Spam & anti-spam
Articles and advice about spam (aka unsolicited commercial email, or UCE), including spam filters, anti-spam legislation, seminal lawsuits, industry initiatives, and more.
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Surprise: Consumers Want Email, But Want It Their Way
Marketers were right to worry about getting blacklisted and spam-filtered—that is until most consumers became bargain hunters. Market research from email solution provider BlueHornet (reported via eMarketer) found that as of February 2012, 95% of U.S. email users had joined email lists to receive discounts.
What that suggests is that consumers are perfectly willing to share personal information with retailers, in excha [...]
Posted: Thursday, April 19th 2012
Email Marketers Relieved at Canadian Anti-Spam Law Outcome
Email marketers worrying about the impact the forthcoming Canadian Anti-Spam legislation are breathing easier as they analyze the legislation and conclude they can live with it.
Stephen Guerra at Silverpop, writes he had concerns about it last Fall when the proposed regulations first came out. Now, though, he says, the Canadian government has significantly improved the leg [...]
Posted: Friday, April 13th 2012
Top News: Google stock split | Apple fires back at feds | SAP mobile
Finance:
Google announces first quarter 2012 results and proposal for new class of stock.
Legal/Regulatory:
Apple fires back at the feds, Amazon.
Apple [...]
Posted: Friday, April 13th 2012
Sophos Warns Against Privacy Danger Posed by Instagram Acquisition
Sophos security researcher Graham Cluley has identified a new risk for Instagram users now that the photo-sharing app is being acquired by Facebook: the unexpected use of photos shared by users in Facebook, either in ads or for other purposes.
"What needs to be recognized is that anytime you decide to store your information online, you should also assume that it could be used for marketing purposes and that it may be publicly available,†he [...]
Posted: Wednesday, April 11th 2012
Twitter is Particularly Vulnerable to Users Tuning Out Because of Spam
Twitter announced it has filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against five companies it says are behind much of the spam that appears on Twitter—that is, companies that build tools designed to distribute spam on Twitter, as well as the web.
“With this suit, we’re going straight to the source,†Twitter said in a blog post announcing the suits.
The Ever-growing Problem of Spam [...]
Posted: Friday, April 6th 2012
Top News: Mobile search | Apple to defend e-book pricing | SEO tips
Mobile Marketing:
Mobile search ads: What makes them click?
Legal/Regulatory:
Twitter sues 'spamming' websites.
Apple preparing to [...]
Posted: Friday, April 6th 2012
Top News: F-commerce | Google's digital glasses | E-reading's rise
Ecommerce:
Facebook e-commerce: the next big thing?
Signs of What's to Come:
Google takes wraps off Web-based digital glasses.
Security:
Biggest Ap [...]
Posted: Thursday, April 5th 2012
It's Not Your Imagination: There is an Unfollow Bug in Twitter
Twitter has admitted that there is a "follow bug" that causes users to stop receiving updates from the feeds they follow. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the news to the UK publication, Telegraph, after confusion grew among its users as to what they might be doing wrong. The news was not well received by some pundits.
What Message Didn't I Get?
[...]
Posted: Thursday, March 29th 2012
AVG Goes on Offensive with Do Not Track
AVG is adding active "Do Not Track" technology to its security software. Do not Track will be the default setting in AVG's 2012 product and in the updated AVG’s free and paid 2012 Service Pack. Users can modify the setting from within the user interface.
FTC's Final Report
The announcement dovetail [...]
Posted: Wednesday, March 28th 2012
Top News: Pinterest clamps down on spam | Apple's 4G refund | Free, profitable video games
Security:
Pinterest clamp down on spam.
Mobile Computing:
Nokia to bring Lumia smartphones to China starting next month.
Apple offers [...]
Posted: Wednesday, March 28th 2012
Closing Bell: SMB security bootcamp | Obama on Pinterest | Facebook, Google hiring trends
Security:
AVG launches security BootCamp for small businesses.
Privacy:
Facebook has self to blame for employer privacy mess.
Social Media:
The President now [...]
Posted: Tuesday, March 27th 2012
Top News: Search ads work better on mobile | Angry Birds | Lawmakers look at privacy again
Online Ad Market:
Study: Search ads work way better on tablets, smartphones.
Gaming:
Angry Birds Space' downloads top 10 million.
Legal/Regulatory: [...]
