Spam: In a can or in my inbox, I hate it

I changed my email address not that long ago. I was giving up my ISP to go entirely through Qwest. It was going to cost me less and get me faster DSL. But I would have to use a Hotmail or Yahoo address, and I really didn't want to.

I wanted an email that sounded more professional and linked to my business. My brother hosts my Web site, www.burstofhappiness.com, so he set me up an email on the server.

I think my old ISP had lots of spam filters. I never got one piece of spam in all the years I used Cybermesa. Actually, I did one day. One day it flooded in so fast that I literally couldn't delete them as fast as they were coming in. Apparently, one of their employees turned a spam filter off.

Now, it seems I'm on some spam lists. I have no idea who sold my information or who found it and put it on a list, of course, so there's nothing to be done. I can change me email address, but it's on all of my business cards. Even if I did, you have to use an email address as a login for everywhere you go online these days, and it could just happen again.

I'm especially concerned I will lose a sale because when you're weeding through dozens of spam emails every morning, it's easy for a real message to get lost and dumped in the trash.

Maybe next time I need to order business cards, I'll have to consider changing the email address. Maybe I will change it to t-shirtface@burstofhappiness.com.

Damn Spam

I have long enjoyed a personal email without spam. Now I seem to be on some list and it makes me so angry, yet I don't think there's anything I can do about it.

It seems to have started when I requested a RN from the government. An RN is a registered identification number for textile manufacturers. It's unrequired by law, but it helps to track down a business. For instance, say you find a really amazing garment in a boutique somewhere and you want to find out more about the maker. You Google the name on the tag, but you get nothing. Well, not everyone has a Web presence. A RN (which is included in many garments) allows you to do an easy search. Well, I applied and received one, and ever since then I've been spammed.

This is like the time I got my business license and put my cell phone number on the application, not realizing the vultures that would hang around going through the new business apps. They are open records. Then they sold my personal cell number to a bunch of credit card companies who harassed me day after day. One person even started screaming at me when I said I wasn't interested. I also got a few calls like this after applying for the RN, even though I've added my cell phone to the "Do Not Call" list. Did you know you can do that? You can. And you should. Go here. I wish they had one for e-mail.