SPAM..

No, not the friendly canned delicacy that comes in the space age can and sites coveniently next to the TANG! No, this is a malicious and seriously irritating form of marketing, which actually boarders on harassment be some very unscrupulous cyber entities.

The idea of SPAM and the people behind it have been around since Al Gore invented the Internet. However, not until the mid to late 90's did the real relavance and understanding of SPAM take place.

To some, SPAM was an efficient way of distributing the message of the their products to multitudes of people without the cost of a traditional direct mail marketing campaign. Additionally, SPAM could create databases of Internet email addresses, without the need to purchase a house list for a tremendous cost. But alass, to no avail! SPAM was abused.

frivilous marketing and an over dependance on immediacy made SPAM the no-no of the cyber world. Today, the Federal governement has gotten involved and created the Caned-SPAM act, which limits the type and purpose of most SPAM mail. This act was aclaimed by the citizens who were tired of having their inboxes filled with Viagra offers, while legitamate Internet based companies were in a tiff because of the restrictions that the Act placed on their business.

Surely there is some middle ground, right? Well, even today, some 15 years since the Canned-SPAM Act, there are still complaints from both sides; one calling for more restriction, while the other cries for greater deregulation. This whole SPAM issue has simple ruffled the feathers from both sides of the argument, but what everyone has failed to realize is that this entire arguement has actually created a new line of business. SPAM filtering has become a multi-million dollar a year industry and does not appear to be slowing down. Essentially, this arguement has created a nutrient rich environment for new market development in the land of Capializm.

Thoughts?