When the volume of spam hitting my inbox dropped suddenly last week, I thought it was just me. It seems, however, that Internet users around the world have seen a significant drop in spam. And now the intriguing story behind the sudden drop has emerged…

Brian Krebs, reporting in the Washington Post, says that at about 4:30 p.m. EST last Tuesday, the volume of spam being delivered across the world dropped by about 65 percent. It seems that various Internet service providers discovered that a web hosting company in Silicon Valley called McColo Corp. was hosting organizations responsible for much of the world’s spam.

Unfortunately, the relief is likely to be temporary. Those spammers are likely to find other hosts! But Brian Krebs asks a reasonable question: why did it take so long for anyone to work out that a firm in the heart of the Internet and computing community - we’re talking Silicon Valley of all places - was distributing the bulk of the world’s spam?

It appears that McColo - which has not been charged with any crime - hosted a number of key Internet servers (i.e. computers that host websites and send out email, etc) which controlled networks of computers. These networks were used by their various owners to turn hundreds of thousands of compromised PCs into spam distributors or ‘botnets’.

McColo effectively ran the ‘master servers’ that the various dodgy spam organizations used to take over the botnets which, in turn, were used to send out all the spam. When McColo’s Internet service providers took it offline, the master servers went offline… which meant the botnets could no longer be used to send out spam.

Source: Brian Krebs, “Answers Trickle Out as Spammer Networks Remain Compromised”, November 19, 2008

Not everyone has jumped onto the web 2.0 or social media bandwagon. Many people are happily using the Internet without blogging, tweeting, posting on forums, participating in social networks, and so on.

Which means that if non-web 2.0 users are YOUR target market, you probably need to focus on non-web 2.0 means of reaching them.

Here are a few tips:

1. Consider using traditional media. There’s a thought. What about a direct mail campaign or a telephone call? Even a personal visit (if you’re selling large ticket items that justify it). Not to mention traditional forms of advertising - television, radio, newspapers and magazines.
2. Use ‘traditional’ forms of Internet communications, such as email, display advertising and paid search advertising. Have an email newsletter as well as a blog. That’s what we do here at Kikabink. You can read the blog or get the email newsletter delivered to your inbox each day.
3. Softly sell your prospects on using Web 2.0 or social media content or tools. This isn’t so much a matter of emphasizing that any given content or tool is “web 2.0″ as indicating the value of the content itself. Your target market may not be interested in reading your “blog posts” but MAY be interested in reading your ARTICLES.

As a lawyer and a marketer, I’m acutely aware of how regulated many marketing activities are. In certain industries it’s not uncommon to see advertisements where the disclaimer is longer than the copy! So why is marketing so regulated?

Well, it’s the same reason for all our laws:

1. A few people (or possibly a lot of people) do the wrong thing - they lie, cheat or steal;
2. Customers complain; and
3. The regulators end up imposing laws to prohibit, punish and deter further wrongdoing.

The problem is, of course, that this often adds to the costs of marketing. For one thing, suddenly you need those pesky lawyers reviewing your ads before they go to air! This, in turn, is fed into the prices of goods and services. And everyone - except perhaps the lawyers - ends up paying for a few people’s misdeeds.

Now, some industries are more regulated than others. And although the general laws may apply to all, some industries are also more scrutinized than others. All it takes is a few people doing the wrong thing, a significant number of people complaining, and suddenly the various government watchdogs start paying way more attention to that particular arena.

That’s why it worries me when I see some of the practices used by Internet marketers, including some of the big name “gurus”. For example, one very well known Internet marketer sent an email that said the following:

“I just wanted to shoot you a quick email to let you know I got you
a 97% discount on [name of product].

He sells it for $176 on his site, but you can get it for just $4.95
today.”

When you go to the site, you discover that it’s only $4.95 in the first month. After that, the price goes back up, and you pay this on a monthly basis.

Guess what folks? That email is, in my opinion (and this is NOT legal advice) an example of misleading and deceptive conduct under Australian law. And since it came into my inbox, here in Australia, that marketer is also subject to Australian law (a lot of people don’t realize that when they market to people in other countries they are actually subject to the laws of those other countries).

Now, I have no reason to complain about that particular incident. Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered. But it’s a clear indication of the ignorance of people who should know better. And unless gurus and others alike start abiding by the law like other businesses are supposed to, it may be just a matter of time before the regulators in the U.S., Australia and other countries start taking much more notice of what Internet marketers do.

Of course cleaning up the various dubious practices may be a good thing… but we are all likely to pay the price of greater government regulation and/or scrutiny in some way. And with the tendency of some regulators to be overzealous at times, some “innocent” people are likely to be pinged.

So let’s all try to stay within the law. It’s better for our customers - I’ve always found that honesty works quite well in business - and it’s better for us.