash register you have a computer where you could easily enter this information. If you don't have a computer next to your cash register...GET ONE!

Or you could simply write down this information on a sheet of paper to be transferred to your database later on. If the concept of a database seems to complex, just enter the information about each customer in a simple text file. The text file should look like this:

"EMAIL","FIRST NAME","LAST NAME" "EMAIL","FIRST NAME","LAST NAME" .
.
.
"EMAIL","FIRST NAME","LAST NAME"

That's it! If someone asks you what you need this information for, tell them it's for your "preferred customer list" to tell them about specials being offered at your establishment before the general public hears about them.

Don't say "mailing list." No one wants to be on some old, impersonal, stuffy "mailing list." But a "preferred customer list" sounds more valuable. Which would you rather be on? I think it's pretty obvious.

Do this for EVERY customer that comes through and leaves your doors. What you'll notice is that after doing this for a month, you should have a few hundred or a few thousand email addresses of customers. Now that you have their email address and name, you can contact these people as often as you like by email for FREE. Instead of sending postcards, letters or paying someone to call past customers about new products/services or specials that you offer.

You can simply send them a small email notice FREE!

This is NOT spamming. These people have given you permission to email them. After all, they voluntarily gave you their email address. They have used the products or services of your shop. They love what you sell. Yes, they will be happy to hear from you by email. They will consider this EXCELLENT customer service interaction.

So what you do next is whenever you have a new product, service or special you want to announce - first hit your "preferred customer" list with and email announcement. This should help you generate some quick cash for your business.

Christopher Sewell enjoys showing beginners how to build a successful business online. Want MORE valuable tips on how to build a successful online business, or tips on how your local retail store can use the Internet to increase profits - download Chris's FREE 24-page training guide today at http//www.beginnersguidetoecommerce.com/

AMATEUR SPAM COPS - HAVE THEY GONE TOO FAR ?

You think spam is annoying ? Let me tell you a spam story that is beyond annoying and well past anger - and it isn't about receiving a few annoying advertisements in your Inbox. It's about a particular internet species whom I shall call amateur spam cops. Let me explain.

I am writing this article as a warning. From time to time I write business articles for newsletters as a means of promoting my web site. An article of mine was recently picked up from an article-announcement list by a larger-than-usual number of newsletters.

For a while, it was great ! My resource box (similar to the one below), pointed to my web site and, during this one week in particular, the hit counter was going crazy. I had ten times the normal number of visitors.

And then disaster struck. The hit counter slammed to a halt. Suddenly I was getting numerous emails from potential customers telling me that my site was down. Now, I had been with Virtual Avenue for about 3 years and never had a problem, so I thought maybe it was just a temporary glitch and that the site would be back up the next day or something. I visited their support page & asked them politely to investigate.

After visiting the site, I began reading my emails again (I get about 120 per day, and I download my email twice a day), and came across a robot message from their abuse department. The message told me that a spamming complaint had been received and that they were shutting me down in 48 hours. Well that was nonsense for a start - they had already shut down all my sites !

The message said that I had spammed someone by sending them a newsletter. I quote -

***
We regret to inform you that your account dwr9760 will be deleted from our servers within the next 48 hours because it violates our Terms of Service, found at http://www.virtualave.net/t/account/policies/tos

Reason: Spam complaints [1311819] Subject: whatUseek Weekly - The Stealth Approach To Making Money On The Internet ***

For those of you not into the internet marketing scene, "WhatU Seek Weekly" is a pretty useful newsletter for business ideas & marketing tips. I have subscribed to it for about a year. They recently ran an article of mine called "Any Fool Can Choose The Wrong Career".

It took me a few minutes of hard thinking to figure out the connection, but once I worked it out, I was shocked at the power these amateur spam cops now have. An accusation appears to be as good as a conviction, at least in the eyes of Virtual Avenue.

It appears this is what happened: for whatever reason, a disgruntled subscriber has been unable to unsubscribe from the WhatUSeek newsletter. So instead of just complaining straight to the publishers of this newsletter, or even to the Host of the newsletter web page, they decided to get VERY nasty and file spam reports against every link & email address that they can find within that newsletter (and it is normally quite a big newsletter !).

So this person sees my harmless article, checks out the resource box and sends off a spam report to the Host of my advertised web page. Even though I have never sent an email to this person in my life ! In response to a single unsubstantiated report, Virtual Avenue IMMEDIATELY shuts down all my web sites without any warning.

Numerous further emails were exchanged over the next few days, with the "support" people (now there's an inappropriate title) refusing to reinstate my web sites, even though they eventually acknowledged I was not a publisher of the newsletter and had not spammed anyone. They had received robot complaints from Spam Cop and were determined that someone was going to suffer for it. I was simply guilty by association.

Meanwhile, I have been spending at least 30 minutes daily responding to all the emails complaining about the site being down, not to mention the many hours involved with shifting the websites elsewhere. I have lost bucket-loads of customers due to a false accusation and a trigger-happy Host who seems anxious to shut-down its own members.

So next time you get annoyed by unsolicted commercial email in your Inbox, just remember - it could be worse. At least these pests aren't actively trying to close down your business.

Darren Robinson is the publisher of THE PANIC BULLETIN, a free twice-weekly email newsletter. If you suffer from anxiety attacks, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder or other related conditions, keep up with the latest news articles from around the world. Just send a blank email to
panic_disorder-subscribe@listbot.com

Spam is no vegetable!

Spammers are like spiders coming from the World Wide Web
and crawling in and on your mind, head, your body and spine.
Many dictionaries do not give you the meaning of Spam. One
dictionery defines it a a vegetable. The spell check in many word
processing software would not give you its spelling!

