email

I often get asked about disclaimers and notices in email footers and the requirements for providing infromation in web sites and emails. Its something I have commented on before on Chinwag and elsewhere but I thought it would be good to refresh the topic.

The number 419 may mean nothing to you. However, if you've had an email address for a while the chances are a solicitation has slipped through your spam filters enticing you to send your bank details off to Nigeria to share in untold wealth.

The 4-1-9 scam is particularly well known, with both the US Secret Service and the Nigerian Government setting up websites devoted to tackling the problem.

A snippet from Meta Group's April study featured in the ever-useful eMarketer Daily, provides confirmation that email usage in the corporate world dominates the volume of communications. 80% of respondents preferred email to phone. Interestingly, the speed and effectiveness of email weren't the key factors. The top three reasons were:

Have a heart. According to a recent report from Ferris Research, the average US worked receives 10 spam emails per day, compared to only 5 for their lucky European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) counterparts.

Yes, that's right, the scourge of your inbox isn't a recent phenomenon. According to recent research by Brad Templeton, DEC have the dubious privilege of being the first company to have sent spam. This also pre-dates the Internet itself to a time when the network of inter-connected computers was the preserver of the academic and defence communities.

The traditional newspaper has always won hands-down in the go-anywhere contest with the web. You can't take the web or emails with you on the train (barring small-screened phones/PDAs or laptops) and taking it with you for some quiet-time in the loo wasn't entirely practical either. My suggestion at an office meeting for ethernet ports in our 'cubicles' wasn't greeted with much enthusiasm.

According to a recent survey in North America by Osterman Research, 52% of respondents said half their work email was sent internally.

Lean across the desk? Nope, send an email, instead. The reliance on the medium and the speed with which we've come to rely on email is truly amazing. So the fax is relegated for contracts and other documents that need signatures, but for how long? You can already digitally sign email, although the process is complicated and expensive...for the moment.

It's official. From October all unsolicited email in the EU is illegal. No, really, it's true. Well, kind of. In reality legitimate companies need to give the customer an option to subscribe and also be clear about what they're going to receive.

According to a recent US survey of home users, nearly 40% are interested in having anti-spam software or services to protect their inbox. It's not difficult to empathise with this view and not surprising that AOL and MSN have both recently offered new anti-spam tools.

The research also threw up some other interesting titbits...entrepreneurs and visionary ISPs take note:

Alongside the delightful invitations to send my bank details to Nigeria, and suggestions to view some nymphettes and her friends, I've started receiving emails from strangers asking me why I've been sending them strange emails which have sent their virus scanners wild.

Do's & Don'ts of Email Marketing
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - June 22, 2001

When Is An Opt-in Not An Opt-In?
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - June 15, 2001

The word on the street is 'permission marketing'. Pretty much any conference seminar, networking event or overheard conversation will include the phrase. But what constitutes permission? Paper-based direct marketing often asks respondents to tick a box not to receive future promotions (opt-out), whilst most online marketers suggest an opposite policy (opt-in).

Expandable Banners
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - June 01, 2001

Does the announcement last month that the Interactive Advertising Bureau was endorsing a number of new shapes and sizes for banner adverts herald a new golden era for banners or is it a medium in its death throes? The announcement came hot on the heels of US new media stalwarts C|Net adopting these standards, presumably to try and stem the decline in online advertising revenues.

Emailing Flash
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - May 18, 2001

No, we're not talking about some kind of sleazy porn email. Is it OK to send a Flash movie via email? In fact what can you send to customers by email without getting on their nerves and more importantly, so they can actually see what you're sending them. Following the often heated debate about the rights and wrongs of HTML email, the focus of conversation turned to Flash.