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November 09, 2004
UPDATE: Who are the spammers?
by Doug Millison for SiliconValleyWatcher.com
They're a varied lot, but in one way they're all the same: they want to get rich without working hard.
"They're lazy entrepreneurs," observes freelance writer Brian McWilliams. "They're people who want to make money fast, but they don't want to work hard at it."
McWilliams' new book, Spam Kings: The Real Story Behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills and @*#?% Enlargements, is the object of an article in today's San Francisco Chronicle by Carrie Kirby.
Kirby focuses on one of the colorful characters McWilliams features: "Davis Hawke, was a failed leader in the white supremacist movement, a competitive chess player, and -- thanks to his thriving e-mail marketing business -- a wealthy man."
Hawke makes "$600,000 a month selling penis-enlargement pills through a network of affiliates," Kirby reports. "But on March 10, he was hit with one of the first lawsuits under the new Can-Spam Act. America Online is seeking $10 million from Hawke -- if it can find him."
(Note to self - idea for next book: Spam Customers: The Real Story Behind People who Send Money to Complete Strangers For Penis Enlargement Pills & Get Rich Quick Schemes)
Links:
New book looks at spammers: Junk e-mailers span social spectrum, but all want quick riches by Carrie Kirby, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 November 2004
Spam Kings: The Real Story behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements Amazon.com page for the book
Affiliate link:
OnlineJournalist.org, edited by Doug Millison "on a need-to-know basis"
November 9, 2004 10:24 AM
