I have received, but have never eaten Spam. I used to laugh at it hysterically when I watched the old Monty Python sketch. I thought it had the flavour of irony.
All that changed with email, when it took on a more insidious taste. I remember the first time I got spammed in the late ’90s (before I knew what it was). The sender was trying to sell me Viagra. I was mortified and almost afraid to admit I received it! (What had I done wrong? Did the emails gods know something about me I didn’t, I wondered?)
We all agree spam is a complete waste of time, space and other continuum. Yet it continues unabated.
So I have to ask you a question: am I spamming you?
Now, before you pelt me with a barrage of nitrates, let me explain. Is there a time when you would just like to shut off my Twitter stream? If I tweet on behalf of a client – which I clearly identify – does that bother you? When I’m at a conference and live-tweet the sessions – does the hashtag make you want to scream?
I hope not. Yet, on Twitter you do have a recourse. You can unfollow a person and suddenly the noise will stop. I wish it were that easy with other things.
Email? Not a chance. We unsubscribe to no avail. We try filters – and they help a bit, but they work about as well as they did for tobacco.
As a PR person, I’m very conscious of not overstepping my welcome. When we reach out to a new blogger, we send an email identifying ourselves and who we represent and ask them if they might be interested in hearing more. We ask permission and treat no answer the same way we’d treat a no.
On Inside PR 2.31, Gini, Joe and I talk about PR spam (thanks to a question from Petya Georgieva). Have a listen. We’d love to hear what you think. And don’t worry, your comments won’t end up as spam!
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