Why Anti-Spam Works

In networked media you have to try hard.  But if you create good ideas and content over a sustained period, interested parties will find you.  It's the opposite of spam-like marketing techniques where you put most of your efforts into creating very wide distribution.  All in the hope of finding the relevant few.  On the social web, the aim is for the relevant few to find you.  They do this using the aggregators and personal social networks that people now rely on to work out what's relevant.  It's anti-spam in fact.  Also, networked media likes people and organisations that are available.  The content is the beginning of the process that creates a healthy, vibrant network from which commercial benefits flow.  So being available and tuned into the signals coming back to you is vital.  This is very different from spam-like marketing where the only response that registers is the one that fits into the narrowly defined call-to-action - marketing code for the sales process.  And as consumers, aka people, build ever higher walls to shield themselves from the commercial shock-and-awe tactics of last century, the anti-spam mindset is also more efficient.  Time and effort can go into creating attractive community, rather than powerful armoury.  Anti-spam is actually very sensible in a world where most activity starts with a search.  Google is one big spam-busting machine, but it rewards thoughtful content by matching it with the gazillion flagged intentions that constantly refresh its logical brain.  And just so we are clear, we are talking about all marketing content here.  A poorly conceived ad can feel just as spammy as that email offering peculiar personal delights.  Yes, these days, creating a few beacons for interested parties to find you is much better than just shouting at passers by.  (And by the way, here's the greatest piece of anti-spam ever - check the visitor stats! ;-))