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An Inconvenient SPAM

by Ron Daly 

Last Wednesday was Earth Day, which is why you couldn't go to any site without seeing a fleet of recycling tips. We decided to do our "green" article today. Call us crazy. 

I got this article emailed to me the other day. It says that the amount of spam sent every year is the equivalent of driving a car around the earth - 1.6 million times. 

We've been over the amount of CO₂ emitted by Google Search (click here for that article), but this is pretty crazy. SPAM? Those goofy messages you get from nobody about pills and car-title loans? How could something like that be detrimental to the environment? 

From the article: 

The study, which was conducted by consulting firm ICF International, concluded that spam-related emissions for all email users world-wide creates a total of 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, 0.2% of total greenhouse gas emissions. (Wall Street Journal's Marissa Taylor, "Spam's Noxious Carbon Footprint", April 15 2009) 

Isn't that insane? 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide! And most of that comes from energy exhausted searching for real messages in the clutter and deleting/sorting the SPAM itself. 

Reducing SPAM via filters is one thing, and is very effective. Wouldn't it be great to only get the messages you really want, though? 

UPDATE - Not saying we're ahead of the curve, BUT...

by Jimmy Marks

A few days ago, Greg and I posted this story about the difference between social media comprehension and...well, what's going on nowadays. My Internet Friend (boy, THAT'S a depressing phrase) Ron Shevlin stopped by to talk about what the role of social media is and whether or not you can "vet" a social media expert. Or whether or not one exists. 

Well, Ron sent me a link to a MarketingSherpa article which shows that most organizations think that, with no social media experience, marketers are still somewhat knowledgeable about social media techniques. 

A copy of their chart: 

Chart: How Knowledgeable Are Marketers With No Social Media Experience?  

MarketingSherpa seems to have summed things up very well:

This was confirmed in MarketingSherpa's Social Media Marketing and PR study where we found that the "lack of knowledgeable staff" was the most significant barrier to social media adoption. When making the initial jump into social media, many organizations start by delegating responsibility to the first staff person they find with a profile on Facebook or LinkedIn since very few people have any level of practical experience in this new strategy. The result is usually a marketing program pre-destined to failure. [Click here for the full article from MarketingSherpa]

Exposure does not equal experience. Just keep that in mind. 

Separating the Businesses from the Bots: What Social Media REALLY Means

by Greg Crandell and Jimmy Marks

If you're a CEO of a major credit union/business/non-profit, you're probably wondering

a) Do I make so much money that people are going to start picketing me at my house?
b) Am I really worth all that money if I'm wasting my time reading this blog all day?

and, most importantly: 

c) When are all these little DORKS going to stop pestering me about Web 2.0 and Social Media?!?

A and B, we can't help you. C, we know. 

We have already talked at length about how business professionals are sick and tired of hearing about Social Media (click here to read). So they hire these people...usually whippersnappers like Jimmy*...to sign them up for the holy triumverate of bad Web 2.0 decisions: 

1. A do-nothing Facebook page that has no actionable links or content
2. A Twitter account that pats itself on the back 
3. A YouTube channel with two videos which are poorly produced 

*Jimmy's Note: Being young has NOTHING to do with being good at social media. If young people were any good at managing content online and being good at representing a cause, they'd never get in trouble for having pictures of themselves smoking marijuana on their MySpace. Vet your online content managers/web specialists with the same jaundiced eye you'd use in selecting an accountant.