So let's talk about spam because that's related to this blog.
But we'll do it in quiz format because I have a quiz at school tomorrow, and well, because it will be more fun.
1. Where does the term "spam" come from?
a. it is short for stupid pesky advertising mail
b. a Monty Python skit
c. Bill Gates coined it because he loves Spam
d. Spam was the last name of Steve Job's mailman in the early 80's
2. Who sent the first spam?
a. a Nigerian man who had a lot of money to launder
b. an employee at DEC computer systems
c. a support group for men with very small cars
d. AOL
3. What is a honey pot?
a. computers set up to catch spammers
b. an online term for hot women
c. people who respond to spam
d. Poo's wife
4. What is the average positive response rate for spam?
a. 50%
b. 2%
c. 1%
d. much less than 1%
5. Who has higher social status?
a. a spammer
b. a pedifile
c. a porn star
d. Michael Vick
Answers:
1. b
2. b
3. a
4. d
5. c - while this one may need further research, people a, b, and d make me completely ill. So C it is. Initial research also resoundingly supports this choice.
How'd you do? If you got over 50% correct, you guessed it.... with the curve... You Get a B! Congratulations.
Want more spam-owledge? There's a great article in the New Yorker from August 6, "Damn Spam." It told me things I never knew about spam, like that the word actually comes from a Monty Python skit. While that's not really useful information, it's interesting nonetheless. It also told me that the first spam was sent out in 1978 over the Arpanet (for all you young folks, the Arpanet was the Internet's grandpa). It was sent by a DEC employee to encourage people to learn about the DECSytem-20 Computers. The response over the Arpanet was quite hostile, but DEC still sold 20 of the things at 20M a piece. That's some good 'ol fashioned ROI. And, it turns out, the current response rate for spam is about 15 positive responses PER MILLION. Regular direct mail is about 3% - so that's quite a difference.
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