Nouveau Spam

Gmail is really good at spam these days. It’s been forever since I’ve seen any pharmaceuticals or watches or penny stocks; the very occasional 419 and virtuous-girl-looking-for-friends leaks through. However, there is a steady flow, one or two per day, of intensely-miscellaneous pitches for products or services that look perfectly reasonable and mainstream — except for being spam-promoted. They’re actually sort of, uh, interesting. Here are a few days’ worth, in the order I received them; the geographic distribution is remarkable.

• Cheery Spanish condom store.

• Italian commercial truck rentals. Bright-colored trucks at low daily rates!

• Mexican e-billing systems. Boring presentation, probably appropriate.

• Swedish anti-explosive gas-tank treatment, for motor racers.

• A Vietnamese “Balanced Scorecard” software product.

• A Turkish pitch for the trade-show stand of a clothing maker (“since 1963”) picturing a truly beautiful dress.

• A German maker of office-productivity software for Android; they have a 30%-off sale.

• An author pitching his new novel, in English, on sale at a “.nl” (Netherlands) site.

• Betting tip sheets for the Breeders’ Cup horse races; $15/day or only $25 for both days.

• Remember, its FREE to advertise your Firearms and accessories at The Gun Market.

• Professional QuickBooks Training in Kabul and Mazar e Sharif. Includes software and installation.

I still think spam is a bad thing. But I’d be lying if I said these aren’t sort of amusing, and they’re few enough not to be an obstacle. Surely it’s not possible that the Gmail wizards have modified the anti-spam robot army to exercise an eclectic-amusement reverse filter?

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