Press Release Author = The Center For Internet Research
Industry = Education
Press Release Summary = Spam is the bane of internet users everywhere!
The Los Angeles Times and Guinness Book of Records refers to Gary Thuerk as the
"Father Of Spam". You will be surprised by his take on what is considered to be a
major problem associated with the Internet
Press Release Body = Back in 1978, when the thing we now all think of as annoying,
unsolicited, inbox-clogging email was just the canned, spongy sandwich meat, one man
sent an email to 400 people, marketing his company's new product.
Gary Thuerk, now in sales at computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co., sent out that
original spam back when the Internet was called Arpanet, and researchers and the
military were the only ones using it. As a marketing manager at the East Coast-based
Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), Thuerk sent out the bulk email inviting West Coast
techies to a demonstration of Dec's new Decsystem-20.
When those early email users checked their inboxes, they discovered this
foreign-looking message with a cc list that took up so much room it spilled into the
message's body. They simply had never seen a mass email before.
Some seemed happy to receive this nifty notification. Some people cursed Thuerk when
their computers crashed. And the Defense Communication Agency scolded Thuerk,
prohibited him from doing it again.
Despite the scolding, Thuerk says it was a great idea.
Industry analyst firm Ferris Research estimates that in 2003, we wasted 15 hours
deleting email, compared to 2.2 hours in 2000. And MessageLabs Inc., a managed email
security firm based in New York, says spam now makes up more than 80 percent of all
email being sent around the world.
The government even got in on the battle this past year, passing the CAN-Spam Act.
In a legislative attempt to combat what is largely seen as a digital plague, the act
applies civil and criminal penalties to offenders.
In a one-on-one interview with Datamation, Thuerk says he doesn't feel any regret
for starting spam. People don't throw cocktail weenies at him when he walks into a
party. Instead, he says they ask for his autograph. Thuerk also talks about how
successful that first spam was, how he feels about being known as the Father of
Spam, and, if he had the chance, would he do it all over again.
Gary will speak at The IT Summit March 22 in Denver.
Admission is free if you register online before March 15 at http://www.theitsummit.com
Press is welcome, but please register
For more information
Contact
Wes Sherman
503.885.7458
wss@theitsummit.com
Web Site = http://www.tcfir.org
Contact Details = Dr. W. Reid Cornwell||PO box 6369||Breckenridge ,
80424||$$country||||970.547.0270||wrc@tcfir.org||http://www.tcfir.org
2025
