IAR: Hotmail Targets Web Beacons

Microsoft on Thursday announced Hotmail users could block HTML images from appearing in e-mail messages, in a move meant to foil spammers trolling for valid e-mail addresses.

This could have a big impact on the email marketing industry. I've often worried about simply opening spams, as marketers track "open rates" according to when the HTML code loads in emails and pings the marketer's servers for the graphics. Spammers, obviously, must be doing the same, thereby confirming they've "got a live one." Hence, this strategy of Hotmail's to let users turn off HTML may actually improve the situation for users somewhat, which could lead other email apps (even Outlook?) to take the same move. But, as the article notes, this certainly worries many legit email marketers, who find HTML emails to be much more effective at driving clicks than text messages.

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