Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Celebrating Spam's Ten-Year Anniversary

Posted by michael on from the hurray-i-think dept.

khalua writes "Netcraft has a story that 10 years ago today, the first widely recognized spam was sent by... oh the irony...a law firm. Hate to see what a beast it grows into when it's 20." Reader prostoalex writes "Ever wonder why spam is so prevalent and who buys all those revolutionary products sold at unbelievable prices? Direct Marketing Association estimates $11.7 billion was spent on goods and services pitched via unsolicited e-mail. The average buy was $155, which exceeds the average of $114 that opt-in e-mail generated. It's worth noting that US e-commerce sales in general generated $50 billion total last year, however, the data was presented by a different researcher."

8 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. $11.7 billion... by Walkiry · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ever heard the phrase "follow the money"? Yes? Well, that's what they should be doing with Spam.

    --
    ---- Take the Space Quiz!
  2. Celebration? by lake2112 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is no way that we should ever "celebrate" spam ... Maybe we can celebrate the eradication of spam, but never the anniversary.

  3. Re:here's a good mail filter by cabingirl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You must not belong to very many mailing lists.

    --
    I could kill you, sure, but I could only make you cry with these words
  4. Re:kinda scary... by MCZapf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lots of people, sadly. Pretend you are not so web-savvy. Now pretend you need viagra. You've been thinking about buying some, but are too ashamed to do so. Then a nice offer arrives in your email - with a "discounted" price! You can order it from the privacy of your own home. This might be enough to get you to buy.

  5. We're aiming at the wrong people by $lingBlade · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apparently we've been trying to stop spam by targeting the wrong people. It seems to me that if we want to stop spam, we need to remove, inhibit or embarrass the people who actually BUY their products as a result of the spam they receive...

    now go ahead and mod me flaimbait or troll you useless dickweeds!

  6. A Grain of Salt... by pangian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Or how about a ton of salt.

    What's that? The *Direct Marketing Association* released a report saying that spam sales accounted for $11.7 billion?

    But wait, isn't the DMA the very organization that represents the interests of the spam houses?

    Gee, I wonder if they would have an interest in convincing people [particularly retailers] that spam is a successful form of advertising?

    And what's that you say? The $11.7 billion estimate is based on calls to 1000 consumers? I wonder how they decided which 1000 people to call? I'll give you a hint...I bet they didn't opt in.

  7. The only solution to spam by MyFourthAccount · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Direct Marketing Association estimates $11.7 billion was spent on goods and services pitched via unsolicited e-mail

    So how hard can it be to find exactly the companies that sold this stuff?

    These are ultimately the companies that are responsible for spam. Why don't we hold them liable? I think I can proof that spam is costing me a significant amount of money (mostly lost time) even though I do have a fairly good working filter.

    I hear all the time that we can't really get the spammers because they are in China, or recently because they use zombies/compromised boxes all over the internet. Well, at the end of the day, it's not the spamhouses that are responsible for this. If no-one paid them to spam, it wouldn't be a business.

    So someone is paying money to get this spam to you. How come we can't go after them and make them pay?!

  8. revenues by WormholeFiend · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The black market revenues for hard drugs is in the billions as well, yet no one praises its economic benefits outside of criminal circles.