--- title: Spam 2.0 and how to solve the problem image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1077838721-gif/blog-files/spam.gif --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/2006/12/spam_20_and_how.html#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # Spam 2.0 and how to solve the problem December 6th, 2006 1 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1077838721-gif/blog-files/spam.gif?width=250&height=268&name=spam.gif) You know when The New York Times writes about a technology issue, it is a big deal. In an article today called [Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/technology/06spam.html?ref=technology), Brad Stone describes the newer techniques of "image spam" (using just an image and not any text that anti-spam software can read) and other tricks that the bad guys are using. [![Spam](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1077838721-gif/blog-files/spam.gif?width=250&height=268&name=spam.gif "Spam")](http://freshspot.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/spam.gif) The solution to the spam nightmare is simple. Just charge all senders one cent per email and the problem will be solved. This concept of email "postage" is not my original idea, but I have been talking about it for years. It just makes sense. The problem with spam is that it is free to send, unlike print junk mail that requires a payment to the post office to send. Legitimate email marketers with a targeted list could afford to pay a penny per email, but spammers couldn't run a profitable business with such a requirement. Yeah, I know there are problems with this idea. The whole global email system needs to be updated to accommodate it. And spammers may find ways to work around it. But it is worth it. [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ Marketing ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/marketing) [ Advertising ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/advertising) [ Business to Business ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/business-to-business) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Fanocracy%202e.jpg?width=1500&height=841&name=Fanocracy%202e.jpg) ### New 2nd Edition of Fanocracy Publishes Today: Your Human Connection in a Polarized, Noisy World July 14th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/new-2nd-edition-of-fanocracy-publishes-today-your-human-connection-in-a-polarized-noisy-world) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/bunnies%20and%20bees.jpg?width=1500&height=823&name=bunnies%20and%20bees.jpg) ### Bunnies and Bees June 22nd, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/bunnies-and-bees) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HubSpot%2020th.jpeg?width=800&height=448&name=HubSpot%2020th.jpeg) ### Congratulations Team HubSpot for 20 Years of Helping Organizations Grow June 12th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/congratulations-team-hubspot-for-20-years-of-helping-organizations-grow) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/loss%20of%20serendipity.jpg?width=2026&height=1067&name=loss%20of%20serendipity.jpg) ### Algorithms Ate Serendipity: Bring Back Surprise to Spark True Fandom May 19th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/algorithms-ate-serendipity-bring-back-surprise-to-spark-true-fandom) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Modern%20marketing%20team.png?width=1774&height=887&name=Modern%20marketing%20team.png) ### RIP Middle Management in Marketing & PR April 23rd, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/rip-middle-management-in-marketing-pr) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Grokipedia%20SEO%20disrupted.jpg?width=1536&height=877&name=Grokipedia%20SEO%20disrupted.jpg) ### Grokipedia as a Backdoor to Getting Found in LLM AI Search February 23rd, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/grokipedia-as-a-backdoor-to-getting-found-in-llm-ai-search) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ai_marketing_2x1.jpg?width=1536&height=768&name=ai_marketing_2x1.jpg) ### You + buyer knowledge x AI > them x AI February 17th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/you-buyer-knowledge-x-ai-them-x-ai) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Heavy%20Heavy%20Boston.jpg?width=2000&height=1103&name=Heavy%20Heavy%20Boston.jpg) ### The New Competitive Advantage February 11th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-new-competitive-advantage) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-01-28%20at%2011.48.35%20AM.png?width=1587&height=948&name=Screenshot%202026-01-28%20at%2011.48.35%20AM.png) ### Report Takeaways: Human-Centered Marketing in an Age of AI January 29th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/report-takeaways-human-centered-marketing-in-an-age-of-ai) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%202025.jpg?width=1435&height=972&name=DMS%202025.jpg) ### My Focus for 2026 and a Prediction December 19th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/my-focus-for-2026-and-a-prediction) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Thumb_V2.png?width=1366&height=768&name=Thumb_V2.png) ### AI Book Trailer for Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead November 25th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/ai-book-trailer-for-marketing-lessons-from-the-grateful-dead) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Writers%20thrive%20in%20world%20of%20AI.png?width=1536&height=1024&name=Writers%20thrive%20in%20world%20of%20AI.png) ### How Writers Thrive in the Age of AI October 