What's the definition of 'spam'?

Wow, things got heated today at Chris Brogan's website. Earlier in the day he had sent out an email to his LinkedIn connections, inviting them to subscribe to his email newsletter. I was one of the recipients, and I was struck by how reasonable the email was (I'm usually quick to cry 'spam!')

I thought no more about it, but after receiving a few odd complaints Chris opened it up for discussion. By throwing in my 2-pennyworth I managed to get hit in the crossfire myself!

As I always tell the students in my email marketing workshops, 'the definition of spam lies with the recipient'. And you can be sure there'll always be at least one recipient who thinks it's 'spam'!

Comments

[Chris Brogan...]

I'm certainly getting an education, and that's a great thing. Might have to borrow some of your egg. : )

Thanks for being part of the conversation. Your insights are also very helpful.

[Robin Houghton]

Thanks for the comment, Chris. It really has generated an extraordinary reaction, I learned a lot too.