Just a thought.
Why is it that the spam I get is usually about sex (porn sites and performance enhancers), drugs (performance enhancers and weight loss) rock & roll (ringtones and downloads) and money (every get-rich-quick scheme possible, along with a few that defy belief)? 99% of the stuff that Akismet blocks for me (thank you Akismet) falls neatly into one of these categories. Is this true for everyone else out there? I’m waiting to see what emergent category comes along to break up this long-standing quartet.
Casino websites are the other ones I get…I particularly like my pen1le enhancing emails..and somewhat intrigued how they are going to manage to meet their claims..as a female myself!
Here’s the pop psychology answer:
What areas of life cause the highest degree of stress? The traditional three are death, sex, and money.
Now, what subjects are embarrassing to purchase except in an anonymous setting? Anything related to self image, sexual frustration, or perceived desperation.
Spammers want to maximize relevance and clickthroughs just as much as Google – but their target customers are those who are desperate and require anonymity. Nobody would ever admit to buying something from spam, but someone must.
To me, what is just as despicable as wasting everyone’s time is that spammers prey on desperation and offer quick-fix promises that don’t really help anyone.
Maslow was a naive idealist. As the quote goes, “sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll” are what make the world tick. Well; gambling too. And while these things are socially unaceptable to put in advertisements, note what happens when you notch them up only slightly on the acceptability scale:
sex–>relationships: eharmony, myspace. drugs–>”low grade sensualism” as coined by Nader: sugar foods, video games. rock-and-roll–>ipod. gambling: the “hit culture”, “american idol”
Some mails in my spam box offer discounts on products like Windows XP and MS Office. Discount (designer!)watches are another strange offer.