9th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-writers-thrive-in-the-age-of-ai) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202025-10-01%20at%2010.19.28%20AM.png?width=844&height=488&name=Screenshot%202025-10-01%20at%2010.19.28%20AM.png) ### New Sora 2 App Blurs the Boundaries Between AI Video and Reality October 1st, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/new-sora-2-app-blurs-the-boundaries-between-ai-video-and-reality) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20BM%20hybrid%202004.jpg?width=1432&height=966&name=DMS%20BM%20hybrid%202004.jpg) ### The Fandom Playbook: My New Book and Companion AI Chatbot September 24th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-fandom-playbook-my-new-book-and-companion-ai-chatbot) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_162669533.jpg?width=1500&height=996&name=shutterstock_162669533.jpg) ### From Transaction to Fandom September 3rd, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/from-transaction-to-fandom) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Cracker%20Barrel.jpg?width=990&height=541&name=Cracker%20Barrel.jpg) ### Once You Put Your Product or Service into the World, it Belongs to your Fans August 28th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/once-you-put-your-product-or-service-into-the-world-it-belongs-to-your-fans) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Flax%20Dental.jpg?width=1540&height=1058&name=Flax%20Dental.jpg) ### The Simple Professional Services Website Makeover That Creates Fans August 11th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-professional-services-website-makeover-that-creates-fans) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/write%20compelling%20headlines.jpg?width=2248&height=1506&name=write%20compelling%20headlines.jpg) ### The Fine Art of Crafting a Not-Quite-Clickbait Headline August 1st, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-fine-art-of-crafting-a-not-quite-clickbait-headline) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Look%20away%20in%20Italy.jpg?width=1205&height=674&name=Look%20away%20in%20Italy.jpg) ### In Real Life July 23rd, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/in-real-life) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20Banner%20Option%202%20-%20LinkedIn%20_%20Facebook%20Sizing.png?width=1200&height=627&name=DMS%20Banner%20Option%202%20-%20LinkedIn%20_%20Facebook%20Sizing.png) ### How to Write and Publish a Book that Supercharges Your Personal Brand July 2nd, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-to-write-and-publish-a-book-that-supercharges-your-personal-brand) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/St%20Vincent%20Outside%20Lands%202015.jpg?width=1500&height=1185&name=St%20Vincent%20Outside%20Lands%202015.jpg) ### The Neuroscience of Fandom June 18th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-neuroscience-of-fandom) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jesse%20and%20fans.jpg?width=1126&height=748&name=Jesse%20and%20fans.jpg) ### Bots Don’t Build Fandom. People Do. June 9th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/bots-dont-build-fandom.-people-do) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Agentic%20AI%20Web.png?width=1536&height=1024&name=Agentic%20AI%20Web.png) ### The AI Agentic Web Is Disrupting Your Website June 4th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-ai-agentic-web-is-disrupting-your-website) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HBO%20Max.png?width=720&height=480&name=HBO%20Max.png) ### Max, Once Named HBO Max, Rebranded as… HBO Max May 23rd, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/max-once-named-hbo-max-rebranded-as-hbo-max) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "datePublished" : "2006-12-06T05:45:01.000Z", "headline" : "Spam 2.0 and how to solve the problem", "image" : [ "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1077838721-gif/blog-files/spam.gif" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/2006/12/spam_20_and_how.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person", "@type" : "Person", "description" : "Marketing and sales visionary, international bestselling author of 12 books, keynote speaker in 47 countries, and advisor to emerging companies.", "email" : "mailto:David@DavidMeermanScott.com", "image" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS-Homepage-Featured.jpg", "jobTitle" : [ "Keynote Speaker", "Author", "Business Growth Strategist", "Marketing Advisor" ], "knowsAbout" : [ "Content Marketing", "Fandom Marketing", "Newsjacking", "Real-Time Marketing", "Public Relations", "Sales Strategy", "Business Growth" ], "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "sameAs" : [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Meerman_Scott", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott", "https://x.com/dmscott", "https://www.instagram.com/dmscott/" ], "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/search?q={search_term_string}" } }, "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateCreated" : "2014-09-10T21:42:55", "datePublished" : "2006-12-06T00:45:01-0500", "description" : "", "headline" : "Spam 2.0 and how to solve the problem", "image" : [ "http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/413105/file-1077838721-gif/blog-files/spam.gif" ], "inLanguage" : "en-us", "keywords" : [ "Marketing", "Advertising", "Business to Business" ], "learningResourceType" : "article", "name" : "Spam 2.0 and how to solve the problem", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://413105.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/413105/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "Freshspot Marketing LLC" }, "timeRequired" : "1 minutes", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/2006/12/spam_20_and_how.html" } ```