It is estimated that over 14 billion spam messages are sent around the world every day. Researchers at Aachen University in Germany and the University of California, Santa Barbara explored the three key elements required in a spam campaign - the list of victim emails, the content, and a botnet. Experts specialising in each of these three elements have emerged, selling their expertise in a 'prosperous underground economy' and building their own versions of customer loyalty. By seeking to better understand the relationships between the key players, it's hoped that researchers can develop more effective anti-spam measures. (You can download their findings here.)
Meanwhile, Canada has rolled out new legislation that aims to tackle the issue of spam. The Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL) is outlined in summary here. Although the potential fines are high, the fact is that any organisation following good practice will not fall foul of the new legislation. You should have clear unsubscribe processes, and have the permission of the recipients to send them commercial messages. And of course, the legislation is only relevant for email addresses in Canada (.ca)
And now for something completely different
Spam of the edible kind features in a famous Monty Python sketch (described in this humourless Wikipedia entry).
In July 2014 the surviving Monty Python cast is taking to the stage for the first time in decades. The 20,000 tickets for their opening night at London's O2 Arena sold out in a record breaking 43 seconds.The 'Tour' is embracing social media. Fans can follow the Tour on Twitter and appear on the fan wall by using the Tour Hashtags. They can also treat themselves to a Ministry of Silly Walks app and join the Python Spam Club. Which begs the question, what if your spam is about the spam club?