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Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam …

The Spam-mobile, 2006, Wikimedia Commons

I try to go in every day and check for spam and delete. That Nike shoes guy or gal has been posting comments all over the blog.

Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems (including most broadcast media, digital delivery systems) to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, Web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, Internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions, social networking spam, television advertising and file sharing network spam.—Wikipedia

Spam, spam, spam, spam …

Most of the comments we get lately is this electronic junk mail. I'm not sure why these people even bother. I guess they think that we get enough traffic that we might drive some to their sites, which is sort of flattering. But does internet spam really work?

Spamming remains economically viable because advertisers have no operating costs beyond the management of their mailing lists, and it is difficult to hold senders accountable for their mass mailings. Because the barrier to entry is so low, spammers are numerous, and the volume of unsolicited mail has become very high. The costs, such as lost productivity and fraud, are borne by the public and by Internet service providers, which have been forced to add extra capacity to cope with the deluge. Spamming has been the subject of legislation in many jurisdictions.—Wikipedia

Spam, spam, spam, spam …

 It's a mystery to me. It's the telemarketing of the blog world. It also makes me think of that world-famous "mystery meat," SPAM:

Introduced on July 5, 1937, the name "Spam" was chosen when the product, whose original name was far less memorable (Hormel Spiced Ham), began to lose market share. The name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel official once stated that the original meaning of the name "Spam" was "Shoulder of Pork and Ham". … At one time and persisting to this day in certain books, the theory behind the nomenclature of Spam was that the name was a portmanteau of "Spiced Meat and Ham". … Many jocular backronyms have been devised, such as "Something Posing As Meat", "Specially Processed Artificial Meat", "Stuff, Pork and Ham", "Spare Parts Animal Meat" and "Special Product of Austin Minnesota".—Wikipedia

At least the libraries can tell me the history of that most famous of meats in a can, Spam: a biography, Carolyn Wyman. Publisher: San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, c1999.

Spam, spam, spam, spam …

Lovely spam, wonderful spam!

Elizabeth Periale

Passengers thrilled to be on dry land after 'Spamcation'

2 Comments

  1. Claudia M.

    I quite agree about the problem of spamming. It is very much like walking down Kalakaua ave. in Waikiki and someone shoves a piece of paper into your hands. Also, though I told my phone company to not allow text messaging on my lines, someone always finds a way around it and sends me a text to try and sell me something. However, the worst is email, how rude! That is why I have a firm policy about no spam email ads or phone Ads from my business.

  2. I quite agree about the problem of spamming. It is very much like walking down Kalakaua ave. in Waikiki and someone shoves a piece of paper into your hands. Also, though I told my phone company to not allow text messaging on my lines, someone always finds a way around it and sends me a text to try and sell me something. However, the worst is email, how rude! That is why I have a firm policy about no spam email ads or phone Ads from my business.

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