m u s i n g s

Saw this post on Fast Company about email being dead and a large company banning email.

Years ago I suggested a solution to SPAM. I'd like to share it with you again ...

Here is the back story.

As a long-time denizen of the online world - dating back to the pre-web days of the 80s -  I have been using email, a lot, like crazy. I have had multiple email accounts for years. At one time I managed at least 22 accounts. These were for different client's sites, blogs, associations, business and personal use. That meant I would get upwards from 500 emails a day, sometimes way more.  Using three sets of filters helped keep my inbox(es) somewhat manageable, but not completely.

Here is my take on SPAM. Although I understand where the abolitionists are coming from, censorship is not the answer. User Experience is, and always has been, the answer.

Lets say I am sitting at my desk and my inbox receives the following message from  www.SPAM_WOW_FREE_INSTANT_WIN.com addressed to "Dear Bozo" …

The subject line reads - Win a round of Golf with Mike Weir (Insert fave golfer here) Second prize a set of Taylormade Clubs. Third Prize win a dozen Titleist Golf Balls!

Hang on!!!!!

As an avid golfer, I have already stopped everything I was doing, entered the contest, printed out the email, passed it to a dozen golf friends and then sat, with a cup of tea, and went .. ahhhhhhh. Golf.

"But, but, but … this is SPAM" they cry!

Nope, not to me it isn't! It is heaven. It has touched my soul. Want to get in touch with me? Talk to me the way I talk. Talk to me about stuff I am interested in.

SPAM to me is stuff like ...  "work from home" "get rich quick" "Viagara" and "Porn." Why are they SPAM? Because I (the user) am simply, not interested. Go away.

My suggestion to get SPAM in check and thereby solving the "in box" mess, is the following.

Set up a universal site - www.spam.com

Every user would be encouraged to log in - and select from a long list of topics that they are interested in. Of course, if you are interested in No SPAM you can check that too. But, if you're like me, you probably would check something like Drumming, Golf, Apple, Cycling and Travel. You would be guaranteed to receive only these offerings.

The folks, who engage in SPAM for a living, would have access to the site and could harvest all the emails they would like by category. "Hey guys send me everything you have! I am putting my hand up to be served here!!!!" I think that would also increase the open rates, click through rates and conversions to sales.

The ISPs would also play a role. They can surely monitor the emails sent by their clients, the large emailers, and would place a tariff/tax on each email sent - say a tenth of a cent, or a hundredth of a cent, per email (something small and practicable) - this would be collected and applied to community infrastructure - say bandwidth to schools, getting real Teleports for communities -  or support some worthwhile cause - like feeding people.

You see, SPAM is not SPAM if you want it. SPAM is anything you get that you do not want.

Let the user dictate what SPAM is. Let the user control his or her inbox.