Google Wave to Add Email Notifications

By Jeremy Goldsmith
Software Engineering Manager

Several months ago, Google released Google Wave, which was described as the next big thing in online communication. An online collaboration tool, it was heralded by techno-pundits as a replacement for email, instant messaging and social networking. Even Google hinted that the current mix of technologies that people use for online communication (email, instant messaging and social networking) is outdated and ready for a new paradigm. ...

Categories: News

Cool Email Idea: Options on Opt-Out

Opt outs are always a bummer, but they are a part of email life. People have changing interests, jobs and lifestyles and your email may not longer be relevant to them. Better to have them move on than...

Categories: Response

New Blog of Note in the Direct Marketing World

By Matt Blumberg
CEO & Chairman

Gene Raitt, Chairman of the DMA, has launched a new blog today called DM Unplugged. It's not an official DMA property. Gene won't be the only contributor -- over time, other DMA board members (including me) and thought leaders in the direct and interactive marketing communities at large -- will contribute as well.

This is one small, though notable, development in a series of things the DMA is working on as it transforms itself. Look for some truly "unplugged" commentary on this blog about both things happening in the industry and transparent views into things happening at the DMA as well as invitations to contribute to the discussion on both.

Categories: News

Whitelistin' Ain't Easy

by J.D. Falk
Director of Product Strategy, Receiver Services

Whitelists exist because spam filters exist. They are the exception policy, the safety valve. But beyond that simple truism, there are a lot of differences.

Because there's so much spam, filters have to rely on patterns derived from similarities between known spam messages. When a message matches the pattern, the filter notices and does something: reject it, put it in a spam folder, et cetera. Messages that don't match the pattern sail on through.

Similarly, if the message's source -- usually tracked by IP address -- matches the pattern, all messages from that source are noticed by the filter. This could be as specific as a single IP address, or could be a range of IP addresses. When a filter's pattern is broad, it catches a lot of spam. But it may also catch some non-spam messages; this is what's called a "false positive." To avoid those, you could (and probably will) improve the filters over time -- but by the time you find out, the damage is already done. In the meantime, you need a whitelist.

Most mail system administrators will whitelist their own network infrastructure; it's under their control (or under the control of someone nearby), so if any problems come up they can fix them. Also, it's generally a bad idea to block mail from your boss.

Next you'll want to whitelist companies and organizations you and your users frequently interact with. Do a quick mental inventory: how many is that? Did you remember your payroll company, your health insurance benefits broker, your local pizza delivery joint? What about the company your local pizza joint outsourced their email to -- how many other companies do does that company send for? Do they all deserve a free pass around your spam filters?

Pretty soon, managing exceptions to your filters becomes more complicated, more time-consuming, than managing the filters in the first place. And then the phone rings: some company you've never heard of, asking to be whitelisted so they can send their newsletter to a VP you've never even met -- but you've heard she thinks it's easy (and fun) to replace technical staff like you. Or maybe you work for an ISP, and the frat boy on the phone insists that hundreds of your users are just begging for this email. You can't call every single user in the middle of the night to ask if that's true. How do you decide?Tell me more

Categories: Email Deliverability