InsightExpress found that 85 percent of the 1,500 U.S. online consumers it interviewed disagree with the Direct Marketing Association’s various pro-marketing definitions of spam:
- 43 percent agreed that “Any unsolicited e-mail message, commercial or ogtherwise, is spam.”
- Another 18 percent agreed that “Any unsolicited, commercial e-mail message, whether or not I’ve ever done business with the sender, is spam.”
- Another 23 percent agreed that “Any unsolicited, commercial e-mail message receive from a company I’ve never done business with, is spam.”
- Only ten percent agreed with the DMA’s latest definition of spam: “Any email that misrepresents an offer, or misrepresent the originator, or in some way way attempts to confuse or defraud people.”
Moreover, 86 percent feel that their inbox is just that — their inbox and feel that they should have the ability to control the messages that they receive. Among the study’s other findings:
- 89 percent said companies should tell them whenever their e-mail address is given to 3rd parties.
- 84 percent said laws are needed against spam.
- 75 percent would like to see the government establish a ‘Do Not Spam’ registry similar to the anti-telemarketing ‘Do Not Call’ registry recently setup, and 78 percent would sign onto such an anti-spam registry.
- 72 percent favor the strictest possible anti-spam legislation.
- 72 percent said that all e-mailed advertisments should be being labeled ‘Advertising’ in the e-mail subject field.
- 69 percent want all commercial e-mails to have opt-out mechanisms.
And on the subject of how much time spam steal from them:
- 59 percent spend less than five minutes daily weeding spam.
- 22 percent spend five to 15 minutes daily.
- 9 percent spend 15 to 30 minutes daily.
- 5 percent spent 30 to an hour daily.
- 2 percent more time than that daily.
We mention that time data because many online publishing professionals — who are power users of e-mail and often have their e-mail addresses posted online where spammers can see them, spend a lot of time daily weeding spam — are prone to solipsism and tend to think that everyone else online is like themselves. Not so. Unfortunately, spam nowadays comprises for 40 to 50 percent of all e-mail, and an average consumer who receives six e-mails daily is just as upset to receive three spams as is the power users who receives 100 e-mails daily and finds 50 of those are spams. But the power user will spend much more time weeding out that spam.
Here are Insight Express’ PowerPoint® slides about its survey [Note: InsightExpress has ‘optimized’ its Web PowerPoint® display to only work properly with MS Internet Explorer. We’re likewise optimizing gasoline only to work with Chevys.]