Posted: Monday, March 26th 2012
Top News: More privacy probes for Google | iPad 3 is here | Cloud computing economics
Privacy:
Google the subject of new privacy probes in U.S. and Europe.
E-Commerce:
Groupon UK told to clean up after record complaints.
Mobile Computing:
[...]
Posted: Friday, March 16th 2012
Top News: Facebook touts revamped pages | Corporates pick iPads | Top outlaw SEO tactics
Social Media:
Facebook touts success in revamped pages for brands.
Mobile Marketing:
Facebook looks to mobile ads for next wave of growth.
Mobile Computing:
[...]
Posted: Wednesday, March 14th 2012
Top News: Privacy talk at SXSW | Apple out of iPads | CNN to acquire Mashable?
SXSW:
At CNET's SXSW 'big data' panel, sparks fly over privacy.
Mobile Computing:
Apple runs out of new iPads for Friday delivery.
Nokia likely to [...]
Posted: Monday, March 12th 2012
Top News: Mobile marketing rises in importance | Fire eats into iPad's market share | Barclays targets PayPal
Mobile Marketing:
Mobile advertising rises in importance.
Mobile Computing:
Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet eats into iPad’s market share.
Mobile Payments:
[...]
Posted: Friday, February 17th 2012
Top News: iAd pricing drops again | Cybersecurity bill leaves Internet alone | AT&T's data traffic |
Ad Pricing:
Apple slashes iAd pricing again as mobile ad share declines.
Legal/Regulatory:
Senate cybersecurity bill leaves Internet alone, exempts tech companies from oversight.
Mobile Computing:
[...]
Posted: Wednesday, February 15th 2012
Top News: Hearst & Amazon | Smaller screen for the iPad | Angry Birds on Facebook
Publishing:
Hearst to link digital editions with Amazon.
Mobile Computing:
Apple, suppliers test tablet with smaller screen.
Verizon, AT&T to [...]
Posted: Tuesday, February 14th 2012
Closing Bell: Google's Motorola deal | Apple purchases | Tumblr
Legal/Regulatory:
Europe OKs Google's $12.5B Motorola Mobility deal.
Business News:
Google working to create a 'Technology Ecosystem'.
Apple [...]
Posted: Monday, February 13th 2012
10 Words You Can't Say in an Email Heading
There are ten words most likely to trigger a spam filter, All Spammed Up reports. These are:
1. Meet Singles.
2. Work From Home.
3. Business Opportunity.
4. Buy Direct.
5. Clearance.
6. Pre-approved.
7. Hello.
8. You Have Been Selected.
9. Weight Loss.
10. Limited Time.
Some of these terms, obviously, are tempting to legitimate marketers--"clearance" and "limited time" are [...]
Posted: Thursday, February 9th 2012
Top News: Pinterest hits 10M monthly uniques | Amazon, Viacom close deal | Yammer closes $50M funding
Social Media:
Pinterest hits 10 million monthly uniques faster than any standalone site ever.
Why Facebook may not succeed in China.
Mobile Marketing:
How HTML5 is [...]
Posted: Wednesday, February 8th 2012
Top News: Yelp ads| Halliburton switches to iOS | Smartphone shipments rose 61% globally |
Online Ad Market:
Opinions vary about the validity of Yelp advertising.
Mobile Computing:
Halliburton to [...]
Posted: Tuesday, February 7th 2012
Top News: HuffPo to launch streaming network | Facebook ads | EU targets Google privacy policy
Facebook IPO:
Advertisers' free ride may end on Facebook.
Facebook’s ad business is a $3 billion mystery.
Analysis: A sobering [...]
Posted: Friday, February 3rd 2012
Top News: Facebook's lead in display ads | Apple's new retail chief | Email fights back against spam
Online Ad Market:
Facebook builds lead in display ads as its IPO approaches.
Retail/Ecommerce:
Tim Cook taps John Browett, CEO of Dixons, to head his retail empire.
Mobile Computing:
Demand for iPhones in China c [...]
Posted: Tuesday, January 31st 2012
Top News: Super Bowl social media buzz | BlackBerry suffering in Europe | Kindle Fire sales strong
Social Media:
Super Bowl advertisers seek buzz on social media.
Mobile Computing:
BlackBerry under siege in Europe.
Kindle Fire sales [...]
Posted: Monday, January 30th 2012