Goodbye Spam, Hello Bacn

Glance at your inbox lately? If it seems to be overflowing with crap you just don't need, well, that's probably because it is. While spam filters have been working more effectively than ever, you, my friend, have been pretty much undermining the entire process by signing up for every travel, sales and group-buying program out there. Infographic World has a masterful infographic showing just how bad things have become.

"Bacn" (or, "bacon," a.k.a. the stuff you've signed up for) surpassed spam way back in 2007, but is only now projected to surpass desired e-mails. In 2010, more than 27 billion pieces of bacn were emailed; that works out to a staggering 7,300 e-mails a year per e-mail account. Low-cost and highly effective, bacn has been a boon for marketers and is probably going nowhere. Savvy sites, meanwhile, have figured this out and made it more of a pain in the ass to unsubscribe. (For instance, nowadays, more than a third of retailers require three or more clicks to opt out; in 2008 that figure was 7-percent.) Mmm, greasy.

Goodbye Spam, Hello Bacn originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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