Today's Specials: Spam and Caviar!

Hi Paul,

I thought that was an interesting take on the spam that comes into your e-mailbox....

Some spammers (unfortunately) are big companies. I think they probably hurt themselves more than they help themselves by spamming - but you're right in that they can afford good copywriters. I'm not sure who's doing it now, but until a couple years ago Barnes & Noble was notorious for spamming....

Thanks for an interesting take on this issue...

By the way, here's another interesting thing. Certain words we use are filled with emotion.... Political speechwriters know these HOT BUTTON words very well - just listen to practically ANY political speech!

"Motherhood".... "family".... "children".... How do these words make you feel? In most people, they bring up associations with positive memories, and so they create positive emotions....

On the negative end of the spectrum - "Liar".... "crook".... and yes, "SPAM" ! These bring up associations with negative memories! So they tend to create negative emotions....

Words are POWERFUL when you know how to use them!

Many articles and speeches are full of these emotive words. They look "objective", but by choosing one emotive word over another with the same dictionary meaning, the emotional message can change drastically. Politicians do this all the time....

Just an interesting glimpse into the science of persuasion. Sorry, I got off track, but I thought it was interesting because of the emotive content of the word "spam" !

- Dien Rice