Happy Birthday Spam!
30 Years and Still Going Strong with No Signs of Slowdown
It would be inappropriate for me to let this day go by without wishing a happy birthday to one of the most important and controversial terms of the early 21st century.
Spam!
No, not SPAM!
Spam!
I try to shy away from actual definitions of spam because it's scope has gotten so much wider from when the first spam message was sent by Gary Thuerk to a large swath of ARPANET addresses 30 years ago this month.
So, was Thuerk an overly aggressive marketer? Or a pioneer setting the stage for modern day cybercrime? In my opinion the answer is both, but to that I would add the disclaimer that if he didn't do it surely someone else would have.
One could also make the claim that spam started even prior to that using the CTSS (Compatible Time-Sharing System) "mail" command back in 1971 where a developer wrote a long anti-war message that began with "THERE IS NO WAY TO PEACE. PEACE IS THE WAY." Despite being told that using the CTSS mail system in that way would likely be viewed as abusive he defended his position with the statement of "but this is important!"
Obviously spam has evolved quite a bit from its days of ARPANET and CTSS, but there are still a lot of parallels in why spam is sent. The primary end-goal was the use of network technology and over the wire communication for the purpose of making money. Whether that has to do with trying to sell a product (either legitimate or illegitimate) or trying to get a user to install adware or crimeware on their PC, money has been, still is, and will continue to be the primary reason for spam.
As we also know, "Spam Ain't Just for Email Anymore." but still carries the common theme of network abuse. Social and mobile networks have been common recent additional avenues that spammers have been exploiting as well through SMS spam, blog spam. Also, communication technologies like Instant Messenger and Voice over IP (VoIP) haven't been immune either whose abuse have borne acronyms like SPIM and SPIT.
Bill Gates was clearly way off base when he predicted in January, 2004 that spam would be gone in two years. Spam is more prevalent than ever not only in our inboxes, but in just about every way that we communicate and collaborate. As long as people continue to respond to spam it isn't going anywhere. In fact, it will only continue to become more pervasive and unavoidable.
Spam!
No, not SPAM!
Spam!
I try to shy away from actual definitions of spam because it's scope has gotten so much wider from when the first spam message was sent by Gary Thuerk to a large swath of ARPANET addresses 30 years ago this month.
So, was Thuerk an overly aggressive marketer? Or a pioneer setting the stage for modern day cybercrime? In my opinion the answer is both, but to that I would add the disclaimer that if he didn't do it surely someone else would have.
One could also make the claim that spam started even prior to that using the CTSS (Compatible Time-Sharing System) "mail" command back in 1971 where a developer wrote a long anti-war message that began with "THERE IS NO WAY TO PEACE. PEACE IS THE WAY." Despite being told that using the CTSS mail system in that way would likely be viewed as abusive he defended his position with the statement of "but this is important!"
Obviously spam has evolved quite a bit from its days of ARPANET and CTSS, but there are still a lot of parallels in why spam is sent. The primary end-goal was the use of network technology and over the wire communication for the purpose of making money. Whether that has to do with trying to sell a product (either legitimate or illegitimate) or trying to get a user to install adware or crimeware on their PC, money has been, still is, and will continue to be the primary reason for spam.
As we also know, "Spam Ain't Just for Email Anymore." but still carries the common theme of network abuse. Social and mobile networks have been common recent additional avenues that spammers have been exploiting as well through SMS spam, blog spam. Also, communication technologies like Instant Messenger and Voice over IP (VoIP) haven't been immune either whose abuse have borne acronyms like SPIM and SPIT.
Bill Gates was clearly way off base when he predicted in January, 2004 that spam would be gone in two years. Spam is more prevalent than ever not only in our inboxes, but in just about every way that we communicate and collaborate. As long as people continue to respond to spam it isn't going anywhere. In fact, it will only continue to become more pervasive and unavoidable.
Categories: Spam
Posted by smasiello at 1:07 PM | Link | 2 comments
Comments
Re: Happy Birthday Spam!
You know, Sam - I am not sure there are many of us out here that would share your enthusiasm for the birth of spam. :-)
Interesting history - I learn something new every day!
Interesting history - I learn something new every day!
Posted by Sam Van Ryder on May 3, 2008 at 8:55 PM
Re: Happy Birthday Spam!
Ha! Probably not, but you have to admit that since its birth it has grown into a wily adult :)
Posted by Sam Masiello on May 12, 2008 at 1:08 PM
