If no one can stop spam anytime soon, there are at least two things that marketers can do to ease our misery. First, they can get our permission. Spam isn't defined by porn or Viagra or time-shares in Orlando. It's not a function of whether the sender is a two-bit operation in Florida or a New York - based multinational. Put simply, spam is any email we don't want and didn't ask for. Are J.P. Morgan Chase and BMG both spammers? Yes. Yes, they are.
So commercial bulk emailers should support legislation that mandates opt-in lists. Then they should write checks to Andy Sernovitz or to someone who does similar work, so that technologically adept investigators can deliver evidence of fraud to entities that have the power to shut spammers down. As FTC commissioner Orson Swindle recently said, "What we need are a couple of good hangings."
Sernovitz knows what's at stake here. He understands that the odds are against him. But he also sees it another way. He hates spam. It's ruining direct marketing for everyone.
"And here's the selfish part," he says. "If I pull this off, I'll be an f-ing hero. I'll be the guy who solves the spam problem -- the biggest scourge of the industry."
Keith H. Hammonds is a Fast Company senior editor in New York who would prefer that his email address (khammonds@fastcompany.com) remain private.
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