Our unabashed dictionary defines Spam as pinching the bottom
of a girl in a crowded street.

On a crowded elevator of a sky-scrapper of a computer giant, a
shapely lass was pinched at her bottom.
She turned back and growled, " Who is spamming me?"
The handsome young man behind her looked at her in face and
said, "Pardon me. I thought it was a safe address".
"Never mind, I will opt in for your mail!" The girl replied smilingly
as she was impressed with his looks and mannerism.

As you know spam (noun) means an unsolicited e-mail message
sent to many recipients at one time, or a news article posted
simultaneously to many newsgroups or lists.

Spam is a sort of junk mail. Generally the contents of a Spam
message or article are not relevant to the topic of the group or the
interests of the recipient.

Spam is an abuse of the Internet in order to distribute a commercial
or religious or political message or publicity material to a huge number

of people at minimal cost.

Spambot means a program or device that automatically posts large
amounts of repetitive or inappropriate material to newsgroups on the
Internet.

Internet users are experiencing an increase in spamming! As thousands
of new web sites are created every year and more businesses flocking to
the Internet, spamming either due to ignorance of Internet culture and
rules or a willful disregard for them, has grown.

Quite a few big companies also utilize Spam techniques. Many people
abhor such intrusion on their time and privacy but many people like to get
mail. The popularity of email lists is growing. Many new list servers have
come.

How can you deal with Spam?

Simply hit reply button and write stop in Subject. Most people will
honor your advice except the mischief-makers Unless you find that the Spam is
due to ignorance of internet rules, do not waste time in writing to advise
that you find spamming to be invasive and annoying, and urge them to stop the
practice immediately However, many spammers hide their real email address and
many such replies bounce.

In such cases, you can write to the postmaster of the spammer's Internet

service provider, complaining that they are disturbing your privacy.
This is not always effective, as unscrupulous spammers have found ways to make
their messages appear to originate from another provider entirely. But
if your message does get through, the Internet service provider may cancel the
spammer's account.

Laws are rapidly changing. The business organizations and individuals
can get into trouble if they display total disregard to the rules regarding
email broadcast. In Europe and US the laws and rules are enforced strictly and many
people lose their ISP for spamming.

Shah N. Khan has over 20 years experience in marketing and supervising
life insurance sales force besides underwriting and advertising. He is now editing a
weekly ezine Fraternity Briefs Online http://www.yahoogroups/group/fraternity2
He also works as Internet Marketing Consultants and helps his two sons
in their web designing business. http://www.shah.khan.as

Spam Spasms and Spamocidal Mania

 Below is a letter I wrote to the following organizations:

S.H.U. (Spam-Haters Unanimous)

N.A.A.P.W.H.S. (National Association for the Advancement of People Who Hate Spam)

P.W.H.P.W.D.H.S. (People Who Hate People Who Don't Hate Spam)

P.F.W.S.H.I.A.L.C. (People for Whom Spam-Hating is a Lifestyle Choice)

S.A.P.W.R.R.R.H.S. (Society for the Advancement of People Who Really Really Really Hate Spam)

P.W.H.S.S.M.I.M.L.W.S.C.O.T.E. (People Who Hate Spam So Much It Makes Little Wisps of Steam Come Out of Their Ears)

And, of course: Spam Haters In The Business of Internet Resource Directory Services.

DEAR FELLOW SPAM HATERS,

I'm writing to suggest that we combine forces in order to present a common front in our righteous war on unsolicited commercial email:

Spam!

I suggest we disband the myriad sites and organizations now opposing unsolicited commercial email in order to form a single, unified organization:

The Spammish Inquisition!

And I further suggest we elect me, Linda Cox, as our leader. Our Grand Inquisatrix!

WHAT ARE MY QUALIFICATIONS?

You think YOU hate spam? You don't even know what hate is!

I hate spam so much that I... well, just a LOT! That's how much!

If I hated spam any more than I already do, I think my head would burst into flames and spin like a top! Can you say that?

Don't think so.

I don't mean to say that I don't hate other things too, like pedophiles and nazis and that drunk guy who backed over my cat when I was seven.

But spam... hooboy!

SQUISH 'EM LIKE BUGS!

I believe we should have a constitutional amendment allowing cruel and unusual punishment in the case of spammers. Maybe that tummy thing like the Japanese do when they get depressed.

As with drugs, mere possession of bulk emailing software should result in the immediate confiscation of the computer it was on, as well as any nice clothes, jewelry, or lawn statuary that might have been purchased with spam profits.

Just thinking about sending spam should be illegal, like joking about bombs in an airport. If I get to be Grand Inquisatrix, I'll have my own force of men-in-black dudes to sniff out spamsters and be really mean to them and call them names until they promise to be good little netizens again.

It's for their own good.

IN CLOSING...

Having looked at the websites of some of the anti-spam crusaders, I know that I am not alone in my revulsion, disgust and utter skin-crawling contempt for spam.

Like them, I have turned a blind-eye to more mundane problems like hunger, illiteracy, disease, country music and poverty so as to focus on the true menace ravaging our cyber-society.

If you wish to support my crusade, you may do so by sending me $99, and as a free gift I'll send you a CD with the email addresses of 40 million netizens eagerly awaiting news of your latest product or service.

Linda Cox, G.I.W. (Grand Inquisatrix Wannabe)

P.S. Oh yeah... stale croutons. Hate 'em.

Linda Cox (J.A.M.G.) was born in a speeding stagecoach amid the screams of fellow passengers as insane, wild-eyed horses dragged them all crashing toward the brink of destruction. That stagecoach was the planet Earth, those passengers were the human race, and Linda Cox is Just Another Marketing Guru. (The horses were just regular horses.) http://www.LindaCox.com/