Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

Starting Page    Millennium Marketing Research?    Types of Research    Principals    Articles   Quote

'Spamming:' Invasion of cyberspace privacy of simply 'high tech' direct mail.

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. Tel. 309-532-8466 -

NOTE: This article was also published in the Nov. 10, 1997, issue of American Marketing Association's Marketing News

An interesting, and very controversial phenomenon is growing by leaps and bounds on the burgeoning Internet. It’s called "spamming," the widespread dissemination of unsolicited, largely unwanted "advertising" messages bundled in electronic mail to hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions!) of unsuspecting Internet users. It’s the high tech equivalent of "direct mail," if you will. (Cynics, of course, would refer to it as "junk mail.")

The precise origin of the term "spamming" is not entirely clear, but the consensus seems to be that it’s a derisive cyberspace reference to the commercially processed, canned meat product Spam, which was elevated to infamy status by GIs in World War Two. The thinking goes that, like the product Spam, these unsolicited email ads are nothing more than a conglomeration of various "by products," most of which, by themselves and collectively, aren’t all that desirable to the vast majority of people.

Be that as it may, whatever one’s attitude is toward the practice of "spamming," it doesn’t appear likely that it’s going to go away soon. Quite to the contrary, it appears far more likely that it will continue to grow because it’s a very affordable, highly effective way of reaching a huge, targeted audience virtually simultaneously. And, as millions more people sign on to the Internet each and every month, it’s a potentially very lucrative "direct mail" tool in the exploding world of technology represented by the Internet.

In the "old days" of the Internet (about three years ago!), any attempt at commercialism was sure to draw an instant, blistering barrage of "flames," responses of outrage from those "cruising the ‘Net" who spotted the messages on various bulletin boards, in "chat" groups, etc. But those days are long gone, as commercialism becomes more and more an accepted (albeit sometimes grudgingly) way of life on the Internet.

Some people, of course, decry the growing commercialism on the Internet (and particularly "spamming") as a blatant, avaricious attempt by business to reproduce on the Internet the cacophony of advertising on the broadcast media, deluge of "junk mail" and the dreaded in-home telephone solicitations at dinner time we currently are exposed to every day. Other people, however, see the growing influence of commerce as an integral, logical next step in the evolution of this powerful new medium. We happen to fall in to the latter category because if the Internet is going to become the marketplace of the 21^st Century (as we believe it will!), then someone simply has got to "pick up the tab." And that someone, inevitably, is going to be business.

To be sure, we don’t advocate allowing anyone or any company to inundate Internet users with unwanted solicitations for x-rated fare, "get rich quick" schemes and outright frauds, but we do believe there is a place for professionally prepared, tastefully executed, high tech "direct mail" on the Internet. Just as the existing direct mail industry is both self regulated and government regulated, so also should the Internet be regulated. And it will be! Depend upon it.

The most admirable trait of American business, as well as that of business in other free countries, is that it is, well, FREE enterprise. That is, within reason, business can and does use every means at its disposal to sell its products and services. We see absolutely nothing wrong with this approach! After all, nothing happens until somebody sells something. And, aren’t we all selling something?

The American marketplace has shown itself to be a rather good self-policing environment. Direct mail and other forms of advertising are effective only if such practices actually result in sales. That is, if there is proven to be no market for particular products and services, then you can be assured that any type of advertising for these products and services will soon cease because only a fool would continue to spend money without realizing some type of return on investment.

Don’t misunderstand us, we don’t think we have all the answers to the plethora of issues and problems raised by "spamming." But we have faith and confidence in the American marketplace, and we know these issues and problems will be worked out so that everyone, both business and consumer, will be able to more peacefully coexist on the Internet.